of shoppers!

AS many of us join the masses for the annual January sales rush we are asked "What's the most common use of private cars on British roads?" Answer: Shopping . . . according to a new survey.

A massive 87% of UK motorists use their cars to go shopping (91% in rural areas) says the survey into drivers' lifestyles by The Times and car breakdown service Autonational Rescue.

Next in line comes:

Visiting friends and relatives (84%)

Holidays and leisure activities (76%)

Travelling to and from work (50%)

Driving children to school or college/using the car for business trips (both 22%)

Driving themselves to school or college (8%)

Other reasons to be on the road (4%)

Ronan Hart, marketing manager of Autonational Rescue, said: "Imagine what would happen if everyone used their cars to travel to work?"

"Traffic congestion and pollution would be a good deal worse than it is today. The survey has given us some fascinating lifestyle information about the typical British motorist, and thrown up several surprises."

In rural areas, significantly more motorists (57%) use their cars to travel to and from work compared with 49% of 'townies'.

But the chance that you'll use your car for work of any kind reduces dramatically among motorists aged 55 and older, with only 9% of motorists in that age group taking their vehicles on work or business trips.

Added Ronan Hart: "The survey also puts things into full perspective by telling us that travelling to and from work still accounts for the main use of these vehicles, although so many people use them for short shopping trips."

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