People in sport 'are risky drivers'

16/08/11

Kev Kiernan

People involved in sport have a poor record of safety on the roads, a survey suggests.

The Trading Floor said four-fifths of referees and around three-quarters of cricket umpires do not have a no-claims discount on their car insurance policy.

Professional boxers seem to have the worst record: 82% of them have not got a no-claims discount. The poll also suggests 77% of rally drivers, 75% of footballers and 74% of jockeys are in the same boat.

The data was gathered from 8.8 million motorists and shows that those connected with sport generally seem to be most risky insurance customers. An overall two-thirds of sports people, 66%, do not have a no-claims discount, in contrast with a general UK average of 45%.

The Trading Floor managing director Chris McDonald said: "People working in sport usually need great hand-eye co-ordination and have to be good at processing visual information, so you would expect them to make the best drivers. But this research suggests otherwise."