Why some motorists are avoiding MOTs and using faulty tyres

Gareth Herincx

33 mins ago
Auto News

MOT testing station

New data from the RAC reveals that 20% of UK drivers under the age of 44 have cut costs by skipping legally required MOTs or delaying tyre replacements, raising significant safety concerns.

The cost-of-living crisis has also driven 19% of all drivers to reduce or halt car servicing and repairs entirely.

For younger drivers, the trend is even more pronounced, with more than a third of under-25s admitting to deferring essential car maintenance.

Bald, worn and damaged tyres - © Gareth Herincx

Across all age groups, one in 10 drivers have neglected to replace worn tyres or skipped MOTs, both critical measures to ensure road safety for the UK’s 42 million vehicles.

Failing to carry out routine maintenance and repairs to save money could also prove to be a false economy when a vehicle breaks down and owners are then faced with a big repair bill.

This is borne out by six-in-10 (59%) drivers facing unexpected repair costs for their main vehicle over the past 12 months. The average total amount spent on these repairs was £617.

“It’s very worrying that so many drivers under the age of 44 appear to have risked breaking the law by not putting their vehicles through the MOT and running them on tyres that should have been replaced, all in an attempt to save some money,” said RAC breakdown spokesperson Simon Williams.

“Safety on our roads is paramount. The MOT is a legal requirement for good reason. Skipping it jeopardises the safety of all road users, including the driver.”

Check Also


Young Driver Josh Burford

Expert tips for passing your driving test aged 17

The average learner driver now has 45 lessons in order to pass their driving test …

Busiest August bank holiday on record predicted

Gareth Herincx

45 mins ago
Auto News

Motorway traffic

The RAC reckons the August bank holiday weekend will be the busiest in nine years with an estimated 19.2m leisure journeys by car as drivers go ‘day trip crazy’.

Saturday 24 August is set to be the busiest on the roads with 3.7m getaway trips planned, slightly ahead of the 3m journeys planned every day on Friday (3.2m), Sunday (3.1m) and Bank Holiday Monday (3m).

Additionally, a massive 6.2m trips are planned at some point over the last long summer weekend of the year, with drivers undecided exactly when they’ll travel.

The 19.2m figure is the highest number of ‘getaway’ trips predicted for the August Bank Holiday since the RAC began recording data for this weekend in 2015.

The RAC’s research also found an overwhelming majority of journeys will be day trips, with 84% of respondents saying they will be using their car for days out.

Just 10% of drivers say they will be setting off on holiday in the UK or abroad and 6% will be returning home from a staycation or a foreign holiday.

Transport analytics specialists INRIX expect delays to last all day on both Friday 23 and Saturday 24 August, with the worst times to travel between 10am and 6pm on Friday and 10am and 1pm on Saturday.

Drivers are advised to make journeys on Friday evening after 6pm when the worst of the commuter traffic is over, or after 2pm on Saturday following the lunchtime rush.

“Seaside resorts, airports and theme parks are likely to be amongst some of the most popular destinations, along with attractions such as Leeds Festival, and routes in Kent will also be busier as people head to Europe via the ports for some last-minute sun,” said National Network manager at National Highways Dale Hipkiss.

Check Also


1927 Bugatti Type 35 B

Bugatti’s greatest racer celebrates centenary

The Bugatti Type 35, one of the world’s most successful and best-known pre-war racing cars, …

It’s official – UK has most expensive diesel in Europe

Gareth Herincx

21 mins ago
Auto News

Service station, May 2024

The average price of diesel at UK pumps is now higher than anywhere else in Europe, according to new data from the RAC.

Despite the current 5p-a-litre fuel duty discount introduced in March 2022, the average price of 155p is 5p more expensive than both Ireland and Belgium, for instance.

Although duty on both petrol and diesel was cut from 57.95p to 52.95p in spring 2022 to ease the burden of rapidly rising fuel prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the UK still has the highest rate of duty on diesel in Europe alongside Italy.

Despite this, diesel in Italy is still currently 7p cheaper than the UK, at an average of 148p a litre

France’s duty rate is only the equivalent of a penny lower than the UK (52p) but its average price for diesel is 9p less at 146p.

“Having the most expensive diesel in Europe despite the current 5p duty cut is a very dubious honour,” said RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams.

“This is explained by RAC Fuel Watch calculations which show the average retailer margin on diesel – that’s the difference between the delivered wholesale price and the retail price before VAT – is 18p. That’s a shocking 10p more than the long-term average of 8p.

“We can see no good reason why retailers in Great Britain aren’t cutting their prices at the pumps.

“It’s important to note that in Northern Ireland, where there is greater competition for fuels in the absence of supermarket dominance, the average price of diesel is just 144.9p – 10p less than the UK average, and petrol is 6p cheaper at 142.4p.”

By way of comparison, the UK’s petrol is only the 11th most expensive in Europe at an average of 149p. The priciest petrol can be found in Denmark at an average of 175p. That said, duty in Denmark is far higher than in the UK – the equivalent of 59p, with VAT at 25%.

Check Also


Porsche Taycan, Shelsley Walsh

Porsche Taycan sets new benchmark at Shelsley Walsh

The all-electric Porsche Taycan has claimed two records at the world’s oldest motorsport venue. In …

Most drivers think headlights are too bright

Headlights glare

New research has found that 85% of motorists think the problem of headlight glare is getting worse.

An RAC survey of 2,000 drivers found a huge nine-in-10 (89%) think at least some headlights on cars on the road today are too bright, of which three-in-10 (28%) – a higher proportion than ever – think most are.

Of the all these drivers who complain about the brightness of car headlights, some 91% say they get dazzled when driving with three-quarters (74%) saying this happens regularly.

The RAC is now calling on the Government to commission an independent study into the issue of headlight glare after the research also found that 85% of those affected believe the problem is getting worse.

When it comes to the effects of glare on drivers, two-in-three (67%) who suffer say they have to slow down considerably until they can see clearly again, while a similar proportion (64%) believe some headlights are so bright they risk causing accidents. In fact, five per cent of these drivers state they have nearly been involved in a collision themselves.

Alarmingly, nearly one-in-10 (7%) say they find headlight glare so bad that they avoid driving at night altogether, a figure that rises to 14% for drivers aged 65 and over.

As part of its study, the RAC asked drivers to estimate how long it takes them to see clearly again after getting dazzled by other drivers’ lights, while 68% say it takes between one and five seconds, one-in-10 (11%) say it takes six or more – which, staggeringly, is enough for a driver travelling at 60mph to cover 160 metres, the equivalent of 40 car lengths.

The reasons drivers perceive headlight glare to be such an issue are less clear, although an overwhelming 87% of dazzled drivers think it is mainly due to the fact some lights just appear much brighter.

This could be as a result of the increasing prevalence of cars fitted with LED headlights, leading to a much more intense and focused beam that the human eye reacts differently to, compared to a conventional ‘yellower’ halogen bulb. While LED headlights are great for improving a driver’s view of the road ahead, this can be to the detriment of other road users who encounter them.

However, more than four-in-10 (44%) think the dazzling is caused by badly aligned headlights.

The increasing popularity of cars that sit higher on the road, especially SUVs, may also be a factor with those in conventional cars such as hatchbacks, saloons or estates suffering the most.

Government collision statistics shows that since 2013, there has been an average of 280 collisions a year where dazzling headlights were a contributory factor. Of these, six a year involved someone losing their life. The actual number may be higher if an investigation was unable to determine whether or not a collision was directly or indirectly caused by the glare from another vehicle’s headlights.

End of an era: Just 3% of new cars come with a spare wheel

Gareth Herincx

14 hours ago
Auto News

Flat tyre

A review of 313 new cars across 28 brands by the RAC found that just eight models came with a spare wheel as standard.

The trend means there are an increasing number of breakdowns where drivers need help in the event of a unrepairable flat tyre.

The dramatic decline of the spare wheel has had a stark effect on RAC breakdown call-out volumes with patrols going out to nearly 200,000 jobs last year where drivers experienced a puncture but found they had no spare wheel (up from around 165,000 in 2018).

And the situation is not going to change with the advent of electric vehicles either, with cars needing to use the space that in some cases was once the home of the humble spare wheel to accommodate battery packs.

Spare wheels have increasingly fallen out of favour with car manufacturers as tougher legislation demanded that they do all they can to reduce emissions.

With a spare wheel easily adding up to 20kg to the overall weight of a vehicle, removing them from the standard list of equipment supplied with a new car has been an easy change for manufacturers to make to increase fuel efficiency.

space saver spare wheel

“Getting a puncture on a journey has to be one of the most irritating breakdowns for drivers, especially if it’s as a result of hitting one of the plethora of potholes that currently characterise so many of our roads,” said RAC Breakdown spokesman Rod Dennis.

“In the past, a driver could have reached for the spare wheel in the boot but this new analysis shows that these are now pretty much a thing of the past, with a minuscule number of new cars sold in the UK coming with one as standard.

“Interestingly, in many cases drivers ordering a new car can still buy a spare wheel – whether that’s a full-size one or the more common lightweight ‘space saver’ type – as an optional extra. This might turn out to be a wise investment if you are one of the many drivers who unfortunately suffers a puncture.”

Check Also


Vinnie Jones chooses Isuzu D-MAX AT35

Vinnie Jones chooses Isuzu D-MAX AT35

Actor, TV personality and former footballer Vinnie Jones has chosen the Isuzu D-Max AT35 with …