UK's regions for poor car maintenance revealed

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) statistics released recently have revealed that Caerphilly is the worst county in Great Britain for cars being in an unsafe condition due to poor maintenance.

The UK poor maintenance results overview

The DVLA's results show that 14 out of every 10,000 people in South Wales county were issued with penalty points for having poorly maintained cars last year under construction and use offences. Endorsements were handed to motorists driving with illegal tyres, defective steering and dodgy brakes, plus unsafe loads.

Caerphilly's total was almost five times the British average and follows a trend where Welsh and Scottish areas are the worst performers in the country. The stats show that the best kept cars are in Warwickshire, where just 1 driver per 100,000 was issued with penalty points in 2013.

Unsurprisingly, Greater London had the highest amount of offences, at over 5,000, but with a population of over 8 million, it was only sixth on the per 10,000 list. Defective tyres were to blame for most of the penalty points issued across Great Britain – in 2013, they accounted for nearly 12,000 offences.
 

The UK areas with the worst maintained cars

The top five worst places for car maintenance were;

Caerphilly at 14.15 offences per 10,000,

Durham at 13.12 offences per 10,000,

Wrexham at 10.1 offences per 10,000,

Moray at 7.85 offences per 10,000,

Dumfries and Galloway at 7.02 offences per 10,000.

The UK areas with the best maintained cars

The top five areas for the best maintained cars were;

Warwickshire at 1.01 offences per 10,000,

Eilean Siar (Western Isles, Scotland) at 1.08 offences per 10,000,

Somerset at 1.1 offences per 10,000,

North Yorkshire at 1.11 offences per 10,000,

Monmouthshire at 1.2 offences per 10,000.

Comments on the UK poor car maintenance results

An AA spokesperson stated that while poor weather, such as flooding, can damage cars, the economic climate was more likely to be forcing drivers to ignore their car's care, saying that “A shortage of money means people have neglected maintenance. That stores up problem.”

The Association of Chief Police Officers announced that it was determined to tackle the causes of unroadworthy car, stating that, “Motorists must comply with legislation as it's there to keep us all safe. Defective brakes, lights and tyres will not be tolerated.”

All vehicle maintenance, in the UK and other countries, is highly important in motorists safety and should not be avoided or postponed.