Northern drivers are greenest, says Kwik-Fit

Forget southern softies with their Toyota Priuses -- it appears drivers in north England are doing the most to cut their car's carbon footprint. So says a new survey by Kwik Fit, who happen to have just launched a new carbon offsetting option for car servicing, dubbed Go Green.

To find the motorists who are most concerned about their car's impact on the environment, you need to head even further north to Scotland (57 per cent of Scots care). By comparison, the Welsh and those in the south-west care least about their car's footprint, with 44 per cent citing it as an issue. It's the second time Wales has been fingered as a carbon bogeyman this year -- in August the National Assembly revealed the Welsh had bigger carbon footprints than the rest of the UK, with an average 14.2 tonnes a head.

Elsewhere, the Midlands led the way on drivers prepared to ditch the car and walk instead. 67 per cent said they were choosing to walk instead of drive, compared to 62 per cent in the north and (the lowest ranking) 56 per cent in the south east. The survey's authors split the drivers into 'greenies' -- those walking more, getting their car serviced more and driving a greener car -- and 'keenies', who want to be green but don't know where to start. The survey was conducted by ICM and polled 1,000 adults.

Naturally, Kwik Fit recommends that keenies check out its new Go Green option when their car's next due for a service. It costs £29, of which a tenner goes to the CarbonNeutral Company on offsetting, which is a nice touch but begs the question of why you wouldn't just cut out the middleman. The other £19 goes on checking your brakes are working efficiently, cleaning your engine and checking your engine's computer is sending the ideal amount of petrol to get burned. These eco extras only add 20 minutes to your service.

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