Back seat arguments impair your driving as much as alcohol at the legal driving limit, according to a report by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL).
The report revealed reaction times of drivers decreased by an average of 13 per cent when distracting children were in the car, exactly the same as when a driver had an 80mg blood alcohol level, the drink-drive limit.
Dr Nick Reed, a researcher for TRL, said: "There was a noticeable impairment to driving caused simply by the noise of arguing children."
The study also showed distracted drivers braked suddenly 40 per cent more often, and their stress levels increased by over 30 per cent.
In real world driving conditions this would this would add car length to the stopping distance from 70mph.
