Car insurance news

Drivers not using garage enough, committee finds

Every driver wants a cheap car insurance deal but many could be missing out if they don't use their garage.

The Transport Select Committee, a group of MPs, have recommended that more people start keeping their cars in garages in order to make more room on the streets.

RAC Foundation statistics that focused on garage use were employed to show the extent of the problem. They showed that only half of those who had access to a garage used it to store their car in.

Whilst clearing Britain's streets of parked cars will avoid a multitude of traffic problems, such as queuing and low speed shunts, there is also something in it for drivers.

Motorists who park their car in a garage are more likely to get cheap car insurance than those who park on the road. This is because motor insurance companies realise that cars parked on roads have a greater chance of being stolen or damaged, whilst those in garages are most likely to be left untouched.

There are thought to be a large number of drivers who can't be bothered to park their car in the garage and who park on the street as a matter of convenience. It is these people that the Transport Select Committee hopes to reach.

However, using a garage is not a matter of choice for some drivers. The executive director of the RAC Foundation, Edmund King, explained, "Cars are actually larger than they used to be, they're fatter and wider. It's mainly to do with safety, with side airbags and things like that.

"Quite often, if you've got a 1950s house with a 1950s garage, your car doesn't fit, or it will fit but then you can't get out of the door."