Soaring fuel prices prompt drivers to park their cars

MOTORISTS ARE cutting back on car journeys after fuel prices hit their highest level in more than two years, new research has found.

A quarter of drivers said that their car use had been restricted over January after average UK petrol prices rose to 120p a litre, with young motorists hardest hit. Diesel now costs 122p a litre, on average.

The AA says that about one in seven car owners has also cut back on non- fuel spending to keep their vehicle on the road. A family with two petrol cars is spending more than £240 a month on fuel, up almost £40 in a year.

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The rises result from a drop in the value of the pound since Britain’s vote to leave the European Union and an increase in the wholesale price of oil.

Figures show that petrol and diesel have increased by an average of 18p a litre since February last year, with prices at their highest since December 2014.

Young drivers have been worst hit, with 35 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds having to cut back in other areas to compensate for higher fuel costs. The research group Populus surveyed 20,055 AA members in the study.

Graeme Paton, Transport Correspondent

This article first appeared in The Times