Seven in every 10 young drivers are reliant on financial support from their parents to remain on the road, according to new research. A study by price comparison site CompareTheMarket.com found 70 percent of 17-24-year-old drivers have relied on support from their parents to stay on the road in the past year.
The comparison site says its research reveals just how much youngsters depend on their parents to cover the cost of insurance, fuel and taxes. In total, the study of 2,000 young drivers and 2,000 parents of young drivers found 70 percent were depending on parental help, with such motorists receiving an average of £781 a year from their parents.
The most likely expense for parents to pay is insurance, with adults paying out an average of £277 towards their offspring’s policies. With the average car insurance premium for 17-24-year-old drivers standing at £1,156 according to CompareTheMarket.com’s figures, some parents are paying around a quarter of this annual expense.
Repair and maintenance costs were also paid out by parents, who fork out an average of £197 a year to keep their children’s cars on the road, while the average fuel contribution is only slightly lower, at £176. What’s more, 46 percent of parents said they had helped their children buy their first car, contributing an average of just over £2,500 towards the total cost.
More than half (55 percent) of parents who contributed to the costs of their child's driving did so for the first year after they passed their test, while more than a quarter (28 percent) also contributed for the second year of their child’s driving career. Just under one in 10 (eight percent) kept contributing for three or more years.
“It would be difficult for many people to comprehend how they would get by without a car,” said CompareTheMarket.com’s motor insurance expert Julie Daniels. “It gets us to work and to see our friends and family. However, our figures show that for many drivers, the cost of running a car is becoming impossible. A concerning proportion of young people rely on the generosity of family members to stay on the road, placing a considerable financial burden on those supporting them. It also means that, if costs continue to rise, some of those who can’t rely on parental support may not be able to get to work.
"Compared to other age groups, young drivers tend to pay a lot more for their car insurance. However, there are a few ways that they could save money. It is a good idea to shop around and compare policies to see if there is a better deal available. Switching to a telematics policy may be a good option for young drivers to consider, as well as adding an experienced named driver to their policy. However, young drivers should take care to avoid fronting. This is a type of insurance fraud where a more experienced driver claims to be the main driver of a car, when in fact they’re not.”
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Source: CompareTheMarket.com