Summer Driving for Work Tips
78% of Irish drivers admit to distraction at the wheel (Aviva Insurance survey, May 2026). Ten years on from our 2016 HSA-sourced summer tips, here's the refresh.
A new Aviva survey of 1,000 Irish drivers, reported in The Irish Times on 26 May, has 78% admitting to distraction behind the wheel. 31% check navigation apps while driving. Three in ten eat or drink at the wheel. 15% adjust dashboard screens. 10% use the phone while stopped at lights. 7% read or reply to messages while moving.
Enforcement is up too. Gardaí recorded 24,500 mobile phone offences on Irish roads in 2025, 11% higher than 2024. An Garda Síochána is now using an unmarked HGV, the "supercab", to catch drivers on the phone. The RSA reckons the true rate of phone use at the wheel is higher than the enforcement data suggests.
Now add summer. Unfamiliar holiday routes mean more time in the nav app. Kids in the back mean more head-turns. Longer days and a low sun angle put glare front and centre. Hay fever tablets in the glovebox. Tyres running hotter on baking roads. The old summer risks haven't gone away. They're now stacked on top of a distraction problem that's grown a lot louder since our 2016 blog.
The refreshed checklist
Six things to run through before you send drivers out this summer.
1. Tyres. Check pressure and tread monthly. Heat plus wear plus under-inflation is blowout territory.
2. Fluids and windscreen. Oil, coolant, screenwash topped up. Clean the glass inside and out. Smears plus low sun equals missed hazards.
3. Hay fever meds. Non-drowsy label only. Read the box before you turn the key.
4. Sunglasses in the door pocket. Cheap fix for the low summer sun on the M50 at 7am.
5. Route planned before setting off. That way the phone isn't running the show mid-drive.
6. Rest breaks every two hours. Dehydration hits faster in summer heat. Fluids in the cab, screens off during the stop.
On the phone: the 2026 story
The Aviva number is 78%. Your own drivers won't be far off it. Three specific asks for the summer months:
• Toolbox talk on distraction using the Aviva survey as the hook. Also, consider our 5-Minute “Onboard Technology Distractions” training.
• Phone in the glovebox rule while driving. Hands-free too if that is already your policy.
• Post-trip review on any telematics-flagged harsh events. Harsh acceleration and braking usually correlate with phone use.
The 2016 HSA-sourced advice on tyres, glare, hay fever and fatigue still holds. The 2026 addition is that most Irish drivers now admit to something we used to treat as a minority behaviour. That changes what a good toolbox talk looks like.
Related DriverFocus Reading
• Minimising Driver Distraction Risks and Safeguarding Business
• Driving for Work, Governance and Absence of Evidence
Related Service
DRIVEALERT Essentials - for time-sensitive learners, lessons can be completed in just five minutes. Each of these mobile-friendly modules provide an overview of the problem, a highly impactful fact and a three/four-minute, localised HD video solution, with five knowledge assessment questions appearing throughout.
Sources
• "Nearly 80% of drivers admit to distracted driving in survey", The Irish Times, 26 May 2026
• Health and Safety Authority, Summer Driving Tips (original 2016 source refreshed here)
• Aviva Insurance / 3Gem Research and Insights, driver-habits survey (n=1,000), May 2026.
• An Garda Síochána, 2025 mobile phone offences statistics (via The Irish Times report).