Fuel Prices And Better Habits Cutting National Motoring Spend: Survey

A new survey of 2000 road users has found that while the collective national annual spend on motoring has reached $73 billion, the cost of motoring has dropped an average of $400 per driver per annum in the past twelve months.

The survey, commissioned by insurer Bingle, found that the annual cost of motoring per driver now averages $5300, improving on the most recent best average of $5379 in 2012.

The survey covered topics like servicing, maintenance, petrol, insurance, fines and tolls.

The biggest factor in the downward pressure has been the fall in the price of petrol and better driving habits, according to Bingle spokesperson Marcela Balart.

“Australian motorists were stung hard by last year’s high fuel prices which drove many to become more fuel conscious and savvy to the ways they could save on petrol usage,” Ms Balart said.

“In the past year, almost half of drivers surveyed said they had improved their driving style to be more fuel efficient; a quarter felt compelled to take alternative modes of transportation; and another quarter said they had reduced the number cars in the household."

Queensland takes the gong for most expensive state to go motoring, coming in at $5609 per driver, $312 over the national average of $5297.

While mid-pack for many of the individual costs - servicing, rego, parking and tolls - the northern state had the highest petrol figure of $2973 per head. Higher, even, than Western Australia, which has the most expensive fuel in the country and similar long-distance driving habits.

Victorians were the worst hit for fines, at $126 per driver. Parking and tolls for Victorians were also not far behind NSW ($339) at $323.

One consolation for living in South Australia is that you'll pay the least in parking and tolls, the second least in fines ($78) and end up paying the lowest overall total of $4985 per driver.

The South Australian figure partially explains the fall in the national average as this is the first year that state has been considered in the study.

The Eastern States, being the most populous, account for 81.4 per cent of the national totals of $73 billion, with WA and SA spending "just" $13.5 billion between them.