Confessions of a motorist

One in five of us still has a paper tax disc on display, according to new research – plus, motorists’ top five confessions revealed.

The finding is surprising considering the the road tax system turned ‘paperless’ in October 2014.

When asked why they hadn’t removed it, the most common responses were ‘I continually forget it’s there’ (41%), ‘I’ll remove it when I clean it’ (33%) and 5% admitted they’ve kept on to it ‘for sentimental purposes’.

All respondents were then asked if they had ever been guilty of any bad habits, due to being forgetful or disorganised, and provided with a list of possible responses.

They were told to select all that applied to them, with the top five confessions revealed as follows:

1. Not cleaning the car as often as I should – 72%
2. Driving without adequate oil, water, screen wash etc. – 66%
3. Ignoring unusual noises/warning indications from the car – 58%
4. Driving without a valid MOT – 23%
5. Driving without a valid driving licence – 11%

The study for money-saving brand Vouchercloud also revealed that 11% of those asked confessed they had previously forgotten to renew their licence and 23% had driven their car without realising their MOT had expired.

Furthermore, some 65% of Britons feel that they ‘neglect’ their car with just a third stating that they cleaned and checked over their pride and joy on a regular basis.

All respondents were then asked to state roughly how much their annual outgoings were on their car, and told to take into consideration their tax, insurance, petrol, car washes and maintenance. On average, they said their car cost them £1,668 per year, or £139.00 per month.

The team at Vouchercloud spoke to 2,207 Britons aged 18 and over, all of whom stated they possessed a full driving licence, their own vehicle and had been driving for a minimum of three years.