Ingeniously worded questions that are designed to elicit precisely the responses that the client of the pollster organisation wants to see and hear are what constitute the bulk of polls. The respondent (me and you) is seldom given the opportunity to elaborate beyond a ‘yes/no/don’t know’ tick-box answer and opinions can vary wildly from one aspect to the opposite, not because those persons being polled are ‘uncertain’ of their views but because a brief polarised response is often not the answer at all.
If anything (and I promise that this is my one and only mention of the made-up word), ‘Brexit’ is a prime example of how a national poll can be not only divisive but also potentially damaging and, regardless of with which side of the fence voters aligned, the result was surprisingly close to 50:50. Therein lies the biggest issue confronted by the so-called opinion-makers, which are not tasked with generating facts, just on-the-spot opinions.
Yet, occasionally, some poll results can prove intriguing to say the least. Take a recent exercise that highlights ‘10% of millennials cannot drive’. To clarify, the question posed was ‘could a person, who reached adulthood at the turn of the Millennium afford to fund driving lessons, let alone the acquisition of a motor vehicle, or its insurance, tax and running-cost implications?’. Of the sample audience, one out of ten respondents stated that they could afford none of those things.
There are many reasons for such a response, not least the high costs related to further education; up to five-figure student loans which must be paid back. Yet, it might also be suggested that rampant inflation and a lack of socio-political and relative financial instability can have the finger of blame pointed at them instead. However, despite a long-standing view that the UK has been a hotbed of automotive appreciation, my personal view is that a broader disinterest in motoring and personal mobility is closer to the truth.
It is a view supported by the ‘destruction’ of the print industry by the Internet. While I am not a proponent of a ‘print is dead’ proposition, when you consider that in the 1980s’ heyday of the motor industry, no less than seventy motoring titles populated the shelves of newsagents and supermarkets, while 15 to 20 is nearer the norm today. The best-selling of those magazines included the 330,000 monthly sales of ‘Max Power’, occasionally equalled by ‘What Car?’. The latter title remains in print production but at a figure of less than 100,000 monthly sales. The former simply dwindled away. Of course, it could be stated that editorial standards have declined at a not dissimilar rate to those of education.
The same opinion poll highlighted that 75% of millennial motorists would be unable to exist without personal transportation and, interestingly more than half of the millennials polled suggested that public transport is unreliable and patchy in its services, especially on a local basis. This is the same group that values reasonable pricing, low operational costs, dependability and cost-efficient repairs, placing them higher on a priorities list than how good the vehicle looks. In addition, according to the survey, they will tolerate a ‘hand-me-down’ set of wheels, rather than exist without a car.
While one-in-three admits that their hearts rule their heads, when electing to buy a new car, this is also a group that places a higher value on an up-to-date smartphone than the rest of the population. Driven by technology, around 50% of millennials accept the prospect of driving an electric vehicle, or even the total autonomy of a driverless one. According to the Department for Transport (DfT), driving among young people, aged under 29 years, has declined significantly in recent times. Twenty-six years ago, in 1992, 48% of 17-20-year-olds and 75% of 21-29-year-olds held a driving licence, which, by 2014, had fallen to 29% of 17-20-year-olds and 63% of 21-29-year-olds. Although unconfirmed, DfT believes that the slump is continuing at a time when annual vehicle operational costs can be as high as £2,500.
