End of the affair for fed-up drivers?

LONDON (Reuters) - The nation's love affair with the car may not be over, but many disgruntled motorists say their affections are being sorely tested.

Endless jams, hefty fuel bills and rising taxes have taken the shine off driving for some, while others see red over speed cameras, humps and over-zealous traffic wardens.

The Association of British Drivers, a pressure group which describes itself as the voice of "beleaguered drivers", said owning a car often isn't much fun.

"We are getting it in the neck," said spokesman Paul Biggs. "We are a mobile wallet ... a big source of revenue.

Leaving the car at home and taking a bus or train is not always an attractive option, he added.

"It is often standing room only," he said. "We've got a growing population and we are not expanding the roads or public transport to cope with it, so everything's full."

AA road safety head Andrew Howard said the mix of speed cameras, road pricing, higher petrol prices and environmental taxes on bigger cars had upset some drivers.

"One way you can look at them is as four separate issues," he said. "But when you begin to look at them as one issue, it certainly does feel that you're being attacked."

Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has complained about "the elephant hide of lunacy that is being used to suffocate Britain's motorists under a blanket of rules and fines".

An Internet debate for the BBC's Newsnight programme asked: "Is Motoring the New Smoking?". One contributor called private car ownership "intrinsically immoral", while others said drivers must face up to climate change.

New car sales in 2006 fell to their lowest level since 2000, with the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders blaming a mix of interest rate rises and higher fuel prices.

A good thing too, say environmental groups. Friends of the Earth says money for road building should be switched to providing better public transport.

Transport's contribution to climate change could be cut by 60 percent by 2030 if people walk, cycle or take the bus instead of driving, according to the charity's Web site.

For most people, however, giving up the car is unthinkable.

Four out of five would find it "very difficult" to adjust to life without a car, according to the RAC's annual report.

And there are signs that drivers are increasingly prepared to lend their support to pro-motoring campaigns.

Earlier this year, a record 1.8 million people signed a petition against road pricing on the Downing Street Web site.

The government said the plan would ease congestion, but the petition's organiser said it amounted to an unfair tax.

On Friday, retired company director Idris Francis will learn the result of the latest round of his legal fight against speed camera laws, which he says infringe human rights.

He rejects government research that says cameras slow drivers down and reduce accidents, saying: "We've got ludicrous idiots spending money like water on things that don't work."

One protester, who calls himself Captain Gatso, has taken the law into his own hands by sabotaging speed cameras.

His Web site shows pictures of destroyed cameras and a chance to buy a spray that makes number plates invisible.

The AA's Howard said cameras have 70 percent support and he urges cars owners not to see themselves simply as motorists.

"(They) don't just drive cars -- they are pedestrians, cyclists, they have kids that walk to school," he said.