North East Drivers 'Struggle With Costs'

5 January 2012, 10:11 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

Nearly a third of drivers in the North East are struggling to be able to afford the cost of running a car.

Around 30% of the region's motorists said they were finding it difficult to afford driving expenses, according to research commissioned by used car search website Motors.co.uk.

The website's latest Driver Satisfaction Index reveals that a staggering 94% of motorists in the region are unhappy with the cost of fuel.

The YouGov poll of more than 2,000 UK adults found that overall, fuel prices and car insurance premiums are the biggest worry for motorists.

When asked about the motoring issues that concerned them the most, an overwhelming 82% of people said fuel prices were the biggest problem.

More than a third (38%) were most concerned with the cost of car insurance, while one in five (19%) said their biggest worry was the state of the roads in their area.

And almost 25% of drivers said they were cutting back on fuel expenditure, while 12% have ramped up their use of public transport in a bid to save money.

More than a quarter (26%) of people said they were reducing the amount they spent on their weekly grocery shop to help them afford the cost of maintaining a car.

The poll also shows a move by Chancellor George Osbourne to freeze the planned hike in fuel duty has failed to win over the support of UK drivers, with 80% saying they believed that the Government was not on the side of the motorist.

What You Say
Kate Emmett from Jesmond got in touch with Capital after hearing this story.

She was made redundant and couldn't afford to own her own car anymore.

(Kate Emmett agrees with the new figures)

Kate's been speaking to Capital reporter Anna Harding about how she gets around without her own car


Phill Jones, commercial director of Motors.co.uk who carried out the research, said:
"For most of us, the car is a necessity and the increasing costs facing motorists are alarming. The car is fundamental to the economy, getting us from A to B in all areas of life, and the evidence is clearly there to suggest that blithely resorting to a temporary freeze in fuel duty is simply not enough.''