Recession to increase road accident claims
With the recession leaving a significant number of Brits struggling for cash, more people are thinking of new ways to save.
Worryingly, the number of accident claims could be set to soar as motorists avoid MOT services in fear of having to fork out additional repair costs.
It should be a high priority to get a vehicle services now, as more Brits are opting to hold on to older vehicles or purchase second hand vehicles rather than going for the newer ones.
However, according to research from a well knwon comparoson website 4.7 million Brits have missed their MOT renewal date because they simply "forgot".
The research found that 64 per cent of those who participated admitted that despite their MOT being passed its expiry date, they drove the vehicle regardless.
Previously, motorists had admitted that they avoided getting their vehicles serviced, in fear of having to pay for repairs.
And to make matters worse, with the increasing number of potholes across UK roads, there has been an increased number of claims regarding pothole damage and road accidents as a result of vehicles driving over the obstacles.
But that's not all.
Potholes
As well as potholes increasing the number of accidents by cyclists and drivers travelling over them, more motorists are now turning to dangerous driving as a bid avoid the growing number of potholes.
According to research from Kwik-Fit, a third of UK motorists have risked their lives by resorting to dangerous driving as a bid to avoid potholes within the past two months.
Some motorists have even admitted to driving towards oncoming traffic as a bid to avoid damaging their vehicles because of the potholes.
The customer services director of Kwik-Fit, David White, said: "Potholes are like the mines of the road with motorists doing whatever they can to dodge them. The huge rise in numbers since the winter means that millions of motorists are regularly making dangerous split-second decisions to avoid damaging their cars.
"With motorists having to pay so much attention to minesweeping the road ahead, the worry is they aren't focusing enough on the everyday, expected motoring hazards either."
And while on the subject of dangerous driving, the number of motorists driving dangerously under the influence of alcohol has also increased.
Drink Driving
According to research from the car insurance provider, Direct Line, more Brits are tempted to drink drive during the recession as a bid to cut taxi costs.
The survey found that 1.3 million motorists in the UK may be tempted to drive under the influence of alcohol to avoid paying for a taxi.
Maggie Game, head of Direct Line Car Insurance, said: "It's worrying to see the number of people who would drink and drive because they feel saving a few pounds outweighs the risk to themselves and others."
So as more Brits take drastic actions as a bid to save money, weather its by driving under the influence of alcohol to avoid taxi costs, swerving unexpectedly to avoid the costs of pothole damage, or failing to get their vehicles serviced, the number of accident and personal injury claims such as whiplash, can be expected to rocket.
Updated on 10/05/2009