10 December 2007
Car ownership and traffic volume are on the up once more, latest government statistics show.
The number of people owning cars has grown by 74% from 1980 to 2006 to stand at 33.4 million, according to the Transport Trend study from the Department for Transport (DfT).
Moreover, Transport Trend pointed to the increasingly central place that cars take in everyday life - with the number of those Britons without access to a car declining from 41% to 25% over the past 25 years.
While this represents good news for car insurance firms and motor manufacturers alike, it has come at an environmental cost - with a 52% rise in carbon emissions from transport detected since 1980.
The DfT also found a sharp increase in traffic with an 84% increase in the numbers of vehicles using the road network.
Of course, this rise in numbers could also potentially lead to a rise in car accidents and car insurance claims.
However, separate DfT statistics released earlier this year showed a 1% fall in road deaths and serious injuries from 2005 to 2006.
The serious accident rate has also declined by 33% over the past decade.
© 2008 Adfero Ltd
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