The RAC has released figures showing that an estimated 2.9 million abandoned cars (ghost cars) now lie virtually abandoned up and down Great Britain. The motoring organisation’s survey of British households revealed some interesting statistics. One in seven people belong to a household that does have a car, but that vehicle is kept for occasional use only.
It seems almost unbelievable that a third of these rarely used cars are only one or two years old, in other words, they are brand new! Whilst these cars are sat there unused on people’s driveways, they’re also depreciating in value. London was one of the top ‘ghost car’ hot spots, with 20% of residents leaving their cars at home. This probably shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, because the city has a good public transportation system that is a viable alternative to driving yourself from A to B. The other hot spot was the North East of England, where 22% of people leave their cars at home in favour of alternative forms of transport.
The RAC says that according to their survey, 40% of British drivers use their cars less than they did at this time last year, whilst 14% are driving more often. A shocking 45% of those surveyed said that financial concerns were behind their decision to leave their cars at home. This isn’t too much of a surprise given the current economic climate.
It looks as though British drivers might have been bracing themselves for the Government’s fuel duty rise, due to take place in January 2013. However, now that has been scrapped, worried motorists are under less pressure. Those who were considering cancelling their plans to visit friends and family in other parts of the country over the festive period might change their minds. The RAC has been campaigning for Government to scrap the highly unpopular fuel duty rise and it looks like the pressure from the motoring organisation has finally paid off.
The RAC’s technical director, David Bizley had advised that the fuel duty rise would actually harm the economy. He said that reducing fuel duty would actually generate more tax revenue for Treasury. Although we haven’t seen a reduction, many are still celebrating this victory for motorists.
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