Children in the car are the number one distraction for drivers, according to the latest survey of 1500 drivers by IAM and Vision Critical. Twenty-nine per cent of drivers admit that their children are their biggest distraction while driving.

Busy lifestyles and a constant need to multitask also feature heavily with mobile phone use (24 per cent). and texting and social media updates (10 per cent) also featuring. Twenty-three per cent of young drivers (aged 18-24) find this a distraction.

Other top distractions include:
•Changing the radio channel (27%)
•Back seat drivers (26%)
•Sat nav (15%)
•Attractive pedestrians, drivers or passengers (14%)

Nearly a quarter of men (23 per cent) admit to being distracted by attractive people compared to three per cent of women,

Distractions are a major cause of crashes. In the same survey, nine per cent of drivers admit that they have crashed because they were distracted. According to police statistics, mobile phone use and other distractions were a factor in up to one hundred and five deaths on our roads last year.

IAM chief executive Simon Best said: “People who think they can multi-task while driving are kidding themselves. If you take your eyes of the road for just two seconds at 30 miles per hour, you’ll travel close to 90 feet, effectively blind.

All drivers develop bad habits over time. The key to reducing distractions and their impact is to learn to look upon your driving as a skill that needs continuous evaluation and improvement.”

Children top the list of distractions. Follow this advice to keep them occupied:

IAM’s top tips for distracting kids:

•Keep them occupied by introducing games that promote and reward quiet behaviour without needing the driver’s direct involvement.
•Portable games consoles or in-car DVD players will keep kids occupied for hours. But don’t forget the headphones – the soundtracks can be just as distracting as the children.
•If you are planning a long journey, make sure you’re organised – take plenty of food and drink to avoid constant demands from the back seats.
•Allow extra stops. Find somewhere for them to stretch their legs and let off steam, such as a playground or a park. Save yourself the panic and research some local parks and playgrounds where you plan to stop off.
•Have a plastic bag (without any holes!) with you in case of travel sickness.
•A second adult in the car to look after the children makes a massive difference, leaving the driver to concentrate on driving.
•Don’t turn round to deal with fighting kids while you’re still in motion – find somewhere safe to stop first.

www.iam.org.uk

Laurent Hoffmann and Franck Petricola will make their debut at the 2014 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy as part of the experienced Ice Valley by Motorsave team.

Double International Road Race Supersport Champion Hoffmann will step up to the 1000cc class and ride a BMW S1000R in the Dainese Superbike, RL 360⁰ Superstock and PokerStars Senior TT Races and he will also contest the two Monster Energy Supersport races on a Honda CBR600RR.

Having taken his first title in 2012, the Belgian rider dominated the 2013 IRRC Supersport 600cc Championship on his ZX-6R Kawasaki, never finishing lower than second. He opened his account for the year with a win at the opening round at Hengelo before taking double victories at both Oostende and Chimay and of the ten races held during the season, the 30-year old won five and took second in four others. Indeed, only a retirement in the final race of the season at Frohburg spoilt his 100% podium record.

In what was a very successful season, he – along with team-mates Nico Hautekiet and Jan van Steelandt – also finished second in the 600cc class of the Spa-Francorchamps 6 Hour Endurance Race. A former Belgian Supersport Champion, Hoffmann has also enjoyed success on the road circuits in the Czech Republic, taking a hat-trick of victories at Terlicko in 2012 and is eagerly looking forward to making his Mountain Course debut.

Petricola will also be BMW-mounted for the 1000cc races and will compete in the 3-lap Bikesocial.co.uk Lightweight TT on an ER6 650cc Kawasaki. The 30-year old is another regular in the IRRC Championship and enjoyed his best season last year with 11th overall in the Superbike category. His best result, sixth, came at Chimay and he ended the year strongly with six successive top ten finishes and took a brace of thirds in the Lightweight Races at Horice and Terlicko.

Team owner Paul Shoesmith commented: “I’ve seen just how good Laurent and Franck are up close having raced alongside them in the International Road Race Championship across Europe so I am delighted to be welcoming them to our team for this year’s TT Races. I'm sure they will both give a good account of themselves. They are both working hard on their circuit knowledge using on board footage and they both gained a lot from a recent visit to the Island. They are putting everything into getting themselves ready for their debut this June.”

Regardless of your skill level there's a Triumph Adventure Riding experience perfectly suited to you.

The fun-filled courses are run by expedition specialists Trailquest whose expertise means you'll be in safe hands no matter how confident you are off the beaten track.

Based in the Malvern Hills the Triumph Riding Experiences will give you a taste of riding off-road, through woodlands, over a variety of surfaces and teach you bike control when ascending and descending tricky terrain.

For those after a more comprehensive experience intermediate and advanced courses are available - but however you're progressing the team will always tailor your day to suit your specific needs with specific attention on making it an entertaining and fun day!

All our courses are run on the superbly agile Tiger 800XC, our ultimate option for serious off-road riding, but we'll also cater for those who choose to bring their own bike along.

Courses are available from £240 including your loan bike - see our website for more information and a comprehensive list of course pricing. Alternatively, if the course is for someone else the team will be happy to provide gift vouchers to use at a later date.

If you want a taste of the action without booking a full day's training make sure you join us at Triumph LIVE at Gaydon Heritage Motor Centre on July 12th where the Triumph Adventure Riding Experience will be providing trial sessions.

Contact the Triumph Adventure Riding Experience team on 01531 650252 to book or visit www.trailquestadventure.com for more information on courses.

APRILIA STARTS THE NEW WSBK SEASON WITH ONE WIN AND TWO PODIUMS.

GUINTOLI TRIUMPHS IN RACE 2 AT PHILLIP ISLAND AND SHOOTS TO THE TOP OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP. APRILIA – REIGNING CHAMPION – IS NUMBER ONE IN THE MANUFACTURER STANDINGS. MELANDRI SECOND IN RACE 1 AND THIRD IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP.

Phillip Island (Australia), 23 February 2014 - On the Australian Phillip Island track for the opening round of the 2014 World Superbike season, Aprilia wins with Sylvain Guintoli in Race 2, takes two podiums in Race 1 and immediately takes back the top spot in both the Rider and Manufacturer standings. It was an extraordinary weekend for the Aprilia Racing RSV4s, key players in both races.

The first part revolved around the duel between the two Aprilia standard bearers, Melandri and Guintoli, along with Irishman Laverty who, after making a comeback on the leading pack which also included Giugliano for a long time, kept his rivals in check in the final laps. Marco Melandri made an excellent second place finish, crossing the line just ahead of his team mate Guintoli (third) who had led the pack at the beginning stages of the race for a long time, however costing him wear on his tyre so that in the final laps he had nothing left on the rear to be able to fend off Laverty's attacks.

In Race 2 the leading pack also included Rea, Baz and Sykes, making a comeback from the rear spots. Guintoli led the first part of the race and after being overtaken by fellow leaders Baz and Laverty once, he took back the lead in the 12th lap. Two laps later an engine failure for Laverty - riding second at the time behind he French Aprilia rider - with a consequent oil spill on the track, forced Laverty to withdraw and the marshals to suspend the race. This meant that the finishing order was decided by the last lap completed which had Guintoli winning in front of Baz and Sykes.

With this performance the Frenchman provides an encore of last year's success (also with the Aprilia RSV4) and, thanks to his third place in Race 1, puts him in the lead for the Rider Championship. Sylvain's win and Melandri's second place in Race 1 place Aprilia at the top of the Manufacturer standings, an excellent bounty for the new season.

After his nice second place in the first race Melandri had a bit of a moment during the eighth lap of the second race, running on after braking too hard and having to re-enter the track in 14th place. From there he made a bold comeback to finish in eighth place, earning 8 points that put him in third place in the rider standings.

Sylvain Guintoli: “In Race 1 maybe I had a little too much faith. I started off strong and toward the end I lost the right feeling with my rear tyre. The conditions were much different than they had been over the last few days but we did a good job anyway. In the second race I tried to look after my tyre and it worked. If I think about everything that happened during the winter I can't help but be pleased with our weekend. I'm finally back on the top step of the podium. I want to thank the guys who looked after me during my recovery. I'm pretty tired now but I'll have a month to recover before the next round”.

Marco Melandri: “Race 1 went well. I got off to a good start and then I was able to ride smoothly in the first few laps to conserve my tyres for the end. Unfortunately after the halfway point the bike was sliding around a lot. I wasn't able to be incisive so when Eugene took the lead I preferred holding onto second place. In Race 2 I wanted to use the same tactics again but to overtake Rea I braked harder than usual and the rear wheel came up so I was forced to run on. I'm disappointed because I threw away some important points. I'm sure I still need more experience adjusting to the way the bike reacts and adapting the settings to my riding style. The track conditions also brought out some problems that I had never had before. Now I need to get a handle on the situation so that I'm ready for the next race”.

A NICE SECOND BEST TIME FOR MELANDRI AND GUINTOLI LAGGING A BIT OPEN APRILIA'S 2014 WORLD SUPERBIKE SEASON.

FIRST DAY OF PRACTICE AT PHILLIP ISLAND WITH THE MORNING SESSION THWARTED BY BAD WEATHER AND A VERY HEATED AFTERNOON SESSION.

Phillip Island (Australia), 21 February 2014 – This is just the first day of practice in a World SBK championship that promises to be well balanced, long and exciting. But the Friday practice and qualifiers that were held on the magnificent Australian circuit at Phillip Island put the first rankings on the record.

The Aprilia Racing Team took to the track for the first time with the RSV4 in its new silver livery which has already gained popularity with fans and the team.

Melandri, in his first round with the Aprilia RSV4 reigning Manufacturer World Champion, put a nice second best time on the boards. After the first morning session that was basically abandoned due to the wet asphalt and changing weather conditions that hindered a decisive choice for bike setups, the games got underway in the afternoon session. Melandri lapped quite a bit (20 laps), working on various setups and trying several technical solutions in anticipation of Saturday's Superpole and – above all – the races on Sunday. It was only in the last few minutes that he went out on the track with his sights set on a fast time and he hit the bullseye with a 1’31.137, just 37 thousandths of a second behind Lowes and ahead of Giugliano, Sykes, Rea and Laverty.

Marco Melandri: “This was not an easy day because of the weather, but it was definitely positive. Even with only one session we managed to follow the scheduled testing programme with good results. There is still room for improvement in many areas, but we are able to lap fast easily and that is a good starting point for Sunday's races. Tomorrow I'll try to focus efforts on speed and on the fast lap for qualifying because with times as close as they are starting as far up front as possible will be important”.

The day didn't go quite as well for Sylvain Guintoli, winner on this track at the world championship's opening race last season. In the 16 laps he put in the best time the Frenchman put on the boards was 1,31.759 which relegates him to tenth place, although the gap is just 66 hundredths of a second from the leader. The French rider took advantage of the session to try out a few setup solutions on his RSV4, identifying the path he needs to follow in the weekend ahead. The small gaps (the top 11 are all within less than a second of one another) is indicative of just how well balanced this Superbike season is right from the start.

Sylvain Guintoli: “The first day went well. I was trying to confirm a few setups that we had to try before the race, so we used this session to check them. I wasn't looking for a top time. Besides, the strong wind bothered my riding quite a bit. Tomorrow we'll try to pick up the pace now that we know which direction to go. We need to prepare as best as possible for two long and difficult races”.