Eating at the wheel adds 40% to insurance
Drivers caught eating an apple, map-reading or listening to loud music face rises of up to £200 on their motor premiums.
Sarah McCaffery: Fined for holding an apple at the wheel.
Many leading insurers are becoming stricter by checking if motorists have been caught acting in such a 'distracted' way when calculating quotes. Some firms simply refuse to cover motorists guilty of this behaviour, which can also include sipping from a bottle of water, tuning their radio, snacking or arguing with a passenger.
Each year, around 25,300 drivers are convicted of 'driving without due care and attention' and punished by the courts with £60 fines and three penalty points.
Most insurers ask potential customers if they have any driving convictions, including for distracted behaviour, which is known as a CD10 offence.
For a 30-year- old man with a clean licence, Kwik-Fit offers annual cover for £470 but a CD10 conviction could add £188 - an increase of 40%.
The increase from other insurers varies but the AA pushes up premiums by 37%, Sainsbury's by 28% and Privilege by 17%.
Other companies, including Allianz, Zurich and Endsleigh, said the conviction would be taken into account with costs depending on individual cases.
Ian Crowder, for the AA, which acts as a broker for more than 20 insurers, said: 'We're all guilty of eating or drinking behind the wheel but the fact is it can be dangerous. There is a direct correlation between those convicted of driving without due care and attention, and fatal accidents.
'Insurance is a very black-and-white issue and the job of insurers is identifying customers who pose as possible risks. The cynical will say it is just a money-making scheme but it's a financial incentive to encourage drivers to be more careful.'
The insurance rises are in line with a Government crackdown on careless driving.
Ministers are considering plans to allow police to stop motorists deemed to be distracted and hand out £60 on-the-spot fines.
And this month in Manchester, smart cars fitted with 'spy cameras' started an operation to pinpoint 'distracted' motorists.
Guilty drivers receive a fine in the post without even knowing they have been photographed.
The scheme is expected to be expanded to other areas including Havering, East London, and Brentwood, Essex. Earlier this year, a mother was fined £60 and given three points for eating a chicken sandwich at the wheel.
Ediri Tsekiri, 36, a researcher, was stopped by police near her home in Liverpool for not being in proper control of her vehicle.
Last month, Gary Saunders was stopped by police in the same city - for laughing while driving.
And Northumbria Police used video evidence from a helicopter and car to prove the case in 2005 against nursery nurse Sarah McCaffery, 23, who was fined £60 for holding an apple while driving. Moves by insurers to charge more to drivers with a CD10 conviction were criticised as 'completely wrong' by the Association of British Drivers.
Spokesman Nigel Humphries said: 'They started upping the premiums for speeding but clearly this is not enough. There is no evidence people caught eating an apple or swigging water and given three points are more likely to do it again.
'Insurance firms need to produce evidence which shows these drivers are more risky before they hike up the premiums.'
But insurers have defended the increases. Neil Walker, from Allianz, said: 'Drivers with convictions represent an increased risk and will not be able to access the best premiums. We assess each inquiry, taking into account risk indicators including previous claims and convictions, and the driver's age and experience.'
Mike Quinton, head of Zurich's direct business insurance, said: 'If customers are convicted of careless or reckless driving, their premiums will be affected. The more serious the offence, the higher the premium.'
A spokesman for Kwik-Fit insurance said: 'Premiums are based on many factors, of which motoring convictions is just one. We use a panel of insurers and offer insurance to most drivers but some of these insurers may not quote where a driver has a CD10 conviction.'
Up to 77% of drivers admit to tuning radios or changing CDs behind the wheel.
More than half said they regularly ate or drank while driving, according to research by price comparison website Moneysupermarket.
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