The willingness of car drivers to use public transport has slumped to an eight-year low, says the RAC, writes David Duffy.

In a report based on replies given before the Hatfield rail crash in October, interviewers revealed that only 36 per cent of regular drivers would be prepared to use their cars less if public transport was better.

This is the lowest figure to be recorded since the same survey in 1992, and shows a steady decline from the 45 per cent high reached in 1997.

It also showed that 86 per cent of drivers said they would find it very difficult to adjust to giving up their cars.

Drivers who were least reluctant to switch to public transport were those from the north of England.

Motorists in London and south-east England were the most dependent on their vehicles.

About 29 per cent of drivers were not prepared to or could not switch even one journey once a week from car to public transport.

The report was based on interviews with 1,378 British drivers between September 11 and October 14, 2000. The Hatfield crash happened on October 17.

The report also showed that 84 per cent of drivers were aware of the dangers of using mobile phones in cars, but only 33 per cent of private drivers and 57 per cent of company drivers actually used hands-free kits.

Graeme Potts, group managing director of RAC Motoring Services, thought it was worrying that fewer people would consider switching to public transport.

He said: The fuel protests in September and the disruption that followed the Hatfield rail crash will have influenced how motorists make their choices between their car and public transport.

"It may take longer for people to change their travel habits.

In a foreword to the report, Transport Minister Lord Macdonald said shifting some people's journeys away from the car was necessary if the Government's ten-year transport plan was to work. He added: That does not mean trying to force people off the road, or stopping them using their car altogether.

"But it does mean encouraging them to walk or cycle or use public transport for some or parts of journeys where it offers a reasonable alternative.

The survey also found that drivers who cover high mileages are potentially deadly dozers behind the wheel.

More than a third who clock up more than 20,000 miles a year admitted to nodding off while driving.

A hard core of 14 per cent of high-mileage drivers owned up to falling asleep on 10 or more journeys in the 12 months before last autumn, when the survey was conducted.

Nearly half 45 per cent of all drivers who admitted having been close to sleep behind the wheel said that it happened as often as two or three times a year.