Yonder summary February 2025
The February AA-Yonder survey ran between 25 February and 28 February 2025 and received 14,695 responses
Road incident reactions
We asked respondents how they would react in various road incident scenarios. The majority (92%) would turn on hazard lights if their vehicle broke down on a motorway. If broken down on a smart motorway, 85% would turn on hazard lights and 82% would call a breakdown provider. For incidents on A roads or dual carriageways, 93% would call a breakdown provider and 89% would turn on hazard lights.
Tyre campaign
We asked respondents about their awareness and practices regarding tyre maintenance. Over half (52%) said they regularly check their tyre pressure, while 38% check their tyre tread depth. A significant number (20%) admitted they rarely check their tyres. When asked about tyre age, 60% of respondents were aware that tyres have a manufacturing date, but only 30% knew how to find it on the tyre.
Motorways
We asked respondents to rate their experiences on motorways. Signage (38%) and road markings (30%) were most likely to be reported as excellent, whilst congestion (32%), the amount of litter (30%) and conditions of the road (22%) were most likely to be reported as poor.
Overhead gantry and “hockey stick” road-side signage is used to alert drivers to incidents ahead through information, changing speed limits or alerting of lane closures. We asked respondents about their experiences of these signs on the motorway. Three quarters (75%) have seen lane closure signs but didn’t see an incident happening when they passed. Two in three (66%) have seen signs correctly indicating a congestion blockage, however a similar proportion (65%) saw signs with information about debris but didn’t see anything when passing the affected area. In addition to this, more than half (54%) have experienced traffic and congestion but there was no sign signalling this. Two in five (41%) have seen speed limit signs being removed and changed to ‘end’ when the traffic is still stationary/slow moving slow. And lastly a third (33%), have driven past a breakdown or collision but there was no sign signalling this.
Private parking
We asked respondents about their experiences with private parking companies. More than a quarter (27%) said they knew they were in the wrong, so paid the fine straight away. A similar proportion (23%) said they successfully appealed at the first stage. Over one in ten (11%) respondents said they weren’t sure if they were in the wrong but ended up paying the fine anyway.
Near miss collisions
We asked respondents about their experiences with near miss collisions. Almost half (47%) reported having a near miss collision in the past year. The most common reasons for near misses were drivers not paying attention (35%), speeding (25%), and poor road conditions (20%).
Yonder summary January 2025
The January AA-Yonder survey ran between 16 and 28 January 2025 and received 14,695 responses
Refuelling and Recharging
This month’s survey began by asking AA panel members about their primary method for measuring fuel spend when refuelling or recharging their vehicles. More than half of respondents (51%) use the “total cost to refill tank” as their main tool to gauge fuel spend, while almost a quarter (22%) use “miles per gallon (MPG)” as their principal measurement. As of November 2024, there are 8,353 fuel forecourts and 72,594 publicly available EV devices.
When asked if there were more fuel forecourts or publicly available EV charging devices, four in five respondents (80%) believed there are more fuel forecourts. Only 6% thought there are more EV charging devices, with this belief slightly more pronounced among men (8%) and London residents (8%).
We also asked respondents how many nationwide EV charge points would be needed to instil confidence for them to switch from petrol/diesel to an EV. Almost half (44%) said they would never buy an EV regardless of the number of chargers. More than three in ten (34%) didn’t know, and exactly one in ten believed between 400,001-500,000 UK EV chargers would be sufficient.
In previous surveys, panel members indicated hesitation to switch to EVs due to a perceived lack of charging points. Over half (56%) believe a clearer universal sign would help, 52% think Sat-Navs in petrol/diesel cars should include EV charge points, and 51% believe totem poles with pricing like fuel forecourts would help.
When shown two images of EV charging point signs, almost eight in ten (77%) selected image B as the most effective.
Vehicle Fires
This section asked respondents about concerns when considering an electric or petrol/diesel vehicle. Respondents showed more concerns for EVs compared to petrol/diesel vehicles. The top concerns for more than half (53%) were the risk of the vehicle catching fire following a crash, lack of vehicle noise alerting pedestrians/cyclists, and software malfunctions. Fewer respondents were concerned about these possibilities for petrol/diesel vehicles (22%, 14%, and 19% respectively).
Close to half (47%) were worried about harming the battery in an EV when driving through a flooded area, compared to 28% for petrol/diesel vehicles. Other concerns included the risk of an EV catching fire while parked (42%), mechanical malfunctions (41%), and the threat of remote hacking (41%). Lesser concerns included the vehicle's weight (38%), complicated infotainment systems (37%), safety at public charging stations (36%), and personal safety when charging in public (30%).
Motorway Insights
We asked drivers to rate motorway features like road markings, conditions, signage, lighting, congestion, and litter. Signage (38%) and road markings (30%) were most likely to be rated as excellent, while congestion (32%), litter (30%), and road conditions (22%) were most likely to be rated as poor.
Regarding overhead gantry and “hockey stick” road-side signage, three quarters (75%) have seen lane closure signs without an incident, two in three (66%) have seen signs correctly indicating congestion, and 65% saw signs about debris without seeing any. More than half (54%) experienced traffic without a sign, 41% saw speed limit signs removed while traffic was still slow, and 33% drove past a breakdown or collision without a sign.
We also asked about observed driver behaviours on motorways. More than four in five (88%) witnessed speeding, middle lane hogging, driving too close, and undertaking. Similar proportions saw swooping (83%), tailgating (83%), changing lanes without signalling (82%), and changing lanes during heavy traffic (79%). Using mobile phones while driving was observed by 63%, with 35% seeing phones in cradles. Crossing chevrons towards the exit was seen by 61%, and 47% saw others crossing chevrons back to the motorway. Not using seatbelts was seen by 15% of drivers and 14% of passengers.
When asked about behaviour at joining slip-roads, 73% would pull into lane 2 to make it easier for merging traffic, 18% would stay in lane 1 but adjust speed, and 4% would hold their position/speed.
Cost of Parking
Statistics indicated that Town Centre High Streets with paid parking saw a decline in footfall, while retail parks and out-of-town shopping centres with free parking saw an increase. Two in five (37%) respondents would be discouraged from trips if parking costs were between £5 and £10, 21% if costs ranged from £10 to £15, and 12% if costs were £5 or less. Another 12% said the cost of parking is irrelevant due to poor shopping experiences in major towns and cities.
Speeding
We asked panel members about the acceptability of using average speed cameras and static speed cameras. The majority found both acceptable (84% and 82% respectively), with a small proportion finding them unacceptable (14% and 16%).
Most respondents (86%) have not attended a speed awareness course in the last three years, while 13% have. Of those who attended, 80% feel more aware of their speed, 68% are driving more slowly, and 65% think they are generally safer drivers. Despite this, 19% felt the course had an initial effect but have lapsed back into bad habits. Four in five (79%) would recommend the course to others.