Six out 10 UK motorists believe they would fail if they had to take their driving test tomorrow, according to a new survey* by Autoglass®.

Three quarters (76%) confessed they had not read the Highway Code since gaining their licence and a fifth (21%) said they frequently break the Code with 68% owning up to doing it “every now and again.”

The most common traffic offence admitted by drivers was speeding in a 30omph area (40%), while 9% said it was failing to indicate. One in 20 (5%) singled out using a mobile phone while driving and 4% said their biggest fault was jumping red lights.

Despite the findings, 62% rated their driving as “good” with 22% saying it was “excellent.”

Matthew Mycock, Autoglass® managing director, said: “These are shocking findings and there appears to be a serious road safety deficit among UK motorists.

“It is alarming that so many drivers freely confess to frequently breaking the Highway Code or admit they wouldn’t pass their tests tomorrow yet still believe they are good drivers.

“Every year, thousands and thousands of motorists are killed or injured on our roads because of road safety lapses. There now needs to be a fundamental reappraisal of driving standards in the UK with a renewed emphasis on both practice and theory.”

The poll found that nearly a third of men (32%) rated their driving as “excellent” compared to 15% of women and 49% of males reckoned they would pass their test if they took it tomorrow against 33% of women. Thirty per cent of men also claimed they had read the Highway Code since passing their test against only 21% of women.

Motorists aged 18-24 were the most confident of passing their test tomorrow (45%) with those who were 55-plus the least sure on 30%. However, those aged 18-24 also said they were the most frequent breakers of the Highway Code (24%).

Mr Mycock said: “Road safety is not an optional extra – it can be the difference between life and death. There needs to be a heightened awareness of the importance of the Highway Code so that it is not just something which is conveniently forgotten or ignored once somebody has passed their test.

“Regardless of age, gender or background everyone should take their responsibility on the roads extremely seriously at all times.”