Grey fleet threat from cost-of-living crisis

Fleets are being warned that inflation and the cost-of-living crisis are causing young drivers not to maintain their cars properly.

New research from the RAC shows that a quarter of young drivers aged 17-24 (26%) say they have put off necessary repairs to their cars to save money while nearly three-in-10 (28%) are not servicing their vehicles as frequently as they should.

Some 17% also admit to taking the dangerous decision to avoid replacing their tyres.

The comparison to drivers of all ages is stark as only around one-in-10 (8%) say they have made these cutbacks.

Overall, 38% of drivers say they have reduced their spending on their cars, whether that’s switching to a cheaper insurer (19%), servicing their vehicles less (12%) or putting off needed repairs (11%).

However, in sharp contrast nearly two-thirds (64%) of young drivers aged 17-24 say they have made some form of motoring cutbacks.

Most concerning of all from a road safety perspective is the fact that 6% of this age group admit to the illegal step of deliberately avoiding putting their cars through their annual MOT.

Furthermore, 9% of young drivers admit to having stopped servicing their vehicles altogether.

The research also found that 69% of drivers surveyed found the cost of servicing and repairing their vehicles has risen in the past year (62% in 2022).

This figure rises dramatically to more than three-quarters of those under 25 (77%), which shows just how much of an impact rising prices are having on young drivers in particular.

The parts of the UK that have felt the effects of these increases the most are the South West (76%) and Wales (76%) and London (70%).

The RAC’s study also found that nine-in-10 (87%) young drivers questioned had made changes to the way they use their vehicles to save money, compared to three-quarters (76%) of drivers of all ages.

Nearly half (46%) said they were avoiding more expensive fuel stations while a similar proportion (48%) claimed to have been driving more efficiently to make their fuel last as long as possible. And, more than a third (35%) said they had cut down on the number of long-distance trips they make.

RAC breakdown spokesperson Rod Dennis said: “It’s clear from the findings of our research that inflation and the cost-of-living crisis are causing drivers to cut back on car repairs, which will almost certainly lead to an overall reduction in the roadworthiness of vehicles using the roads.

“But the sheer extent to which younger drivers are being affected by rising prices is also a major cause for concern.

“Many will be in older, cheaper vehicles anyway meaning the risks of something going wrong if they don’t look after them properly could be higher than for the general driving population.”

In the past year, an average of five people were killed on our roads every day. It is also the case that young drivers are much more likely to be involved in collisions – in fact, young men aged between 17 and 24 are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured compared with all car drivers aged over 25.

“This is why the RAC continues to oppose Government proposals to increase the gap between mandatory MOTs for older vehicles from 12 months to two years,” continued Dennis.

“This was being billed as a cost-saving to drivers, but we strongly believe it would likely lead to an increase in the number of unroadworthy vehicles in circulation and could very well prove to be a false economy as a result of problems going undetected for longer, and ultimately costing more to repair.”