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Cost Of Car Maintenance Leads To Tough Choices For Many SE Ohioans
By: Steffany Hiett
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A new report shows the cost of owning and operating a small car in Ohio can be as much as $12,000 a year.
As transportation costs rise, many residents in Southeast Ohio find they have trouble paying for gas and auto insurance.
Nick Claussen, Athens County Job and Family Services spokesman, says this can become a big problem.
"If you're trying to choose between buying food for your kids, paying for medicine, and you have to get to work but you haven't paid for your car insurance, people are driving. I think one in seve people in the country have driven without car insurance. There are reports saying that all kinds of people drive without car insurance every day. They're not trying to do anything illegal, but they have to get to work, they have to get the kids to school, they have to get to the doctor and they might not be able to afford insurance," said Claussen.
Claussen says Athens County Job and Family Services used to have a program for people with these types of problems.
"We used to have money that could help pay for car repairs, but that program has been scrapped. We can pay some money to our clients to get them to some of their work requirements, and some other requirements but there's not a lot there. There needs to be more," said Claussen.