In fact, in excess of 2 million UK motorists (7 per cent) have had an accident, near miss, or momentarily lost control of their car as a result of sneezing while driving, whilst almost 60% have, at some point, looked away from the road to search for a tissue. But did you know that air conditioning can help?

According to Kwik-Fit, a car’s air conditioning system can provide a defence against pollen, but to be effective the system needs an air conditioning service regularly and the pollen filter changed at least once a year, even more so if the car is often parked under trees.

“All too often, air conditioning units are ignored from one summer to the next,” says David White, customer services director at Kwik-Fit, “But air-con is most efficient if it’s used frequently and serviced regularly.

“As the weather gets warmer, motorists quickly realise that their air-con isn’t functioning as well as it could. But if you’re a hay fever sufferer with a fit of the sneezes, the incentive to have your system serviced is even greater – the benefits aren’t to be sniffed at.”