Owning a vehicle ‘essential to life’, say drivers
New research has revealed the extent to which we rely on our cars, with a surprisingly high proportion of motorists labelling them as a necessity.
In the poll, carried out on 2,000 people by InsuretheGap.com, 79 per cent of respondents claimed owning a vehicle was 'essential for everyday life'.
This rose even higher when looking at drivers in rural areas, with 85 per cent of this demographic saying being able to drive was an absolute must.
When asked why, 57 per cent of under-65s pointed out that they would not be able to get to work without a car, a figure that rose to nearly 60 per cent of under-34s.
There were regional differences though, with a whopping 90 per cent of respondents in the West Midlands labelling their car as essential compared to only 64 per cent of Londoners.
Problems with public transport were cited as another major reason for reliance on cars, with 48 per cent of those polled saying buses and trains in their area are unreliable. Again, this increased to 69 per cent in rural areas.
The research certainly highlights how government initiatives to remove cars from our roads in a bid to decrease their environmental impact might not sit well with many, particularly with public transport so sketchy.
Ben Wooltorton from InsuretheGap.com said: "When over half of people need a car just to get to work, we aren't going to be consigning cars to the past quite yet."
The research coincides with another interesting poll by CAT Autokeys, which discovered there has been a record decline in the number of teenagers learning to drive lately. Indeed, there are around 40 per cent fewer 17 to 20-year-olds with driving licences now than was the case in the 1990s.
This was attributed to a shift from 'car culture' to 'mobility culture' – but it doesn't seem to tally well with the survey above.
Unless, of course, millennials are relying on self-driving cars becoming the future of motoring and car owners being able to sit back and enjoy the ride…