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One in five 'neglect basic car maintenance'

15/02/2011

A survey has indicated that one in five drivers do not carry out regular basic checks on their vehicle, including ensuring tyre tread depth meets legal requirements. More than a fifth (21%) of the 1,610 adults polled claim that no-one performs any basic maintenance checks on their car on a monthly basis. Extrapolated across the entire UK population, this could equate to more than 7 million drivers, says Sainsbury's Car Insurance, which is highlighting that the results of its survey come after one of the harshest winters for a generation. While 62% of people admitted neglecting to check their tyre tread depth - which must by law be 1.6mm across the majority of the tyre - a further 56% said they do not check the water coolant level, which is an essential inspection to prevent the car's engine from overheating. One in five (19%) say the reason for this neglect is that they do not know how to carry out the check, which involves waiting for the engine to cool down before inspecting the usually semi-transparent bottle under the bonnet, and making sure it is filled to above the minimum level with coolant. In addition, only half of drivers check their front, rear and brake lights are working at least once a month, while a further 50% admitted to not checking their windscreen wipers are in working order. Meanwhile, 46% said they did not regularly check their engine oil, and 40% apiece admitted not testing their screen wash level or their tyre pressure. The research, which was carried out by ICM, also suggested that older motorists are more attentive to their vehicles, with only 15% of over 65s saying their car was not checked monthly, compared with 29% of 18-24 year-olds. A greater proportion of women (26%) admitted neglecting to carry out overall monthly checks than did men (16%). Regionally, drivers in the East Midlands (85%), Scotland (84%), and the North East (83%) were found to be more vigilant in performing monthly checks than those in London (73%) and East England (71%). Sainsbury's Car Insurance head Ben Tyte said: "Every day we make considerations that will keep ourselves and our family healthy and safe, and we should employ the same train of thought to ensuring our cars are safe and roadworthy."

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