20% Of Drivers Abandon Cars

High fuel and insurance costs cause 20% of drivers to abandon their cars

The soaring cost of motoring has led around one in five drivers to abandon their cars in favour of other forms of transport according to a new survey. The study revealed that around 14% of UK drivers have stopped using their cars altogether, while 7% had switched to either a scooter or a motorbike.

The study ties in with figures released by Green Flag which showed the number of call outs to their breakdown service rose by 40% in January and by 50% in half term - the  company say they're being called out to more fuel-related breakdowns because motorists are going to petrol stations and filling up with the same amount of fuel as last year, but getting less petrol for their money.

In addition to changing their transport habits, the survey found that drivers are also changing the way they drive. More than half of the drivers questioned admitted to changing their driving habits as a result of soaring costs, with 58% admitting to driving slower and 46% admitting to shopping around for fuel.

'Rising petrol prices are having a massive impact on household budgets and consequently having a dramatic impact on driver behaviours. For many drivers, owning a vehicle is a necessity rather than a luxury, so they are being forced into driving more fuel economically or switching to more fuel efficient modes of transportation in the face of rising prices,' commented head of Green Flag Henry Topham.

The survey also found that 42% of motorists now walk to more destinations than they did 12 months ago and found that 14% of drivers plan to sell their car or switch to more fuel efficient designs if petrol prices continue to rise.

New figures out this week show that the average cost of a litre of unleaded petrol now stands at around 136 pence per litre, with the AA predicting a rise in prices in the next few weeks. The motoring group has reported that a rebound in oil prices in the past 3 weeks is due to drip through to motorists and has been quick to criticise fuel retailers for passing rising oil prices through to consumers much more quickly than falling fuel prices.