Unroadworthy Cars Causing Danger on UK Roads

Over two million* British motorists persistently break the law by driving illegal damaged vehicles, according to research out today by Direct Line Breakdown.

The most common defect is driving with broken lights (eight per cent), missing or cracked wing mirrors (seven per cent) and faulty exhaust pipes (four per cent).

There are strict laws governing the state of repair of vehicles and driving a damaged car can result in three points plus, in some cases, a fine of up to £3000.  In addition, motorists can also be fined for defective seatbelts, wobbly wheel trims, excessive smoke, non standard number plates and broken horns.

Breaking the law is not the only consequence of failing to have repairs done – over one million** motorists have had a car accident because of the disrepair of their car another one million have broken down.

Motorists who have damaged cars are particularly ill informed with 94% saying they are unaware they are breaking the law and a quarter saying they don’t believe the repairs to be urgent. 

Furthermore there is still significant confusion amongst all motorists with over half (53 per cent) saying they were unaware that driving with a broken or missing wing mirror is illegal and four in 10 (41 per cent) said that they didn’t realise driving a car with defective steering is against the law because of the danger this represents to other motorists.

Many motorists blame the fear of cowboy mechanics for not getting the car fixed as they believe garages are untrustworthy and expensive (37 per cent of those needing repairs).  One in eight motorists simply said they believe garages charge too much and they can’t afford the repairs (14 per cent).

Emma Holyer, Direct Line’s Breakdown spokesperson, said:

“Many motorists say they are failing to fix their cars because they can’t find a mechanic they trust but this really isn’t an excuse for driving an illegal car.  By driving a damaged car you could be putting your life and that of other motorists are risk so it’s a pathetic excuse when you think of the potential impact you could have if something was to go wrong whilst you were at the wheel.

“If your concerns about finding a trustworthy garage are stopping you from getting your car fixed we’d advise researching the local garages thoroughly first such as finding out if they have any service standards or certificates plus ask family and friends for recommendations.”

For more information, log on to www.directline.com

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Emma Holyer /Direct Line Press Office
0208 256 2182 / 07725 944190
Email: emma.holyer@directline.com

Notes to Editors:

The research was carried out on behalf of Direct Line motor insurance by YouGov.  A nationally representative sample of 2,410 GB adults were questioned online between 24th to 27th February 2006.  Results are weighted to be representative of the GB adult population.  YouGov is a member of the British Polling Council.

*According to the findings 11 per cent of drivers need to make repairs to the car they regularly drive and of these 62 per cent need to carry out serious repairs which render their car unroadworthy, such as smashed wing mirrors, defective brake lights, faulty steering or broken mirrors.  There are 33.8 million drivers in the UK (Census data, 2001) 0.11 x 33,809,493 = 3,719,044. 0.62 x 3,719,044 = 2,305,807.
**According to the findings three per cent of drivers have broken down whilst driving an unroadworthy vehicle and a further three per cent have been involved in a road accident with an unroadworthy vehicle.