aa3 Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 http://www.cheapcarinsurance.co.uk/2011/07/06/rising-motoring-costs-drive-1-3-million-brits-off-the-road/ More than a million people have given up driving over the past year because of the rising costs of owning a car, new research has found.According to Sainsbury's Finance, 1.3 million people have stopped using a car altogether, while more than three-quarters of motorists have changed their driving habits to save money. More than a quarter of drivers revealed they do not fill up their petrol tank fully, while 45 per cent said they have been driving less in the last 12 months. Other cost-saving measures include car sharing and downgrading to a model that is cheaper to run - named by seven and ten per cent of drivers respectively. Ben Tyte, head of motor insurance at Sainsbury's Finance, said: "We estimate the average motorist has an annual fuel bill of over £1,700, a 22.9 per cent year-on-year increase, which underlines just how hard the rising cost of motoring is affecting people. "The average annual cost of running a car is now just over £3,000 a year, 21 per cent higher than a year ago," he added. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aa3 Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 My comments: This might be an overestimate.. but I definately feel there are less cars on the road now than a few years ago. There is this one long light and when things were not as bad in the economy, it would always take me 3 cycles of the light to get through. Now I make it through on the first cycle 9 times out of 10. A simple calculation I did was the cost of running a car versus the disposable income people have. At some point the two lines cross for the average person and they can no longer afford to run a car. For many families this might mean going from 2 cars down to 1. And for many/most younger people, never getting a car in the first place. While elderly people who do have a car, die off. A thread a few days ago said that the government revenues on fuel tax were £685 million pounds lower than expected, so definately people are driving less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrFlibble Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 http://www.cheapcarinsurance.co.uk/2011/07/06/rising-motoring-costs-drive-1-3-million-brits-off-the-road/ Good, there are way too many people gumming up my commute and filling my lungs full of diesel fumes when I go out for a stroll. Should also be good for peoples health as they discover they actually have legs and can walk to places without the aide of a 2tn overcoat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidcameron Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 So a long term government policy that is actually working. The fuel price escalator does it's job and we can now look forward to lower CO2 emissions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffy666 Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 My comments: This might be an overestimate.. but I definately feel there are less cars on the road now than a few years ago. There is this one long light and when things were not as bad in the economy, it would always take me 3 cycles of the light to get through. Now I make it through on the first cycle 9 times out of 10. Noticed on the A367 into Bath is less and less congested, and it's about the only route in for anyone south of Bath.. There seems to be a lot more bicycles around as well. It'll be even more interesting when the MoD cuts start biting. The interesting thing is that less congestion automatically means less fuel consumption. I've just gone from a car averaging 28mpg on the commute to one currently averaging 45mpg, and from what I gather the second hand trade is currently swamped with unsaleable big-petrol-engined cars; there is also the effect that fuel economy on like-for-like cars - the current fiesta 1.25 gets 10mpg better then the 2000 version, and the popularity of new diesels means that big petrol engined cars are becoming rarities - Autotrader seeing 23 2-year old petrol Mondeos and 170 diesels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libspero Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Britain 2020 China 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PopGun Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 My comments: This might be an overestimate.. but I definately feel there are less cars on the road now than a few years ago. There is this one long light and when things were not as bad in the economy, it would always take me 3 cycles of the light to get through. Now I make it through on the first cycle 9 times out of 10. A simple calculation I did was the cost of running a car versus the disposable income people have. At some point the two lines cross for the average person and they can no longer afford to run a car. For many families this might mean going from 2 cars down to 1. And for many/most younger people, never getting a car in the first place. While elderly people who do have a car, die off. A thread a few days ago said that the government revenues on fuel tax were £685 million pounds lower than expected, so definately people are driving less. Or less people are commuting/traveling due to unemployment!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aa3 Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 Unemployment has to be a factor. For example if a call center with 500 workers shuts down, all those people are not commuting to and from work each day. With less money coming in, they are making less trips to buy various things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgia O'Keeffe Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Unemployment has to be a factor. For example if a call center with 500 workers shuts down, all those people are not commuting to and from work each day. With less money coming in, they are making less trips to buy various things. they should print some money so people can buy more petrol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickincash Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 they should print some money so people can buy more petrol They will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PopGun Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Unemployment has to be a factor. For example if a call center with 500 workers shuts down, all those people are not commuting to and from work each day. Indeed and in some cases, high commuting costs renders employment economically unviable for many workers. With less money coming in, they are making less trips to buy various things. It really is that simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyOne Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 So a long term government policy that is actually working. The fuel price escalator does it's job and we can now look forward to lower CO2 emissions. And a less democratic society in which only the rich and the political class can enjoy the convenience of private travel while the less well off are forced into overcrowded and unreliable public transport. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowflux Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Why is buying a car that is cheaper to run referred to as "downgrading"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Indeed and in some cases, high commuting costs renders employment economically unviable for many workers. It really is that simple. I am seeing less of the 'white van man'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyOne Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Why is buying a car that is cheaper to run referred to as "downgrading"? Because car salesmen are as shameless as EAs and control the language that people use : they want you to spend as much as you can to make their commissions larger. It is similar to EAs who ask about your "budget" with the implication that you cannot afford to spend any more than that on a house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowflux Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 And a less democratic society in which only the rich and the political class can enjoy the convenience of private travel while the less well off are forced into overcrowded and unreliable public transport. Depends how you look at it. These days, if you don't have a car, life is very difficult. If fewer people had cars, these would be more shops and facilities accessible by foot and public transport, which, I'd argue, is more democratic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahBell Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Oldham has more cars than ever. Rush hour starts about 2pm. I don't know where all the people are going! Do we have a higher % of mobility cars than elsewhere? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 And a less democratic society in which only the rich and the political class can enjoy the convenience of private travel while the less well off are forced into overcrowded and unreliable public transport. ...and tell me why should public transport be expensive, overcrowded and unreliable...that is what needs to be fixed, then many more would want to use it......more freight should be transported by train also, that would clear alot of unnecessary congestion off the roads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyOne Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Depends how you look at it. These days, if you don't have a car, life is very difficult. If fewer people had cars, these would be more shops and facilities accessible by foot and public transport, which, I'd argue, is more democratic. A fair point. There is certainly a timing and possibly a cost problem. A restructuring of our transportation infrastructure along the lines that you are talking about will probably take a generation and could cost more than we can afford. That said, I am in favour of debt being used to fund actual investment (not in the Labour meaning of the word) which could accelerate the process. A parallel strategy ought to be to try to make road traffic in the UK move at an average speed as close to the speed limit as possible. It seems that our current road policy is to create as much stop and start traffic as possible which uses more fuel, causes more emissions and requires the replacement of parts more frequently with the associated depletion of resources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyOne Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 ...and tell me why should public transport be expensive, overcrowded and unreliable...that is what needs to be fixed, then many more would want to use it......more freight should be transported by train also, that would clear alot of unnecessary congestion off the roads. Another rule that I would like to see is for vehicles which weight more than 5t or are towing anything to be limited to the two left lanes on three (or more) lane roads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Another rule that I would like to see is for vehicles which weight more than 5t or are towing anything to be limited to the two left lanes on three (or more) lane roads. Fine, but in some places you are lucky if there is one lane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Generation Game Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 I thought about giving up the car this year. It's not the fuel cost, it's the cost of insurance that's hard to justify for the few thousand miles I drive each year. It's group 1, with many years of no-claims, and still costs as much as my annual fuel bill! I have no time for personal injury lawyers or the whole fraudulent insurance system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowflux Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 I thought about giving up the car this year. It's not the fuel cost, it's the cost of insurance that's hard to justify for the few thousand miles I drive each year. It's group 1, with many years of no-claims, and still costs as much as my annual fuel bill! I have no time for personal injury lawyers or the whole fraudulent insurance system. Yes, you're right. The surge in insurance premiums must have forced a few off the road, especially younger drivers. I'm a low mileage driver too, and at some point it may well be worth getting rid of the car and using hire cars, taxis, bicycle, etc instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 There is a good scheme whereby for less than the cost of some town centre car parks a coach picks up shoppers from small villages and takes them into town each week on market day, it stays there for two or three hours and takes them home with their weekly shopping....a big benefit for the town, a benefit for the coach company, a benefit for traffic congestion, a benefit for the shopper......winners all round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Loo Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Yes, you're right. The surge in insurance premiums must have forced a few off the road, especially younger drivers. I'm a low mileage driver too, and at some point it may well be worth getting rid of the car and using hire cars, taxis, bicycle, etc instead. its a mystery why insurance has soared...I mean, every dealer I look at, their range has been built to make the cost of repairs as low as possible....bolt on panels, special bouncing materials....in this last respect, my daughter was hit in the rear in her C1....it looked mess, until in disgust i gave it a kick and a tug et voila...it all popped back into place.....from a mess to pristine in seconds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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