Surging fuel prices are not stopping people from driving, a fresh analysis has found.
Department for Transport statistics show that from March to mid-April, just 0.8% fewer trips were made by car compared to the same period in 2025.
Comparing all road transport use there was a 1.4% drop over the same period, though use of light commercial vehicles such as delivery vans fell by 2.8%, and HGV trips dropped by 2.1%.
The Iranian conflict has seen a litre of unleaded rise by 24p and diesel by 50p compared to April 2025 figures, according to the AA, which said the DfT’s data shows that “car travel is a necessity not a luxury, even with huge pump-price hikes”.
The firm’s head of roads policy, Jack Cousens, comments: “Somehow, motorists find a way to stay on the road and drive to work or do the family journeys that can’t be done on foot.”
He adds that “decades marked by dramatic pump price swings, starting in 2007 and 2008, have taught UK drivers how to reallocate their finances to compensate”, and says “the resilience of the UK driver continues to amaze”.
