Driving standards in decline: tailgating tops survey of the most annoying driving habits

Whether it's dropping litter or music being played out of a loudspeaker, there are behaviours in everyday life that are perfectly acceptable for some but an insult to others.

On the road, something similar applies and there are habits - both illegal or just inconsiderate - that are driving motorists around the bend. What's more, it seems like things might be getting worse.

We asked 1,136 Which? members in August to choose the three driving habits they considered most annoying, as well as how often they experienced each of them.

Top five most annoying driving habits

1. Tailgating

• 56% of people chose it for their top three
• 81% witness it several times per month or more

Many of us were taught 'only a fool breaks the two-second rule' when learning to drive, and a two-second gap on high-speed roads is specified in the Highway Code.

Nonetheless, it seems as though that hasn't got through to everyone.

56% of people ranked it in their top three most annoying habits, making it by far the most popular option.

It's a form of space invasion that's nigh-on impossible to prevent and is dangerous, too. National Highways estimates that tailgating contributes to accidents causing 147 road deaths (just under 10% of the total) in England each year.

How to deal with it: If you're being tailgated, try to remain calm and resist the temptation to react negatively. Protect yourself by maintaining a larger gap from the car in front of you - it sounds counterintuitive but it means that if the car in front has to brake sharply, you and your tailgater have longer to react, which reduces the chance of a collision.

2.

Using a phone while driving

• 43% of people chose it for their top three
• 60% of people witness it at least several times a month

Using a mobile device while driving, even if it's in a cradle, is illegal and can get you an on-the-spot fine of GBP200 and six points on your driving licence. This includes interacting with a satnav, or satnav app on your phone, and the law applies even in stationary traffic. There are some exceptions, which you can read about in our guide on mobile phone driving laws[1].

The UK's Department for Transport (DfT) carries out observation studies each year and in its most recent numbers for autumn 2023, 0.3% of all vehicle drivers were observed using a phone.

Those driving vans and HGVs were the most frequently seen using a phone (0.6% and 0.29% respectively) - alarming, given that these are larger, heavier vehicles. In contrast, 0.2% of car drivers were observed using their phone.

In 2022, 22 people were killed and a further 652 injured in accidents where mobile phone usage was named as a contributing factor to the incident, according to the DfT.

How to deal with it: If you see someone using their phone, consider giving them a wide berth. It's usually obvious when someone is using their phone for texting if they're behind you.

Treat them like a tailgater and make sure you have an escape route if you're on a faster road with traffic building up.

3. Late/no indication when turning or changing lanes

• 38% of people chose for their top three
• 90% of people witness it at least several times a month

In addition to being the third most annoying, this habit is the second-most witnessed in our survey after speeding. Although indicating in itself isn't strictly mandatory (it's a 'you should' rather than a 'you must' in the Highway Code), it's the only way most of us can tell others what we're doing.

So if a lack of indicating causes an accident or a dangerous situation, the police may well take an interest. When people decide indicating isn't necessary, chaos can ensue.

How to deal with it: Use other cues to predict what other drivers are about to do. These include speed, road positioning and prior behaviour.

For example, if a driver is slowing down more than necessary, it may be because they are turning into a side road. Similarly, on motorways, if a car in the lane adjacent to you is catching a car ahead and not adjusting their speed, assume they are about to change lane and give them space to move into should they need it.

4. Middle lane hogging on motorways

• 38% of people chose it for their top three
• 77% of people witness it at least several times a month

It's easy to see why this one is annoying.

A car in the middle lane when the left lane is clear is funnelling all cars who want to legally overtake into (usually) a single lane. And those who are less patient will undertake, which is potentially dangerous and could well see you put at fault in the event of an accident. All in all, it's the perfect combination of selfishness and disruptiveness to make it into our top five.

Police officers have the power to issue fines for middle lane hogging, but it's unlikely most people will ever see those consequences.

How to deal with it: Don't undertake someone who's hogging the middle lane; they may be about to switch back to the left lane (probably without indicating) and won't expect a car to have filled the gap.

Instead, drop back and wait for an opening in the lane to the right. Alternatively, drop into the left lane, slow down and wait for the problem to resolve itself.

5. Driving with dazzling headlights

• 25% of people chose it for their top three
• 63% of people witness it at least several times a month

Technology such as automatic full beam control should mitigate against dazzling headlights, but in many cases it makes things worse.

The technology that powers full beam control is pretty rudimentary in many cases and often simply doesn't detect cars coming the other way until it's too late. Matrix LED headlights that selectively dim bulbs to avoid dazzling people are similarly unreliable.

Dazzling people with your headlights is against the law and is a 'must not' in the Highway Code. The Code also suggests that you should take your foot off the brake when in stationary traffic to switch off your brake lights - obviously while also applying the handbrake or shifting into Park.

How to deal with it: The only way to safely deal with being dazzled is to slow down until you can see clearly again.

It's tempting to flash full-beam abusers, but this could make things worse and dazzle other oncoming road users

The list of most annoying driving habits in full

Survey details: Online survey carried out in August 2025 of 1,136 Which? members who drive. Respondents were asked to choose the three habits from the list above that they found the most annoying. 'Frequently witnessed' includes anybody who said they witnessed a driving habit several times per week, per month or on every journey.

Are driving standards in decline?

Our survey suggests that people aren't feeling positive about the standard of driving in the UK.

69% of respondents said driving standards had got worse in the past five years, and only 3% said they had improved.

Looking at figures from the Ministry of Justice, prosecutions for motoring offences are going up; there were 753,000 motoring prosecutions in 2024, which is a 3% year-on-year increase from 2023 and a 10-year high.

Looking more closely, driving offences (in other words, those that don't include things like insurance and tax offences) have increased; speeding prosecutions increased by 58,000 compared to 2014 and, perhaps most worryingly, prosecutions for causing serious injury for dangerous driving have increased by 1,426.

There are many reasons that the number of convictions for offences can increase, including better enforcement technology, more police on the roads and more targeted monitoring of offences. But such responses are most likely caused by an increase in demand so, whichever way you look at it, it looks like standards are on the decline.

Does car tech make us safer drivers?

The most common car safety tech[2] is intended to catch us from making the most common mistakes.

However, we've found repeatedly that these features - when implemented badly - simply cause annoyance and push people to turn them off.

Features such as lane keep assist can be overly aggressive if you don't indicate when changing lanes, while speed assist is often completely wrong and can even encourage you to drive over the speed limit.

Adaptive cruise control can be very useful to prevent tailgating but can also be tricky to set up just right, leaving you following the cars ahead too closely or leaving too large a gap that another driver can squeeze into.

Which? Cars team reacts

Dino Buratti, Which? cars researcher

Given how loud horns are, it's surprising to me that unnecessary horn usage was only mentioned in 2% of our survey responders' top three most annoying habits. While it's clear that there are occasions when using a car horn may be beneficial (such as when you need to warn another road user of your presence), plenty of people are overly liberal with their car's horn.

This can be annoying and confusing to other road users, who often have no idea why a car's horn is being sounded or whether it's directed at them.

With people using their horns so often, their usefulness is being diluted.

I'm also surprised that tailgating is listed as the number one issue in our survey. Although it can be dangerous and intimidating to be followed closely by another vehicle, it's something I learn to ignore unless I can get out of the offending driver's way safely.

Michael Passingham, Which? senior researcher

I recently admonished Dino (one of the safest drivers I know) for using his horn when I wasn't expecting it, but his rationale for doing so ahead of blind corners on country roads is actually perfectly reasonable (sorry, Dino).

Living in London, you'd think I'd be used to horns but, as a pedestrian without the luxury of soundproofing, I can't help but shoot people a dirty look if they're using their horn pointlessly in stationary traffic.

Elsewhere, I'm shocked that speeding isn't at the top of the list. I guess the idea of 'annoying' varies by person; I'm sure we can at least all agree that it's the most basic rule that has the most serious consequences when broken, and is by far the easiest to follow.

If you don't agree with your local speed limits, write to the council. It's selfish to do anything else.

Will Stapley, Which? cars editor

I'm not surprised tailgating tops the table. Only the other week I was travelling at 65mph on the M25 with a lorry within a metre of my bumper.

While I agree with Dino that it's best to ignore the tailgater, that's not always easy - if I'd had to stop suddenly, that lorry would have demolished my car.

Given the potential associated danger, I'm pleased to see phone use high on the list. I'd also argue that some modern infotainment systems are just as distracting as a phone (if not more so).

However, I'm as shocked as Michael that speeding doesn't come higher up. I'd certainly put it above not indicating when changing lanes and middle-lane hogging.

As much as it's tempting, reprimanding dangerous drivers can often just exacerbate things.

Instead, I prefer to swallow my pride, take whatever action I need to remove me and my passengers from the danger, then moan incessantly about it when safely back home.

Share your thoughts on dodgy driving habits at [email protected][5]

References

1. ^ guide on mobile phone driving laws (www.which.co.uk)
2. ^ car safety tech (www.which.co.uk)
3. ^ technology could be ruining new cars (www.which.co.uk)
4. ^ Which? members think about it (www.which.co.uk)
5. ^ [email protected] (www.which.co.uk)