A Shift in Driving Habits and Attitudes
As we’re all aware, COVID and multiple lockdowns have had an effect on the number of cars on the road and people’s driving habits. Some may see this as a bad thing, but we need to ask ourselves, is it really? Or is it a positive change that we should aim to keep going forwards, even after the pandemic passes?
Environmental Changes
The first lockdown provided plenty of evidence to show the real man-made impact on our planet. As there were fewer people around there was, therefore, less pollution so our planet started to heal. In many places, including Italy and America, people started to see more blue skies; in China, satellite images showed drastic improvements in air quality!
According to the British Lung Foundation, two million people in the UK with respiratory conditions have experienced reduced symptoms during lockdowns. In a survey by the charity, one in six people with lung conditions noticed improvements to their health.
The lockdowns have also proven to help wildlife too. In Venice, residents reported since the constant boat traffic on the canals had stopped churning up sediment, the waters were clear enough to see fish swimming. Off the coast of Mumbai, there were rare sightings of dolphins in the Arabian sea. As well, the place we all know and love, in Wuhan, birds could be heard chirping and seen flying around the city as traffic died down. Finally, in Japan, deer were seen wandering the empty streets. Plus they were spotted around airports in Britain. Did you see any deer?
What Do People Really Want?
We surveyed our customers to see how lockdown had changed people’s attitudes to driving as well as their driving habits. We found that drivers want and expect the amount of motoring they do to decrease. 100% of employers expect business motoring to decrease post-lockdown, and 53% of employees said that they would do fewer miles.
We also asked about EV’s to see if attitudes to cleaner vehicles had changed and what we found that 80% of employers would like to have EV’s in their future strategy, plus 95% of employees would choose an electric vehicle for their next car! This change of heart could have come from many reasons; from all of the positive changes to the environment is reported to just deciding to carry on working from home. But, if you’re one of the many thinking of going electric this year, get in touch! We’d be happy to help you find your dream car!
We’re sure everyone can agree that these lockdowns have proven the impact humans are having on our planet. It’s clear that the time for change is now and that this is what people want. We need to build on the positive changes that lockdown has brought to our planet to continue to help the earth heal! Remember that 2030 ban on petrol and diesel cars? We need more things like this! But of course, there are many other ways to help the planet too, check out our blog on making green changes to your lifestyle!
Interested in electric cars? Take a look at our guide!
Tags : clean living, climate change, driving, driving attitudes, driving habits, electric car, electric vehicles, Environment, EV, green, shift in driving habits