How much do UK adults drive in a lifetime?

Many car owners said they relied on their cars more than ever during the pandemic

The poll revealed that many journeys were made solo (AFP via Getty Images)

British adults will drive 285,012 miles in their lifetime – the equivalent of travelling around the world 11 times. 

A poll of 2,000 drivers found that in a typical week, they will cover off 87 miles across an average of 14 journeys - an annual total of 4,524 miles.

But to offset the carbon from travelling around the world 11 times, 11,400 trees would need to be planted.

With life returning to ‘normal’, a third of workers plan to avoid public transport when they go back to their workplace and one in four will commute by car more now than they did pre-pandemic.

The survey also found the majority of car owners relied on their vehicles more during the pandemic, with some saying this was to avoid public transport, while others used them to check in on family and friends. 

Three in 10 even purchased a new car amid the lockdowns.

Furthermore, almost half of all journeys are solo, with no one else in the car, but many would prefer to have a passenger with them going forward.

And a sixth simply prefer travelling to work in their own vehicle than the likes of buses, tubes and trains. 

Greg Gormley, CEO and Co-Founder, SKOOT, the only navigation app that plants trees for every drive, which commissioned the study, said: “The research demonstrates that driving is essential to our lives but it’s accelerating the carbon emission’s crisis.

“Auto-offsetting all journeys – even solo ones, using ones SKOOT’s green sat nav helps by planting a free tree every drive.

“We can all help reduce congestion and carbon by sharing lifts more. 

“Our new lift sharing technology encourages colleagues and friends to help each other and the planet.

“We could massively reduce the number of cars on the road tomorrow, if we all simply offered a lift to someone every other drive.”

The poll also found that four in five don’t know how much carbon their vehicle emits.

One fifth admitted that lockdown has made them realise they want to drive, but don’t like the environmental impact it’s having and the majority want to do their bit while still relying on their vehicle.

Others said that they would like to reduce their carbon emissions from driving but don’t know how to.

Some believe offsetting or reducing their carbon footprint is the most important change in terms of helping the environment.

Mark Stringer, CMO and Co-founder of SKOOT said: “It’s great that people are becoming educated and more aware of their environmental impact, people think automatically about recycling and water usage, and we want them to do the same about carbon emissions from driving.

“The new app feature does the hard work for drivers and alleviates the sense of guilt that motorists share offering a solution to help the environment in a fun, interactive and easy to use way.”

SWNS