Nearly half-a-million road accidents a year are caused by women drivers applying make-up behind the wheel, a new survey discloses.
Around one fifth of the female motorists confess they have touched up their mascara on the move ­ equivalent to 3.2 million of Britain's 15 million women drivers. The poll of more than 4,000 drivers by women's motor insurance group Diamond comes a year after the introduction of a new offense of causing death by careless driving, which carries a prison term of up to two years. Previously, careless driving offenses ­ including applying make-up, eating and map-reading ­ were punishable only by a fine.