Female Drivers ‘Avoid Motorways’ Due to Breakdown Fear

Almost one-in-five women drivers boycott Britain’s motorways for fear of breaking down, a survey shows. More than two-and-a-half million refuse to drive on motorways, resulting in travelling an extra 384 miles each a year, according to research conducted by insurance company Direct Line.

The survey of 1,791 drivers weighted to represent the whole population found out of 14 million female motorists in the UK, 18 per cent will not drive on motorways, equating to 2,520,000. On average female drivers will drive 32 miles per month or 384 miles per year in order to avoid motorways. There are 33.8 million drivers in the UK and according to the YouGov findings four per cent of drivers have broken down on the motorway in the past year, totalling 1,352,379 across the country.

One of the biggest causes of worry surrounding motorway breakdown is said to be a lack of awareness of what to do if it happens to you. One-in-seven (14 per cent) drivers impulsively exit from the drivers’ door – and into oncoming traffic – rather than correctly exiting from the passenger side. Similarly more than a quarter (28 per cent) of men will court trouble by attempting to fix their car on the hard shoulder. 82 per cent drivers use their mobile phone to call for help.

“In the panic of breaking down on the motorway, one in ten drivers forget to switch on their hazard lights and more than 300,000 motorists admitted they would wave down fellow drivers from the side of the road for assistance,” explained Direct Line’s motor spokeswoman Emma Holyer.