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Families stung by fuel prices

30/05/07

Nearly a third of UK families are being forced to use their cars less as they cannot afford the soaring fuel prices, according to a survey by Sky News Online.

In a poll of over 2,500 website users, 32 per cent said they could not afford to drive as much as they used to.

Over half said they had been forced to cut back on spending in other areas because of higher fuel costs but many said they tried to beat the rising costs by shopping around.

Customers searching for cheap car insurance may be interested to learn that 48 per cent said they could not consider giving up their car, while 44 per cent of respondents said they would give up their car if they did not rely on it so heavily.

Just over three quarters claimed their car was vital for getting to work and ferrying the family around.

When asked about solutions to the problem, 59 per cent said they would consider buying a greener car in order to save money in the longer term, while 68.6 per cent said car-sharing schemes were not an option.

Last week the BBC reported that diesel prices had seen their biggest monthly increase in a decade.

The average price of diesel between mid-April and mid-May increased by 6.76 pence to 124.17 pence per litre.

Petrol prices have also soared with a litre now costing 112.55 per litre, a rise of 4.49 pence.

Recent figures also showed that London was the most expensive place to buy petrol, while Humberside and Yorkshire were the cheapest locations.

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