Latest Fuel News

A study of almost 130,000 company car drivers has found that an increasing number are being fined for traffic offences including jumping red lights and stopping in yellow box junctions. During the last quarter of 2006, such offences noted at vehicle management company LeasePlan were up by 85% compared to the beginning of the year.

The first quarter of 2007 has seen a similar trend, with the monthly average for traffic offences rising by 28% on 2006 levels. This is partly due to an increasing number of speed cameras being installed to monitor yellow box junctions.

In the survey, LeasePlan found that the total number of fines received by drivers remained steady throughout the year, finishing 1% higher than it started.

But when broken down into categories, there has been a significant increase in general traffic violations.

Speeding and bus lane violations each increased by 7%, with congestion charge and parking fines actually falling as the year went on by 15% and 13% respectively.

Company bosses say the figures ought to act as a wake-up call to fleet managers.

David Brennan, Managing Director of LeasePlan UK, said: “What these figures show is that, although speeding remains an important issue, other traffic offences are also becoming more prevalent.

“The reason would seem to be a stricter policing of the offences rather than a lowering of driving standards, but that doesn’t mean companies can do little about it.

“Ensuring your drivers are fully aware of the rules of the road and obey them can help alleviate the significant administrative burden of fines.”

National road pricing moved a step closer yesterday with the publication of a draft Bill by the Government.

The Bill will update existing authority to give local councils more freedom and flexibility to bring in road pricing schemes and paves the way for road pricing trials to take place.

Shadow Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: “Despite the Government denials, the truth is that this Bill is a Trojan Horse for national road pricing.”

Growing congestion in the UK means company car drivers now spend almost a third of their working year stuck behind the wheel of their vehicles, a new study has shown.

The average driver spends a minimum of 70 days a year sitting in their car whilst on company business. This is despite that fact that the same survey reveals that annual business mileage has dropped by more than 10% to just over 14,000 miles.

The growing problem of congestion is costing UK businesses millions of pounds in wasted productivity, the report produced by Bank of Scotland Vehicle Finance found. Its annual report, now in its sixth year, gives a snapshot into the thinking of today’s fleet drivers and this year’s report received a record 10,000 responses.

It investigated views on public transport, the environment, speed limits and duty of care, including mobile phone use in cars.

The survey also revealed that despite spending so long in their vehicles, most drivers still prefer this to the prospect of using public transport. Three-quarters of respondents said they would never dream of taking a bus on a business trip and over a third said catching a train was out of the question.

The train is only used occasionally by just over half of those surveyed, with cost and the possibility of delays deterring many.

A total of 80% of employers are not actively encouraging their staff to use alternative transport, it found.

Sean Bingham, Director of new business at Bank of Scotland Vehicle, said: “There is a clear lack of direction when it comes to encouraging alternative modes of transport. Firms need to adopt a more flexible approach when it comes to travel arrangements.”

Increasing concerns about the environment was also prevailent, with 90% of respondents saying they have or would consider opting for a dual-fuel vehicle, which is up from 36% last year.

But when asked if their company encouraged the use of alternatively-fuelled vehicles, only 16% said they did. A vehicle’s fuel economy has also become a bigger concern when choosing a company car, topping the list alongside safety. In last year’s survey, fuel economy was ranked fourth.

Mr Bingham added: “With the new advisory fuel rates coming into effect earlier this year, it is no surprise that more and more drivers are now paying closer attention to the fuel economy of their vehicle.

Fuel tax is an imposed sales tax put on the sale of fuel. Frequently, fuel tax is looked upon as a source of general revenue, with some being put towards the maintenance of roads and highways.

Fuel Tax in the UK

Fuel tax in the UK is constantly changing and has risen steadily over the last 15 years. Between 1993 and 1999 there was a rapid increase with duties on fuel increasing by 3% above inflation. This was due to a major change in petrol taxation in 1993 when the Conservatives introduced the Fuel Price ‘Escalator’. This was a way of the government making money and also to help protect the environment by discouraging people to use their cars.

Fuel Escalator Forces Prices Up

The fuel escalator forced prices up from one of the lowest in Europe to now one of the most expensive. When it was first added, fuel prices rose by 3 pence a litre and tax contributed to 72.8% of the total cost. By 1997 the escalator had added 11.1p to the cost of unleaded petrol and was at 75%. It didn’t get any better when the Labour Party came into power and Gordon Brown took over, as the escalator increased and 3 pence was added per litre. This took tax up to an incredible 81.5% of the total price of fuel.

Fuel Tax and the 2000 Fuel Protests

Despite the fuel escalator being abandoned in 1999, fuel prices continued to rise rapidly, with a 2 pence a litre rise after the 2000 budget, contributing to the fuel protest. These rises were however argued by the government to be as a result of increasing oil costs rather than tax increases. This argument does hold some truth with statistics showing that although the overall price of fuel had risen, the percentage of tax stayed relatively constant and even dropped slightly that year.

In April 2005, tax on petrol and diesel were charged at 47.1pence a litre which with VAT added also, the total taxation makes up a huge 69.9% of the price that we paid for unleaded and 67.3% for diesel.

British drivers pay two taxes on petrol they buy at the pump and fuel campaigners complain about the fact that VAT is charged on the cost of fuel and the duty and feel it should only be calculated on the cost of the fuel for a fairer petrol price.

Duty on fuel in the UK increased once again in September 2006, with an increase of 1.25pence a litre on unleaded and diesel and an even greater increase on LPG and natural gas. See the fuel duty for all fuels below:-

2006 Fuel Tax Figures

2006 fuel duty (as of September 2006) in the United Kingdom is:-

48.35 pence per litre for Ultra-Low Sulphur Unleaded Petrol/Diesel
48.35 pence per litre for conventional Unleaded Petrol
48.35 pence per litre for conventional Diesel
28.35 pence per litre for Bio-Diesel and Bio Ethanol – low tax to encourage consumer conversion
12.21 pence per kg for Gas other than Natural Gas (LPG)
10.81 pence per kg for Natural Gas used as road fuel.
7.69 pence per litre for rebated Gas Oil (red diesel)
7.29 pence per litre for rebated Fuel Oil

The March 2007 Budget announced that from October 2007 there will be a 2 pence increase in fuel duty rates.

The octane rating is a measurement of the fuel’s ability to resist engine knocking. Knock occurs when the fuel/air mix in the cylinder explodes instead of burning in a controlled way. This shockwave moves within the combustion chamber, and creates a metallic ‘pinging’ sound.

An octane rating is often referred to as an ‘anti-knock index’. If fuel has a high octane number, it will have a higher resistance to engine knocking.

Octane Numbers

Generally, there are three different octane numbers associated with all petrols. Petrol’s Research Octane Number (RON) is measured under basic test conditions. Petrol’s Motor Octane Number (MON) is measured under stricter test conditions and at higher engine speed and temperatures.

The average of these two values is what becomes related closer to actual driving conditions. This value is known as the Road Octane Number, and is what ought to be used in filling stations.

Occasionally, some filling stations will confuse these different octane numbers in a bid to improve on their octane rating claims, and advertise their fuel’s Research Octane Number, which is higher than the Road Octane Number. In many European countries, the Research Octane Number is advertised on pumps, so a much higher octane value is common when travelling in certain countries.

Diesel automatically ignites and burns when it is compressed to a very high pressure. The released energy is contained by the engine and powers the vehicle. The key difference between diesel and petrol engines is auto-ignition. A spark plug ignites the fuel in a petrol engine whereas a diesel engine auto-ignites. Diesel has a Cetane Index and Number rather than the Research Octane Number (RON) that petrol has.

Bio-diesel is a more environmentally friendly fuel slowly becoming available across the UK. It is produced from renewable energy sources such as sugar beet, rape seed and sunflowers and is a biological substitute for regular diesel. Bio-diesel fueled vehicles are more environmentally friendly than conventional cars which run on petrol and diesel because the fuel is not as toxic and does not produce as many damaging exhaust emissions.

Leaded Four Star petrol was removed from sale on British forecourts on 1st January 2000. However, Leaded Four Star is now sold in a small amount of licensed stations in the UK.

In the UK, the most common petrol types are:-

Ordinary Unleaded - 95 RON

Super Unleaded – 98 RON

Leaded Four Star – 98 RON

Super Fuels

Many of the large petrol companies have launched ’super fuels’ – petrols and diesels that have a higher research octane level. These fuels are said to increase power in many vehicles, deliver less pollution than regular fuels and help to maintain a cleaner engine. Amongst these ’super fuels’ are Tesco’s Super Unleaded 99 Octane petrol, supplied by Greenergy, now sold at many stations across the UK and also BP’s Ultimate 102 Unleaded which is currently the most advanced, high-performance petrol you can buy on UK forecourts.

Using Super Fuels

Some people are of the opinion that using higher octane fuel than your engine requires actually gives no benefit and may be a waste of money. This is because virtually NO engines require 98 RON over 95, and the market for ’super’ fuels seems to be based on people’s misunderstanding of octane ratings and the placebo effect of filling up with ‘more powerful’ fuel – making motorists think their engine is running better in some way.

So, how do the Oil Companies justify the “increased power” claims for the super grade fuels? Some companies say that while all fuels contain cleaning additives, ’super’ fuels contain more or better detergents to keep the injectors cleaner than standard fuel. Others say the fuel is a few percent denser which gives slightly more power per litre. These benefits may be marginal though in comparison to the extra cost involved so it is worth ensuring that your engine will actually benefit before filling up.

Some engines actually do need higher octane fuel, such as race engines with very high compression and some turbocharged engines, such as the import version of the Nissan Skyline. Also, a few vehicles, such as the new BMW K1200R motorbike, can sense knock and adjust their engine tuning to take advantage of higher grade fuels. This ability is apparently widespread amongst German performance cars using Bosch / Siemens electronic engine controls.

A new poll of companies has found that thanks to raised public awareness, ‘Environmental Issues’ are now the biggest concern for fleet managers this year.

Out of the 800+ fleets that were surveyed, 94% list the environment as their top consideration, which was at 57% the year before.

The previous main priority was the duty of care consideration, which was at the top of the list for a number of years.

The reasons why ‘Environmental Concerns’ are now at the top of list could be due to various different reasons such as corporate responsibility and government pressure, the question is though what steps are these companies going to take to make their fleets ‘greener’?

The following suggestions have been noted:-

CO2 based Company Car Taxation – this is already in place and has already dramatically reduced emissions.

Audits – to identify whether all business journeys are necessary.

Biofuels – It is clear that 2007 will be the year in which companies across the UK will reduce the impact their fleet has on the environment.

Supermarket chains are making an effort to go green in an attempt to get their customers to do the same, last Friday (27th April) Sainsburys gave out free bag for life bags as a way to get its customers to re-use bags, instead of gaining new ones.

Sainsbury’s have also announced that they have plans to convert a fifth of their home delivery fleet to electric vehicles by 2008. They are hoping that in doing this this will save 45 tonnes of CO2 emmisions in the first year of operation.

This initiative follows a 2 year trial of the electric vehicle technology from Smith Electrical Vehicles. This is all part of Sainsbury’s customer service improvement to try and provide their customers with a more green service. The van drivers will also take away with them the plastic bags for recycling and they will use sat-navs as a way of arriving to their destination in the most efficient manner.

Tesco have also launched an online delivery service using zero emission vans, it will be running a fleet of battery powered home delivery vans that can travel for 100 miles before they need charging as well as achieving speeds of up to 50mph. These vehicles are supplied by Modec and are both quiet and pollution free – a double saving to the environment.