Millions 'drive unsafe vehicles'

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Millions of motorists are risking invalidating their car insurance by not having faults on the vehicles repaired, research has shown.

A study from breakdown service Britannia Rescue discovered more than five million motorists are driving "dangerous" vehicles, with more than a fifth having known about problems to their car for over half a year.

Reasons for not having their vehicle repaired include not being able to afford the repairs (31%) and not having the time to have it fixed. (11%)

The most common problems drivers fail to take care of are worn tyres, defective brakes and faulty exhaust pipes. Around 5% of the vehicles in need of repair have broken or missing wing mirrors and broken head or tail lights.

Britannia Rescue general manager Simon Stevens said: "It's concerning that so many motorists currently drive dangerous vehicles in need of repair. Some repairs may appear to be minor but they could still turn a car into a death-trap that endangers the driver, passengers and other motorists.

"It can be tempting to put off repairs but doing this could lead to you being fined and, far worse, put you and your family in danger."

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