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?