According to the results from a research by Confused.com, there has been a dramatic fall in the number of people learning to drive in a short time period, brought by the rising cost of motoring. Furthermore, one in eight people now knows someone who is driving on roads without a driving license.
Between April and August this year, fewer than 640,000 driving tests were taken in the UK, as revealed by the figures from the Department of Transport. The figure is down 5% from the same period last year and compared to the same period in 2009 when learners sat almost 750,000 tests, is down by15%.
There exists a correlation between the fall in the number of people learning to drive with a £22 (2.7%) increase in the cost of comprehensive car insurance in the second quarter of 2011. It was further helped by a 24% rise in second quarter year-on-year prices.
Thanks to these cost increases, a fifth of people say they can't afford to be on the road or take their driving test, due to these cost increases, as evident by 21% of 18 to 24-year-olds claiming that they are most affected by the cost.