Consider typical driving conditions throughout the year and you immediately come to one logical conclusion:
You’re more likely to break down in the winter than any other time.
Freezing cold temperatures, snow and ice on the road, howling gales – all recipe for treacherous driving conditions. But you’d also be wrong, as winter is by no means the most prolific season of the year where breakdowns are concerned.
Instead, you’re far more likely to break down in the middle of the summer than in any other season.
That’s according to a set of official statistics from the Department of Transport, indicating that the end of July and the beginning of August are most hazardous to the health of vehicles. We can only assume this is due to the heat of the summer taking a toll on cars’ engines, perhaps combined with the fact that people use their cars more often during the summer holidays.
Either way, it seems that if you’re destined to break down for any reason, it’s more likely to happen when it’s hot and sunny than in midwinter.
Here’s a brief breakdown of the 10 most common motorway breakdown days in the UK, according to Department of Transport figures or from 2020:
- July 31st– 1,080 breakdowns
- August 7th– 915 breakdowns
- August 10th– 800 breakdowns
- August 21st– 775 breakdowns
- August 28th– 768 breakdowns
- February 17th– 761 breakdowns
- August 12th– 753 breakdowns
- August 14th– 753 breakdowns
- February 19th– 750 breakdowns
- February 28th– 749 breakdowns
As you can see, seven of the top breakdown days for the entire year are right in the middle of summer. August is by far the most problematic month for breakdowns – a whopping 19,500 motorway breakdowns having been reported in August alone in 2020.
Accident rates understandably increase in winter, but there’s nothing quite like the summer sun to put even a seemingly reliable car through its paces.
Time to Scrap and Upgrade?
Where a formerly-useful family car becomes more of a burden than a blessing, it may be time to upgrade. At which point, we can help you unload your end-of-life vehicle as quickly and painlessly as possible, while ensuring you are paid a fair price for it.
At Take My Scrap Car, we specialise in responsible car scrapping and recycling of the highest quality. Whatever your location, we’ll happily pay you a visit at a convenient time and date, in order to take your scrap car off your hands.
We’ll ensure that your vehicle is responsibly recycled, and you’ll be paid a fair price (calculated on scrap values on the day). Best of all, everything we do is 100% free of charge, so you get to keep 100% of the price we quote.
Whether ready to go ahead or simply curious about how much your car may be worth, we’d be delighted to hear from you anytime. Call Take My Scrap Car for a quick quotation, or to arrange collection of your end-of-life vehicle at your convenience.
