Are you one of the 76 percent of people who need to Drive to Survive?

The cost of living is sadly coming to an apparently historic high. Many of us are having to get creative with the bill paying and prioritise what’s essential.

Research we did earlier this year showed that many people were choosing to park the car and walk to save cash – but what if that’s not a possibility? What about those people who need their car to commute, or do their job?

We decided to take a look at exactly how many people that applied to, to see the scale of the issue. We anticipated that it would be pretty high – but even we were shocked when the results came in.

It turns out that 76 percent of British drivers rely on their car to be able to work. Whether that’s to do the commute, or because a work vehicle is physically needed to conduct business, that’s a lot of people.

The study shows that the 18-34 year old age group are the most adversely affected, with a massive 84 percent stating that they need their car to work. The 35-55 year old age group was only slightly behind at 75 percent – and even the over 55s (some of whom may well be retired) showed that 65 percent needed to use their car to stay in work.

The research is particularly worrying in the context of other household bills being pushed higher than ever recorded. Many UK drivers need to drive to survive – and so will be forced to look at how they can cut grocery or heating bills instead.

The study showed that overwhelmingly people needed to drive to survive across the UK, but there were some slight geographic variations.

    • Glasgow is the city with the most people reliant on their cars for work, with 90% stating they need to run their car for work
    • Sheffield was just behind, with 89% of those surveyed saying their car was essential to their ability to work
    • Birmingham ranked third, witn 86% needing their car
    • Brighton, Edinburgh, and Newcastle all had over 80% of their drivers saying they needed to drive for work
    • Nottingham was the least affected city, with 59% needing their vehicle

Our founder, Nick Zapolski, said that the research suggests that many people will face difficult decisions ahead.

“Our study proves that many people in the UK do need to drive to survive. They don’t have the luxury of deciding to leave their car off the road, so they’re forced to pay still too high fuel prices on top of everything else that’s going up in price.

“There are very concerning times ahead, and the working people of Britain will be the most affected.”

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