So, the obvious topic of conversation would be Tuesday’s news that the House of Commons is to grant discussion time to the issue of fuel duty and the Government’s response to the e-petition, but I think we’ve heard enough about that this week.

Rather we’re going to focus (i.e. have a rant) on something else that’s hit the news – new doubts raised over 80mph limit plan changes following the M5 crash.

The Government is planning to raise the motorway speed limit from 70mph claiming the increase would be good for business. “Increasing the speed limit on motorways from 70 to 80 miles per hour for cars, light vans and motorcycles could provide hundreds of millions of pounds of benefits for the economy and I will put forward formal proposals for making these changes later this year”, says Transport Secretary Philip Hammond.

Erm, how can someone driving their vehicle faster be any good for business unless you own a fuel station? Driving at 80mph could use up to 20 percent more fuel than at 70mph – for businesses already struggling with high fuel costs, this isn’t going to help one iota.

Current guidelines suggest that speed limits should be enforced at ten percent over the limit plus two miles per hour. This means that in a 70mph limit, drivers are unlikely to be prosecuted for speeding unless travelling at 79mph or faster. If the speed limit was raised to 80mph and guidelines remained the same, it would be enforced at 90mph, 20mph above the current speed limit.

Goods vehicles exceeding 7.5 tonne maximum gross weight are currently restricted to 60mph on motorways, but recent plans suggested this may be reduced to 56mph. Increasing the gap between speeds travelled on the motorway is more likely to result in higher fuel bills, as drivers will be forced to adopt defensive driving techniques which can not only be dangerous, but actually increase fuel consumption by as much as 40 percent.

Increasing the speed limit of other vehicles will make it more difficult for trucks to overtake each other, forcing them to adopt a ‘stop-start’ style of driving in which truck drivers have to accelerate hard to overtake a vehicle, then brake suddenly to fall back in line with the slower-moving traffic. With nearly 50 percent of the energy needed to power a vehicle going into acceleration, this will result in the truck using far more fuel than is necessary, which will cost fleet businesses more.

Congratulations to the cabbies who took part in Shell’s Smarter Cab Drivers Challenge and slashed their average fuel consumption by 20 percent each. If they continue to maintain this level of fuel consumption, they will save a whopping £1,500 over 12 months – that’s equivalent to 1,100 litres of fuel.

But how did they do this, we hear you ask? Did they have special fuel monitoring equipment fitted? Use specialist tyres? Or perhaps some other fancy gadgetry? Well, no, none of these – they simply drove smarter.

Each of the cabbies received training on fuel efficient driving techniques and put into practice some of the tips they’d learnt, including avoiding over-revving their engines, turning their air conditioning down or off and reducing the load carried in boots.

As we’re sure you’ll agree, none of this is rocket science, more like plain old common sense and certainly techniques we business drivers can easily introduce into our own driving. Simply slowing down a little and changing gears more slowly will not only reduce fuel usage but is also much safer

Don’t forget, the vehicle itself needs a little TLC. Dirty oil, clogged sparkplugs and under-inflated tyres can also increase fuel consumption, so ensure fleets are serviced regularly.

Shell went on to say that, based on the cabbies’ savings, Britain’s 34.1 million drivers could make a collective fuel saving of up to £18.5 billion if they applied similar smarter driving techniques. That’s certainly a saving we want to be part of!

Visit Business Fuelcards to see what products are on offer and access detailed information about the benefits available – it may just make all the difference!

BBC Panorama’s investigation into ’The Great British Fuel Robbery’ on Monday night strongly highlighted the plight of fleet business across the UK who are struggling with ever-rising fuel costs.

Disturbingly, a recent survey showed that last year 75 percent of business that declared insolvency during 2010/2011 cited fuel costs as the main reason. With fuel costs and taxes set to rise, this will surely only get worse.

The Fuelcard Company reported last month that, with fuel prices and taxes constantly rising, businesses are being forced to turn down work which results in the running of fewer fleets who are in turn employing less people.

Panorama suggested businesses are being forced to question their morality and weigh up keeping their business afloat against the implications of sourcing cheap, and mostly illegal, fuel.

The Fuelcard Company is reminding its customers about the legalities of using contraband fuel.  Red dye is for use only by farmers and building contractors for off-road vehicles. HM Customs has the right to stop and search any vehicle with those caught illegally using Red diesel liable for an on the spot £500 fine and possible confiscation of the vehicle.

Businesses, surely it’s not worth the risk?

Over the past few weeks, fuel prices have been on a steady climb upwards. Petrol shot up by almost five pence per litre over the month to mid-June – the second highest monthly rise on record.

“This rise is only two-thirds of a penny short of the 5.61 pence per litre record – at the same time last year,” noted the AA when the figures emerged.

Diesel is also getting more expensive – albeit at a slightly lower rate – and it remains a pricier choice overall.

It’s all down to rising demand for crude – earlier this month, the price of crude oil exceeded $70 a barrel for the first time since December 2008, with US light crude reaching $71.09 a barrel and London Brent crude reaching $70.47 a barrel.

It’s at times like this that being a fuel card holder really starts to pay off. Card holders pay bunker rather than pump prices for their fuel even when filling up on the forecourt – and the difference between the two can be as much as 5p. When applied to fleets, this difference really starts to mount up.

Average spending of £400 on fuel per vehicle per calendar month could mean monthly savings of £25 or more – that’s at least £300. Multiply by the number of vehicles in your fleet for substantial savings!

[Press release]

http://www.fuelcards.co.uk/news/live_news.php?year=2009&month=06&id=550

Yet more bad news for British motorists, there has been an increase of 1.52p per litre in the last 3 weeks, bringing the national average prices to over 105p per litre!!

This is set to increase further over the next week or so, petrol has already gone up over the last 3 weeks by nearly 5p per litre (a similar increase to this time last year).

There are cries for the Tax rise in september to be delayed, which will help to stem the dramatic increase in fuel costs but whether this happens or not the prices are still going to be high and this is not good news for any of us.

UK business are being hit especially hard by the fuel costs in the current climate, for some companies fuel is the second highest cost behind staff.

Many companies are being forced to cut jobs and similarly companies that run a fleet of vehicles are cutting back on their travel – for some it’s the only way to keep afloat in these troubled times.

There is light on the horizon though, fuel cards typically offer a saving of around 3p per litre off the national average pump prices – sometimes as much as 10-15p per litre off motorway prices. This discount can help UK businesses to offset some of the increase in fuel prices and hopefully keep companies going through the recession.

I will keep the blog up to date with any changes in the fuel market to let you know if the price goes up further (or hopefully goes down!!)

The lives of thousands of UK motorists are intrinsically linked to the roads. The company car driver, the fleet driver, the HGV driver, the commuter and the school-run parent all have a common interest and that is to make those essential journeys as easy as possible.  Businessfuelcards.co.uk now know just how many motorists in the UK think more governmental support is needed for those businesses which depend on travel for their commercial success.

Motorists and companies were this week faced with petrol pump prices once again exceeding the £1 litre mark. This drives home the urgency (excuse the pun) to save in other ways where they can, and while motoring groups such as the AA and the RAC call for cuts at the pump, the Department for Transport can help encourage other cost-saving measures on an industrial – and national – level. Achieving cost savings and beating congestion can be dependent on a number of factors and the study showed a widespread awareness that these need to also reflect commercial realities.

We recently ran a survey of 1,025 motorists to show how cost-effective commuting might be achieved. We wanted to reflect the many calls for assistance from the government made by companies across the fleet industry who suffered the 2008 fuel rises. The current budget-stretching situation will get steadily worse with further fuel duty rises in September and April over the following four years.

More than one in five of our respondents (22 per cent) feel that more could be done by the Government to support businesses for whom travel is essential.

Our respondents suggested other ways to cut the cost of commuting, including a more positive approach to home working as well as practical measures to encourage it; flexible working patterns; car sharing; and better public transport networks.

It’s clear that motorists everywhere are crying out for ways to make those essential journeys as stress-free, cheap and efficient as possible.

The people who took part in our survey were asked to grade a number of proposals for saving fuel, reducing traffic and improving the overall travelling experience – ideas they would most like introduced by the Department of Transport. Unsurprisingly, top of the wish-list was more government and employer-backed initiatives, with 77 per cent of respondents seeking a radical change in attitudes to home working. 

In addition, more than three quarters of British motorists told us they want to work from home at least twice a week, cutting fuel consumption and traffic levels and improving overall quality of life. But they also showed how aware they were of their companies’ responsibilities, with many saying that employers should receive tax breaks or other rewards for their involvement.

More flexible working hours also proved popular, with 63 per cent of participants supporting the idea that earlier and later start and finish times would cut rush hour congestion and even generate petrol savings via less ‘stop-start’ driving. Meanwhile, just under that number (59 per cent) said that a nationally co-ordinated car share campaign, with rewards for individuals and companies taking part, would lower costs and reduce road usage. These incentives could be reduced road tax for regularly participating vehicles.

We believe the survey demonstrates how open-minded and sophisticated British drivers are. They are receptive to far-reaching proposals – but also want to be engaged with, consulted and incentivised.

Fleet managers pondering how their drivers are affected by congestion should always invest in fuel cards, we suggest. With so much to worry about on a national scale, fleet managers can start small and reduce the administrative costs and headaches which come with traditional fuel purchases. They could benefit from paying bunker prices for their fuel, typically two to three pence lower than pump prices but sometimes as much as six to seven pence cheaper!

We believe the results of surveys such as these should encourage policy makers, who might be surprised to find such backing for ‘bold’ ideas as long as they bring positive results.

If you have any ideas on how the Department of Transport can help British motorists to save money or just want to rant – and i don’t blame you if you do – post a comment, we’d love to hear from you.