Driving despairs? Smell lemons!

The fragrance of the fruit in a car can help improve driving performance in difficult situations.

The panacea for your driving despair may lie in something as ordinary as a lemon, for a study has revealed that the pleasant smell of lemons in a car can help improve driving performance in difficult situations.

A study found the aroma improved braking performance in both men and women, but men also showed an improved ability to direct their driving, position the car effectively on the road and act on verbal driving instructions while exposed to the lemon odour.

But drivers quickly become used to smells, so an intermittent aroma of lemon would be more effective at improving performance than a continual one, researchers said.

Dr Neil Martin, of Middlesex University, told the British Psychological Society: "The results show that drivers dangling air fresheners may do more than scent a car. They might, unwittingly, improve aspects of driving."The research was carried out with 30 men and 30 women using a rally game on a PlayStation console.