British motorists 'ripped off'

More than half of British motorists think that the government is trying to price them off the road, according to an annual survey conducted by Admiral.

The insurance firm polled 2500 British motorists and discovered that more than 90 per cent of them believe they are being ripped off by the current cost of fuel, with more than half blaming the government for this. Others blamed oil companies, petrol retailers and world affairs for high prices at forecourts.

Other findings in the survey include the fact that only one in three motorists are concerned about the damage their car does to the environment. Just one per cent of motorists own a hybrid car and of them, almost four out of five say they own one because of environmental reasons.

Of those who do not own a hybrid car, just one in four said that they would consider paying extra to buy an environmentally friendly car.

On the current state of British roads, one in five people said they had had their car damaged as a result of hitting a pothole. More than 20 per cent of people would be willing to pay extra tax if they knew the money would be spent improving the roads.

According to the survey, one in three British motorists find it more stressful driving now than one year ago. More than two thirds of motorists have admitted to feeling anger towards other motorists while driving, the most annoying things being tailgating, not indicating, cutting up and not paying attention.

When asked about what rules they have recently ignored, 58 per cent of motorists - and almost two thirds of men - claim to ignore speed limits. A total of five per cent of people have admitted to not wearing seat belts and seven per cent to using their mobile phones.

Almost half of British motorists believe it is not safe to drive when you drink any amount of alcohol. One in four people admit to have driven the morning after heavily drinking when they suspected they were still over the drink drive limit.

Only half of British Motorists passed their driving test at the first attempt and, when asked if they would pass their test if they had to re-sit it today, only 60 per cent felt confident that they would. Almost half of motorists also believe that the age for legal driving should be increased from 17 to 18.

Niki Sorabjee