Average UK car mileage continues to fall

Analysis of 23m MOT tests shows average car is driven ten per cent shorter distance than a decade ago

Average UK car mileage continues to fall
Image: Bigstock.

The average distance travelled by UK motorists each year has fallen again, down 10 per cent from a decade ago, analysis of 23m MOT tests has revealed.

Anonymised data on every MOT test in Britain, released by the Department for Transport, shows that cars travelled an average of 7,134 miles in 2017, down from 7,250 in 2016 and 7,334 miles the year before that.

In 2007 the distance driven by each car tested at MOT in Britain was 7,712 miles.

The official National Travel Survey (NTS), published last year, revealed that the average person in England takes about 594 trips by car a year, compared with 678 in 2002.

However, the RAC Foundation cautioned against misreading the MOT and NTS data.

It said MOT misses out on the mileage driven in new cars, which is generally higher than for older cars and notes that there has been an increase in the number of two-car households, up from 8 per cent in 1971 to 35 per cent last year.

According to the MOT data, which has been analysed by pay-per-mile insurance company By Miles, cars in Scotland are driven furthest.

Vehicles tested in Galashiels topped the table at 8,202 miles a year, while cars in south-west London travelled just 5,345 miles a year on average.

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