North West motorists 'most honest'

Three quarters of all drivers would not tell a friend or neighbour if they bumped in to their car on the street where they lived, according to a new survey.

Motorists in the North West scored best for honesty, where only 10 per cent would keep quiet about an on-street accident. Londoners were deemed most dishonest, where nearly a quarter would not tell anyone about a crash.

The Co-operative Motor Group quizzed 2,000 motorists, and found that just 24 per cent of people involved in a prang would tell a friend, whilst 26 per cent would inform a neighbour. Just one in eight motorists would let a stranger know if they had accidently hit their vehicle.

The office car park is also a hot bed of untruths, where only a third of drivers would tell a boss or colleague if they bumped in to their car.

Honesty amongst motorists appears to improve with age: 72 per cent of drivers aged 55+ claim they would try to locate the vehicle’s owner regardless of who they were, compared with only around 40 per cent of motorists aged between 18 and 24.

There was very little difference between men and women on the honesty front, with both genders stating that 16 per cent wouldn’t tell anyone. However, 56 per cent of women said they would try to find the owner regardless, versus 46 per cent of men.

HGV and delivery drivers were deemed most honest, as only 6.88 per cent of individuals would not tell anyone if they had an accident in the street. They were closely followed by travel agents (8.2%), the unemployed (10.47%), engineers (13.1%), and construction workers (14.71%).

The most dishonest drivers worked in telecommunications, where exactly a third of employees would not tell anyone about a parked-car bump. Other industries of note include teachers, where 16.94 per cent wouldn’t tell anyone, health workers (17.76%), and lawyers (25%).

The top five areas for ‘most honest’ drivers:

1. North West: 10.82%

2. Yorkshire & the Humber: 12.73%

3. East Midlands: 12.78%

4. South East: 13.19%

5. Northern Ireland: 15.15%

The top five areas for ‘most dishonest’ drivers:

1. London: 22.09%

2. North East: 20.41%

3. Scotland: 20%

4. Wales: 19.02%

5. South West: 17.26%