New data highlights Fridays as the most common day for a breakdown

The final working day of the week has topped the table of having the most reported breakdowns for each of the past three years, while Sundays tend to see fewer motoring mishaps.

The statistics were obtained by leading car leasing firm Select Car Leasing from Highways England using Freedom of Information laws.

Graham Conway, Managing Director of Select Car Leasing, said: 

“There’s never a good time for your vehicle to break down, but there are plenty of bad times. The figures show vehicles tend to encounter difficulties most often on Fridays, which could be because there are more people travelling to either escape for the weekend or to return home after working away from home.

“You might think breakdowns are an inevitable part of owning a vehicle, but there are lots of things you can do to reduce the odds of a major headache. Simple tasks such as checking tyres and engine oil level before a long journey and ensuring your vehicle is serviced regularly can help minimise the risk of an unexpected breakdown.”

The Highways England data shows there were 28,431 vehicle breakdowns on Fridays in 2020, compared to 37,902 in 2019 and 35,834 in 2018.

The next most common day was Thursday, which came second in the table for all three years – 25,947 in 2020, 33,940 in 2019 and 32,986 in 2018.

Sunday tends to be the least common for emergencies with 20,231 in 2020, 29,849 in 2019 and 29,388 in 2018.

Meanwhile, the number of breakdowns in total in England last year fell dramatically as the Covid-19 pandemic saw a huge reduction in journeys being made across the country.

There were 172,805 vehicle breakdowns recorded by Highways England last year, compared to 229,576 in 2019 and 222,864 in 2018.

April 12 – three weeks after the start of the first national coronavirus lockdown – was the quietest day for vehicle breakdowns in 2020, with Christmas Day taking the title for the two previous years.

Breaking down this summer could be worse than ever, with experts predicting months of traffic chaos.

Tough restrictions on travelling abroad look likely to remain in place following the coronavirus pandemic, which means traditional British holiday destinations are set to be swamped as families look closer to home for getaway destinations.

A portent of what’s to come played out over the recent Spring Bank Holiday, when travellers experienced hours of frustrating backlogs heading into Devon and Cornwall.

The A55 into North Wales and the M6 heading towards the Lake District were also clogged up with miles of tailbacks.

 Mr Conway added: 

“Sitting in a traffic jam is bad enough, but breaking down in one is much worse. We’d advise all motorists to have suitable breakdown cover for such unfortunate scenarios, and also to think about travelling out of peak hours to ensure they get to their destination without major incident.”

Highways England is the Government-owned company that manages 4,300 miles of motorways and A roads across England.

Worst Day of the Week to Break Down

Information via FOI request to Highways England

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