Drivers are making their voices heard by calling on the Government to make changes that benefit motorists, ahead of the general election which will take place in the next 11 months.
More than a fifth of British drivers will prioritise motoring-related issues in the upcoming general election, based on a survey of almost 1,100 Britons.
The most commonly cited issue for drivers was fixing potholes, with seven-in-10 Britons saying this was the most pressing issue for them.
According to the RAC, there are more than one million potholes around the UK. Unlucky drivers could face an average cost of £440 if they need to repair car damage from the poor state of the roads.
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Drivers have outlined their key demands for the upcoming general election
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Following numerous funding pledges, the Government has more than £5billion in the bank to maintain local road networks between 2020/21 to 2024/25.
The Plan for Drivers document states that potholes are the “bane of many drivers’ lives” and outlines that the Government plans to “tackle them”.
Other key issues that are prioritised by drivers include the fuel duty cut and improvements to the electric vehicle charging network (both 31 per cent).
The current 5p per litre cut of the fuel duty tax will run out towards the end of March after being extended by Jeremy Hunt in the Spring Statement last year.
There are hopes that the Government will extend the fuel duty measures or even increase the cut to help drivers save money at a time when prices at the pumps are starting to rise again.
Data from Zapmap shows there are more than 55,000 electric car chargers across 31,000 different locations, although some experts are concerned about whether the UK will meet its lofty target of having 300,000 chargers installed by the end of the decade.
One-third of drivers have also called for fewer 20mph zones across the UK despite 28 per cent of people saying they wanted more of them.
It follows the controversial decision from the Welsh Government to roll out the new speed limits across almost all restricted roads, resulting in protests and signs being defaced around the nation.
A staggering 54 per cent of motorists also said they would be in favour of increasing the speed limit on motorways to 80mph, while almost one in five said the Government should go further with the introduction of a derestricted Autobahn-style system.
This was supported by MP Sir Bill Wiggin who stated that higher speed limits in England would speed up the commute for workers and boost productivity.
Mark Tisshaw, editor of Autocar and Autocar Business, said drivers were calling on urgent law changes to improve road maintenance, fuel prices and EV infrastructure.
He added: “The topic of motoring always plays a role in elections, and these issues will be a voting priority for one in five motorists, highlighting the importance of the UK’s road users.
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Drivers are calling on the Government to abolish low traffic neighbourhoods
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“It’s telling that a significant minority of voters are clearly in favour of Clean Air Zones and LTNs, and their calls to improve the EV charging network suggest many subscribe to the view that we need to reduce carbon emissions.”
More than eight-in-10 Britons said they wanted to ditch parking apps and stick with cash and coins at car parks.
A further 38 per cent said they were in favour of low traffic neighbourhoods being abolished completely. A similar proportion of people said they were in favour of removing Clean Air Zones.
A DfT spokesperson said: “We are investing an extra £8.3billion of reallocated HS2 funds to resurface roads across the country, the biggest ever funding increase for local road maintenance, and enough to resurface more than 5,000 miles of roads.
“We are also supporting the switch to electric vehicles with more than £2billion, seeing a 46 per cent increase in public chargepoints since January last year, and measures in our Plan for Drivers will further boost the rollout of charging across the country.”
