HomeThe Hidden-Car-Supply-Chain

The Car Supply-chain and the hidden source of revenue

UK Economics Chest June 9, 2026

Add the social cost of too many cars - accidents, death, and the economics of harm

If I had asked people what they wanted,they would have said faster horses – Henry Ford

Cars primarily create GDP through:

Car manufacturing and sales.
Finance agreements.
Thriving insurance sector.
Fuel and fuel tax.
Car repairs: a sector exploited by car garages.
Road building and road repairs which creates jobs and GDP, but which don't seem to be winning.

Cars generate GDP for the country but there are social costs that feeds the economics of harm. Car accidents kill in the region of 1500 lives a year.

Reported Road Fatalities in Britain 1979 to 2024

Most of these accidents are caused by cars. In 2019 due to the Corona virus, there was a sharp decrease in road fatalities and accidents, mainly due to reduced car use.

Reported Road Fatalities by type 2024

We note that most car accidents happen as a result of speeding. This is the main cause of accidents, reported by Police. However each year car manufacturers release new models with more horse-power, a factor that encourages greater speeds.

Proportion of Car Fatalities by factor type 2024

More vehicles on the road, spells more accidents and fatalities, the stark social cost of uncontrolled car manufacture.

Damaged roads aggravated by heavier cars is another social cost of modern cars. This leads to:

Faster road wear.
Pollution created by tyre and brake particles from road friction.
More Potholes.
The need for more resurfacing.
More structural stress on bridges.

Excessive road repairs create:

Congestion in waiting for temporary traffic lights.
Delays with detours.
More speed restrictions.
Traffic cones and barriers are an eyesore.

In 2023/24 the UK government spent £4.8 billion on public roads.

In 2024/25 the UK government spent £12.9 billion on public roads.

Speed Humps and Traffic calming, especially around schools create hidden costs:

Repairing speed humps.
Traffic management.
Consultancy fees.
Car drivers shift towards SUV's, in an attempt to tackle speed humps.

The next social cost from too many cars is traffic congestion, which costs the economy billions in:

Lost time.
Lost productivity.
Fuel waste.
Delayed deliveries.
Increased business costs.
Negative GDP.

The main reason for owning a car in the UK is for leisure use, even in cities where public transport is good.

We need to understand when car dependency falls, GDP shifts to new industries such as :

Public transport.
Cycling infrastructure.
Urban regeneration.
Green technology.
Local retail and services.
Health and Wellbeing sectors.

Reducing cars, reduces bad GDP.

Reducing cars increases quality of life.
The net effect can be positive, even although headline GDP may decrease in the short term.
This is a sophisticated modern stance.

We think cars are a necessity, however statistics show their main use is for pleasure.

Cars are now produced to be wider, more spaceous, more powerful and more expensive.
There is a corresponding much slower road development, such as road resurfacing and widing.
Vacant space on the road edges is taken up with car parking, making it impossible to widen roads.
The Police are diagramatically apposed to increased speed, in any shape or form.

A consumer war is emerging where heavier SUV's are being purchased,
for increased safety, and to tackle damaged roads.

A state of inertia exists:

The government are hiking up costs associated with the pleasure of owning a vehicle, perhaps trying to convince car owners of a better way.
There is no demand for alternative travel, everyone travels by car and car finance is readily available.
The belief that the government needs the extra GDP generated by fuel tax, and the car-supply-chain is a fallacy. Qualitative GDP is higher than Quantitative GDP.
in London, cars are discouraged by the introduction of walk only zones, and increased cycle infrastructure.
Trams are an alternative form of transport, but slow to catch-on.
The growth of new cars and the damage they do, continues at a rate, higher, than the growth of alternative travel.

A possible solution:

The disincentive to own cars needs to be more drastic.
The reduced dependancy of cars should create more demand for alternative travel, such as tram, train or cycle.
Train companies are already geared for more passengers, judging by the excess carriages used on more journeys.
Tram development could speed up to attract more passengers. Trams are inexpensive, quiet and convenient.
Smaller SUV's would be a better option, in terms of their impact on the environment.

Smaller SUV's would mean, a higher suspension for speed bumps, and a greener impact on the environment.

This page gleans data from The National Travel Survey and relevant statistics , which were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in September 2018. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and are labelled ‘Accredited Official Statistics’.

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