We’ve all been there: sat in traffic after a long day at work and thinking ‘aren’t there more cars on the road today than usual?’ In fact, it seems there are more cars on the road than ever before, not just in the UK, but across the world.
Recent data from insurer Direct Line shows how two or more vehicles has become the norm in car-owning households. Whereas traditionally, a family would share a car, there are now many reasons that families would own two, three or even four cars.
The company looked at 3.7m car insurance policy holders and found 47% had two cars, 16% had three cars and 6% had four cars on their driveway.
The reasons for this include the fact that the notion and workings of the ‘family’ has changed considerably over the last 50 years; no longer do women stay at home, but many now go out to work. Also, teenagers take longer to flee the nest due to large rental and purchase property prices, and as a result they will buy cars and stay with their parents for longer. As a result, a household may be struggling for parking if they don’t have a driveway.
Men vs Women
Interestingly, gender differences in car ownership was also highlighted in this study. It found that women typically drove a 1.6-litre car, and men owned a 1.7-litre vehicle. This differs from the ‘stereotype’ that man (or ‘dad’) drives the bigger car, as one in six (16%) women in the study stated that they drive a car with at least two litres of engine power. The variety of cars we have on the road is therefore vast and cannot be pigeonholed to one kind of consumer particularly.
More cars on the road
It’s clear that there are more cars on the road than ever before, and in fact, it seems the last decade has seen the fastest growth, with almost 32 million cars being driven. It’s not just the changing workings of the family that has given us a reason to see more cars being driven on our UK roads. Increased new car registrations and longer lasting older cars were both other reasons for this increase, according to this report. Not only this, but the ability for consumers to spread the cost of regular car maintenance makes car ownership much more affordable than it ever was, so it is not surprising that people are running cars for longer than they used to.
Keeping cars safe
More cars on the road don’t necessarily mean more accidents, but it does mean that we all have to be more vigilant and careful with our driving.
One of the most important things you can do as a motorist is to keep your car in a good condition, take it to its MOT on time, and repair any damage as soon as you see it. If your car is deemed not roadworthy, it makes sense to scrap it, rather than leaving it to rust on your driveway. BMS Salvage can help you scrap your car for cash quickly and easily.