Sunday , February 9 2025

Million motorists haven’t driven since passing test

Nearly one million licence holders in Britain haven’t driven since passing their test, new research has revealed.

A poll conducted by comparethemarket.com also found that one in 10 of all licence-holders in Britain haven’t driven in the past year – with a crisis of confidence and financial barriers stopping them from getting behind the wheel.

More than a third of ‘parked’ motorists (37%) said the “costs of driving are too high”, while a quarter (25%) admitted they “no longer have the confidence to drive”.

Despite being statistically safer, women are much less confident drivers than men. Almost triple the number of women (12.5% vs 4.6%) admitted that they “don’t feel confident” behind the wheel compared to men, while three times more female ‘parked’ drivers (22% vs 7%) said they don’t drive because they “fear having an accident.”

This long-term lack of confidence is extremely tough to overcome, with half (50%) of all ‘parked’ drivers confessing that they “wouldn’t feel confident driving again”, while more than one in three (36%) stated that they wouldn’t drive again without professional refresher lessons.

Young driver
One likely cause of this statistic is the fact that people are starting to drive as early as possible, with the research finding that more drivers pass their test aged 17 than any other age.

Nearly one in 10 (9%) drivers said that they felt “pressured” to pass their test at a young age and a fifth (21%) admitted they didn’t actually consider the costs of driving before taking their test.

“Passing the driving test is a big moment in anyone’s life but this research shows that it’s not always the start of a motoring love affair,” said Simon McCulloch of comparethemarket.com.

“It can be extremely hard – and expensive – for ‘parked’ drivers to get back behind the wheel, and as this video shows it’s a good idea to take it slow and get professional help when you do hit the road again.”

About Gareth Herincx

Gareth is a versatile journalist, copywriter and digital editor who's worked across the media in newspapers, magazines, TV, teletext, radio and online. After long stints at the BBC, GMTV and ITV, he now specialises in motoring.

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