Cheryl Cole the UK’s Dream Passenger for Bridgestone Surveyed

Cheryl Cole has already proved herself adept at miming vacuous pop songs, judging televised karaoke, climbing mountains, putting up with a widely despised husband and generally being a National Sweetheart (not to mention allegedly being a bit handy in a scrap), but who would have thought the tiny-framed totty would also be named the UK’s ideal driving companion? In a recent survey by Bridgestone, one in three motorists cited her as their favourite celebrity to share a ride with.

It seems David Beckham has lost his appeal, as he came in with only 11 per cent of the vote, while nearly half of male drivers (44 per cent) admit Cheryl Cole is the person they would most like to have sitting in their passenger seat. Most female motorists (42 per cent) selected “Chav’s Intellectual”, Stephen Fry, suggesting quite interesting conversation is the ideal quality in a driving buddy for the fairer sex.

Bridgestone talked to 4,000 drivers to find out what they love most about driving and what drives them around the bend. Although in the midst of a recession, the manufacturer says that the country is still a nation passionate about motoring; in fact nearly three quarters of those surveyed (72 per cent) admit the recession has not affected how often they drive.

Andy Dingley, senior analyst at Bridgestone said: “It would appear that regardless of the pressures which UK motorists face today, we still like driving in our cars! Perhaps as a nation we are so attached to our cars that recession or not we rely on them for so much day to day that it would take more than a credit crunch for us to change our driving habits.”

Only 14 per cent of those questioned admitted to being selfish drivers. Nearly one fifth (17 per cent) of men admitted to being ‘egotists behind the wheel’ compared to 8 per cent of women. At the other end of the scale more than half of us (55 per cent) rate ourselves as courteous drivers.

Dingley continued: “Our regional stats show 89 per cent of drivers in Oxford consider themselves to be the most chivalrous motorists in the country, it would appear that road rage isn’t an issue in this University City. Overall the Driving Nation survey gives a light-hearted view of our current attitudes towards motoring and proves that on the whole, the recession has not affected our love affair with motoring.”