HAVE YOU DAMAGED your own car lately?

No, we don’t mean keying the side of your vehicle, but according to AA, damaging your car can mean something like causing a flat battery, leaving the car lights on, using the wrong fuel, or even locking the keys inside.

Flat battery

According to an AA Membership survey of over 9,200 people, young women aged 17 to 24 living in Co Laois are more likely to cause a flat battery, by leaving their car lights on.

The under-24s are more likely to leave their car lights on – 22.6 per cent of 17 to 24 year olds admitted to this, a figure more than double that of people over the age of 45.

Men are more likely to run out of fuel or put the wrong juice into the tank, with Cavan motorists most likely to bleed the tank dry, as 10 per cent of those in the county polled admitting to running out of fuel.

However, motorists in Co Offaly were deemed to be more likely to fill their car with the wrong fuel, which can be very costly – you can expect to fork out up to €1,500 in repairs for this.

The AA says that putting the wrong fuel into your car is becoming more and more common, and Conor Faughnan, Director of Policy at AA Ireland said:

Irish motorists aren’t used to diesel operated cars, only a few years ago over 90 per cent of all Irish cars were petrol, but now it’s more like 60 per cent and it’s dropping every year.

Women are more likely to lock their keys, a child or a pet in the car than men. That said, the AA’s Rescue Call Centre once received a frantic call from a new father outside Holles St Hospital in Dublin who had locked his newborn child into the car.

Worst luck

When it comes to what parts of the country seem to have the worst luck, 11.6 per cent of Dubliners polled said that they had damaged their car in the last year.

Other top offenders included motorists in Counties Wicklow (11.4 per cent), Kerry (11.4 per cent) and Clare (11.1 per cent). Overall, 17 to 24 year olds were most likely to cause damage to their car, while motorists in counties Leitrim, Offaly and Carlow and those aged between 45 and 55 were shown to be the most careful with their vehicles.

Read: 60 per cent of people struggling to keep their car on the road>