• Over 40% of UK drivers have been a victim of car crime
• 1 in 5 of us no longer feel safe on Britain’s roads
• Nearly 50% believe that drivers are getting more aggressive
• Just 42% said they would stop if they saw another driver in trouble on the road
• Incidents ranging from road rage and carjacking to physical abuse and even rape reported
13th January 2009 – A new survey from car hire comparison specialists Carrentals.co.uk has revealed that a massive amount of UK motorists, over 40%, has been a victim of car crime – and increasing numbers of drivers no longer feel safe on the road.
Of over 1,000 drivers polled, 1 in 5 said that they feel unsafe on the roads while almost half believe that other drivers are too aggressive. A third of respondents think that other drivers drive too fast.
Gareth Robinson, managing director of car hire comparator Carrentals.co.uk, comments, “40% of drivers having been victims of car crime is a huge number and quite shocking. It’s our view that more should be done to educate people on how to react in the event that they are a victim of car crime.â€
More men are victims of car crime than women, 48% versus 33% and the age most likely to experience car crime is 31 and over. The highest rate of car crime is in Yorkshire at 52% while the lowest is in the south-west region at 32%.
One third of women drivers do not trust other drivers’ intentions were they to offer to stop and help them. The most trusting area of the UK is London where more than 44% trust another driver’s intentions, and the south-west is the least likely to trust other drivers with 30%.
Just 42% of people say they would now stop to help if another driver were in trouble on the road, 55% of men would but less than 30% of women. North-east drivers are the most generous where 52% say they would stop, while in the south-east the number drops to 34%.
As for giving rides to hitch-hikers, fewer than 1% of women say they would stop to pick up a hitch-hiker against to 8% of men. However if they were accompanied by a passenger in their car 60% of women and 55% of men would pick a hitch-hiker up.
In the event of a car crime incident a massive 20% of people said that they would attempt to remedy the situation themselves rather than calling police, even if it meant endangering themselves. 65% of people say that they would call the authorities.
Carrentals.co.uk compares car hire deals from up to 50 car rental companies, including Holiday Autos, Budget, EasyCar and Thrifty, in over 9,000 locations around the world, and also includes a range of safety advice.
To compare the best car hire deals visit www.carrentals.co.uk.
About Carrentals.co.uk
Carrentals.co.uk was launched in February 2003 and grew to become one of the UK’s leading online car hire companies by 2006.
In 2007, the company re-launched its site to create the first major online price comparator in the travel industry. Using the latest technology the Carrentals.co.uk site now searches up to 50 different car hire websites, providing an impartial comparison of the best prices available in over 9,000 locations.
Websites searched include Budget, Thrifty, Sixt, Holiday Autos, Opodo, EBookers, Carrentals.co.uk and EasyCar, with the Carrentals.co.uk site quickly comparing prices and allowing customers to refine their search by car type.
The Carrentals.co.uk site also features over 6,000 links to useful tourist information sites, plus over 2,700 pages of travel information in a mini-guide format.
In 2008, Carrentals.co.uk was voted Best Car Hire Website in the Travolution Awards. To book or for further information visit www.carrentals.co.uk
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