An AA survey asked members nationwide about potentially ‘car-damaging’ mistakes such as leaving the lights on, locking keys inside the car, or putting the wrong type of fuel in the tank. The latter mishap will cost a motorist upwards of €1,500 to rectify.

11% of the more than 9,200 motorists surveyed admitted to having damaged their vehicle in some way over the last 12 months. Drivers under-25 are more likely to leave to their lights on, at 23% of respondents. The same age group are over three times more likely than others to be frugal and let the tank run dry.

While 17 to 24 year-olds generally emerged the least favourably in the results, older men between the ages of 55 and 65 are the demographic most likely to mistakenly fill up with petrol instead of diesel (or vice versa). Women were found to have locked their keys, pets and even children in their car more likely than men.

County differences

The survey also broke the results down by county, and it’s not entirely surprising that stressed Dublin motorists experienced the most self-inflicted vehicular scratches, scrapes and dents last year (11.6% of respondents admitting as much).

One in ten Cavan drivers found themselves with an empty fuel tank at some point in 2012. Monaghan drivers locked themselves out of the car two times more often than the nationwide average, whereas Offaly motorists picked the wrong fuel tank three times more frequently.

Louth drivers can walk proud, with only 20% of respondents from the county having suffered one of the minor mishaps (which also included locking a pet or child in a car).

Chris Donoghue and Norah Casey discussed the results on Newstalk Breakfast this morning: