According to RAC research women increasingly see their car as a social life support system.
Female motorists are seemingly prepared for any social occasion – thanks to their cars, which are increasingly being treated like a ‘handbag on wheels’.
Apparently more than 35% of women admit to having a variety of shoes, clothes and make-up handily stashed in their cars equating to:
+ 4.5m pairs of footwear
+ more than 5m items of clothing
+ 1m-plus complete sets of makeup
at any one time in the UK.
Although Jimmy Choos and Hunter Wellies may litter some cars, the most popular types of shoe on board are for general use, with work, ‘going out’, sports, sandals or flip flops and flats for driving topping the bill.
And the emotional attachment goes even further with upwards of a third of women (37%) saying they view their vehicle as an extension of their home.
As many as 3.5m female drivers say they regularly apply make-up in the car and nearly half of women (49% compared to 30% of men) have shopping bags and baskets in their boot.
The car is also a ‘life support system’ for women with nearly two thirds (63%) regularly eating while in their car as opposed to a half of men (49%).
Women and men are equally likely to work in their car (11% men vs 10% women), a quarter of each gender often has conversations with a loved-one from their vehicle and there is little in it between the sexes when it comes to changing a baby’s nappy on the backseat (women 6%; men 4%).
Laura Truman of RAC Insurance said: “There are more women than ever driving on the UK’s roads and it is clear that they see their cars as something more than getting them from A to B.
“In this fast-moving world women have to be ready for any occasion and usually want to look their best. Keeping a few pairs of shoes and a lippy in the car means you can go from school run to work and then on to an evening networking or social event without a second thought. However, while this might be super handy for these sorts of days, we really do strongly advise both women and men to keep any personal belongings out of sight and stored in the boot or glove compartment. At no time is this more important than when it comes to valuable mobile technology as this is clearly the kind of thing that thieves will target. The best advice is to avoid leaving anything valuable in the car and if you have to, make sure it is out of sight. Leaving valuables in sight could potentially invalidate a claim for personal possessions so we urge everyone to be extra vigilant. Leaving them on view might attract unwanted attention and result in an unscheduled shopping trip!”
This is a Guest Blog supplied by the RAC. The survey in question involved 2,100 motorists and was conducted on rac.co.uk from April-June 2013. With around seven million customers, RAC provides services for private and business motorists including roadside assistance, insurance, vehicle inspections and checks, legal services or up-to-the-minute traffic and travel information.