A NEW survey into driving habits here shows the most reckless on the roads are parents with young children.

This finding, met with surprise by parents, was among the results of a survey on drivers' behaviour by motor insurer AXA.

Conducted over a month from February to March, the survey polled more than 500 motorists. More than 400 of them were private car owners, while the rest were taxi drivers.

The motorists were asked questions about their driving habits, and were quizzed on their knowledge of speed limits and drink driving.

Comparisons were also made among motorists of different age groups, marital status and gender.

Most alarming was the number of motorists with young children below the age of 12 who engaged in reckless driving behaviour. For example, 73 per cent of them admitted to speeding, compared to 58 per cent of motorists with older children.

Ms Karen Lai, 33, a mother of two, disagreed with the findings. She said: 'In fact, having kids in the car will make you drive a lot more carefully.'

The communications director said she used to speed and weave in and out of traffic when she was single, but started driving more carefully when she had children.

Piano teacher Adriana Lim, 35, a mother of two, also expressed surprise at the survey results. However, she acknowledged that parents of young children sometimes speed while on the road.

'The kids might be late for school and you have to rush to get them there on time. Or they might be making a fuss in the car and you just want to get to the destination as fast as possible,' she said.

Among other findings, the survey also concluded that the majority of drivers in Singapore are not aware of the speed limit on normal roads without speed-limit signs.

National Safety Council president Tan Jin Thong thinks more should be done to educate drivers on keeping to the speed limit.

'Speeding and tailgating are very common on roads here and Singapore drivers are getting more aggressive,' he said.

When motorists do drive safely, it is mostly due to the fear of getting demerit points or being caught by speed cameras on the roads, the survey found.

Among taxi drivers, those with more than 15 years of driving experience were found to be safer drivers than those with fewer than six years behind the wheel.

Conducting this survey for the first time, AXA hopes to play its part in encouraging car owners to improve their driving. It recently launched a website with safe driving tips and an interactive online driving game for motorists.

AXA chief executive officer Henri Gurs noted that the number of claims on motor insurance policies has gone up over the years.

Asked if the survey results would influence the pricing of policies for certain motorists, he did not rule out the possibility: 'If we can distinguish some patterns in behaviour, we will definitely use some elements of this survey.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times.