The Autumn Statement shouldn’t drive motorists up the wall.
Fuel duty was frozen for the seventh year in a row, saving the average car driver £130 a year and the average van driver £350, according to the chancellor.
Philip Hammond also claimed drivers will save an average of £40 a year on car insurance from a crackdown on spurious or inflated whiplash claims.
A £390 million investment will be made in electric/low emission vehicles and more electric car charging points. Money ploughed into 5G mobile networks should also help with the increasingly connected cars of the future.
Details of a £1.3 billion road investment package were announced. Roads are devolved so this doesn’t affect Scotland – although fewer potholes and traffic jams will make holidaying in England and Wales that bit easier.
It’s not a completely smooth journey, however. Supposed savings from the whiplash crackdown may be offset by insurance premium tax rising from 10% to 12%, and younger drivers will be the worst affected by this.
Those who lease cars through a salary sacrifice scheme are also hit, except for those plumping for ultra-low emissions vehicles.
Overall then, the Autumn Statement is not a car crash for drivers but nor is it a victory lap. Essentially, the Chancellor is hogging the middle lane.