Family

What do Kiwi kids really think about their parents’ driving?

Kids speak out who behaves better behind the wheel.
Loading the player...

If you get behind the wheel of the car and you’ve got the kids in tow, it’s likely they’ll catch you out if you’re not driving as carefully as you can.

Although we all face the pressures of driving on ever-increasingly congested roads, a new survey has revealed which parent is the better driver.

A questionnaire went out to nearly 400 New Zealand primary school-aged kids asking them about their parents’ behaviour once they’re behind the wheel.

The results showed over half of the kids surveyed found mums were better drivers. Almost 100 per cent said this was because their mums tended to drive more carefully, and were more aware of the road rules.

Dads, on the other hand, didn’t fare so well. Speeding was the number one driving behaviour in question with the results showing a whopping 98 per cent of kids saying dad was the parent who was far more likely to floor it.

Kids also kept a close eye on when their parents were getting annoyed while driving. Seventy per cent said their parents were quick to honk the horn at other drivers, and 60 per cent said they’d heard mum or dad swear at another driver.

Reasons given for the occasional F-bomb outbursts were other drivers going too slow, getting in the way or generally driving badly.

While some parents did pull over to take a moment when driving frustrations got the better of them, the number was low with only around 15 per cent giving themselves some much needed time out.

Loading the player...

The survey was led by road safety charity Brake alongside Rainbow’s End with the aim of raising awareness of road safety issues.

Rainbow’s End CEO Chris Deere says parents need to lead by example because kids learn directly from what their parents do.

Just about all the kids did agreed on one thing though, and that is they’re all looking forward to the day they can get behind the wheel.

Related stories