But what are the biggest changes, from the cost of filling up to the rise of road rage and the evolution of the cars we drive?
We’ve looked back at official records from 1960 to the modern day to chart how motoring in the UK has altered over the decades.
Driving test pass rates, petrol prices and the number of cars on the road are just some of the things we’ve compared, based on official statistics.
Many of the changes have been for the better - like the introduction of seatbelts, which only became mandatory for all passengers in 1991.
But others are less welcome, including one modern bugbear people find particularly irritating and is a leading cause of road rage.
We’ve also pulled together some of the best retro photos to transport you back to the 1960s and what it was like driving on the UK’s roads then - including one showing a jubilant John Lennon celebrating passing his test with his fellow Beatles.
Do you remember the days when there was no speed limit on the nation’s motorways, and would you rather be driving today or back in the 60s? Let us know in the comments section below.
5. The driving test is very different, but not necessarily harder
The driving test has changed a lot since 1965, when John Lennon, pictured here being congratulated by his fellow Beatles, passed. But, contrary to popular belief, it doesn't appear to have got significantly harder, or easier. When driving tests became compulsory in 1935, the pass rate was 63%, compared to around 47% today, but the pass rate had already dipped below 50% in the 60s and has fluctuated since then. Some of the biggest changes over the years have included the introduction of the theory test in 1996 and the requirement to follow directions from a sat nav in 2017, when drivers also stopped being tested on reversing round a corner. | Getty Images Photo: Keystone/Hulton Archive
6. Driving has become more stressful
In a 2019 survey carried out by the RAC, more than two thirds of drivers said they found driving more stressful than it was 10 years earlier. There were a number of reasons given for that, including greater congestion and poorer driving standards. Complicated road junctions like Birmingham's notorious Spaghetti Junction, pictured here under construction in 1970, are hardly likely to bring down drivers' blood pressure either, while in recent years many motorists have complained that new so-called 'smart motorways' are too complicated. | Getty Images Photo: Central Press/Hulton Archive
7. Road rage has got worse
Road rage was not even a thing in the 1960s, or not by name, at least, with the term first coined in the 80s. Yet in 2022, a survey by Compare the Market found that more than two in three UK drivers had experienced road rage. Motorists' biggest bugbears included failure to indicate, tailgating, driving too slowly and hogging the middle lane. | Getty Images Photo: Charles Black/BIPs
8. Motorways are much busier
The UK's first motorway opened in Preston, Lancashire, in 1958, but by 1969 there were 1,000 miles of motorway stretching across the country. Expansion continued and, as of 2023, there were 2,300 miles of motorway in the UK. The first motorways had no speed limit, with the 70mph maximum only introduced in 1965. The introduction of motorways helped to cut journey times, but they have become increasingly congested. An estimated 70.1 billion vehicle miles were completed on Great Britain's motorways during the 12 months to March 2024 - more than a fifth of the total 332.4 billion vehicle miles travelled on the nation's roads in total that year. | Getty Images Photo: Evening Standard/Hulton Archive