Brits Are Happy Chatty When It Comes To Car Journeys

Make sure you know what your car companion’s chatty habits are next time you share a journey with someone as, although a third of British motorway drivers admit spending most of their journey chatting, 11% are looking for complete silence when travelling with companions.

Insights into just how ‘bla bla’ we really are on the roads from BlablaCar, which connects drivers with paying passengers, reveals  that as we grow older we’re more likely to sit back and listen. So watch out when giving a lift to the early twentysomethings as 50% are looking to talk for the whole journey. Nearly 40% of over 55s preferring to drive in silence compared to only one in five 18-24 year olds.

Regardless of age or gender Londoners are seen as the chattiest car companions (18%), with Liverpudlians following a close second (16%).  Nearly 40% of women chat continuously and look for similarly chatty passengers. In fact most drivers admit they typically look for a passenger to chat with to help make the journey feel shorter and of course more enjoyable.

Nicolas Brusson, Co-founder of BlablaCar.com, said:

“We all know that the person you sit next to can make or break your journey, so look for someone who is as chatty as you. For some silence is golden for others chat is king so knowing what expectations are before you agree to share a car makes great sense.”

Scousers make the funniest car companions according to the research of 2,000 UK adults, with one in five Brits (19%) choosing people from Liverpool as the most comical companions. Edinburgh passengers however fail to raise a smile as only 4.5% think they make Britain’s funniest car companions, half as many as Scottish neighbours Glasgow.

Nicolas Brusson continued:

“Of course there a real benefits to sharing long journeys from the obvious cost saving and less CO2 emissions, but the added attraction is the social side, if you are ‘bla bla’  then it’s a savvy social way to travel.”

Whilst 30% of those polled want nothing to do with celeb culture, chatty London comedian Michael McIntyre will never be short of a ride, with 35% voting him as their ideal car companion over the likes of Geordie beauty Cheryl Cole (9%), Robbie Williams (8%) and Wayne Rooney (1%).

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Notes to editors

Research of 2,000 people in the UK by OnePoll

About BlablaCar.com

BlablaCar.com is the UK’s fastest growing site for shared car journeys. Connecting drivers who have empty seats with people looking for a cheaper way to travel to the same destination, BlablaCar.com launched in the UK in Spring 2011 following huge success in France (covoiturage.fr) and Spain  (comuto.es).

Comuto, BlablaCar.com’s parent company, first launched in France in 2006. Since then, one billion kilometres have been driven and over 200,000 tons of CO2 saved. More than 100,000 new people sign

up to BlablaCar.com every month across Europe, with over 10 million journeys offered every year and with £100 million saved in journey costs.