Four out of five parents make this potentially fatal mistake while driving their kids to school
Eighty per cent of drivers admit to taking their eyes off the road while on the school run because they were stressed and distracted by their children
STRESSED parents are putting lives at risk by taking their eyes off the road during the school run.
Four out of five drivers admit to the potentially deadly mistake, with one out of 10 having caused a crash after being distracted by their child passengers.
New research by insurance firm More Th>n has revealed how stressful the school run can be, with nearly a third of parents saying it's the most taxing part of their day.
Over a quarter of drivers go as far as saying it's more stressful than buying a house.
The most common reasons for these frantic mornings are due to families running late, arguments breaking out between siblings and being bored in traffic.
Meanwhile, frequent accidents include driving into the back of a car, hitting a vehicle front on and scraping another car.
Even more worrying is the fact that nearly a quarter of children say they get into the car before school feeling stressed.
A further five per cent of kids feel anxious when they arrive for class as a direct result of their car journey.
This may be because over three quarters of children are told off during the school run for causing the family to run late.
Over half of children are also shouted at in the car because they forgot their homework.
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Gareth Davies, More Th>n Head of Motors, said: "In modern day life, duties such as the school run can have a huge impact on families and the stress levels felt amongst both parents and kids.
"We know that stress contagion is common, where kids pick up on their parents’ stress and feel stressed too.
"We want to turn this around and instead have parents enjoy the school run with their kids by encouraging them to sing, tell stories and also talk about the stresses of their daily routine as a family, all in a bid to defuse the stress of the school run."