Too many Belgians text behind the wheel, says study

A study conducted in 10 European countries by Vinci Autoroutes, the French foundation for responsible driving, shows that Belgium is the worst in its class in terms of texting and emailing while driving. More than 37% of the Belgian drivers admitted to sometimes sending a text message or email while behind the wheel, report various media. That is higher than the European average of 26%.

One possible reason for the poor score is the relatively high number of traffic jams in Belgium. The long waits that come with traffic jams could lead to unsafe driving habits, such as looking at a smartphone and texting or emailing.

The study revealed more statistics about Belgian drivers, such as 68% forget to slow down at roadworks (European average: 55%) and 25% admittedly sometimes drink and drive (European average: 12%). It’s not all doom and gloom, however, with 83% of Belgian drivers reporting they take a break to nap during long car trips (European average: 57%) and 48% claiming to be courteous in traffic (European average: 26%)

The 10,000 Europeans who participated in the study, including 1,007 Belgians, come from Germany, France, Belgium, Spain, Sweden, Greece, Poland and the Netherlands.