Motorists Travelling Fewer Miles Than 10 Years Ago
Sunday, 6. March 2011
Image via Wikipedia
Drivers are travelling less miles according to figures issued by the Department for Transport for 2010. Provisional figures show that vehicle use is down by 3.3% since 2007 which means that we drove a massive 8.3 billion miles less last year. From 1993 to 2007 car use continued to rise peaking at 251 billion miles in 2007. However, 2010’s total of 242 billion car miles means that we are back to 2002 levels. If you include in the figures all vehicle types the total is 306.6 billion miles in 2010, also down but not by as higher percent at 2.1%. The early cold spell has been indicated as a reason why miles were substantially down in 2010 compared with the same period in 2009. For proof that the snow before Christmas was one of the worst periods, miles travelled during the last quarter was down to 2000 levels. The AA has said that the figures support their own findings that drivers are travelling less, supported by a drop in fuel sales. They also pointed out that the miles were down due to the bad winters we are now experiencing and the economy. Frankly most of us had worked that bit out for ourselves! By Graham Hill
