Two-thirds of motorists are guilty of the bad habits that annoy them the most when driving, according to new research.

A study of drivers across the UK and Ireland found that 65 percent admit to dangerous or discourteous behaviours such as using a phone while driving or leaving full-beam headlights on, despite finding such acts annoying when committed by other road users.

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More than one in five (22 percent) said they were guilty of failing to indicate, while a similar number confessed to inconsiderate parking and driving far too slowly.

Not saying thank you (13 percent), tailgating (19 percent) and not being let through when you have right of way (17 percent) were also cited as common annoying bad habits.

Perhaps more worryingly, though, 19 percent admitted that they use their mobile phones while driving, in spite of the fact that it irritates them when other people commit the offence, which is punishable by up to six penalty points and a £200 fine.

Young drivers were the most likely to be guilty, with 32 percent of 25-34-year-olds and 21 percent of 18-24-year-olds saying they occasionally used their handheld phones behind the wheel.

Surprisingly, however, the over-65s were the third most likely culprits, with 20 percent owning up to the dangerous habit.

Just 35 percent of those questioned said they were never guilty of any discourteous or dangerous behaviours behind the wheel.

Neil Smith, operations director at Imperial Cars, which commissioned the survey, said: ‘It was interesting to see the extent of hypocrisy amongst drivers with large percentages of road users irritated by habits, that they themselves do, on a frequent basis.’

‘The thing that really stood out for us was the use of mobile phones whilst driving in the top five hypocritical driving habits, despite the government enforcing stricter laws last year. Whilst these habits can be seen as annoying, it is still important to revaluate our driving at times to avoid causing real danger on the roads.’