Latest Fuel News

ACFO urges fleets to implement new initiatives to limit business disruption once the Olympics arrive in Britain this summer and ensure operating efficiency is maintained.

That was the message to almost 100 fleet decision-makers who attended a special Olympic Seminar hosted by ACFO and held at Ford of Britain’s Brentwood headquarters.

Advanced travel planning is vital with up to 800,000 spectators and 55,000 athletes, officials, organisers and members of the media travelling to and from the Olympic venues every day. The Government has said that the overall transport ambition is to reduce non-Olympic demand during the Games by 30%.

Although London is the focal point of both the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games there are events taking place in many other towns and cities. As a result, organisations may be located many miles from London, but they would be wrong to think that the Games would not impact on them, delegates at the ACFO Seminar were told.

Fleets were also reminded that thousands of vehicles typically available for short-term hire had already been booked by people attending the Games in one capacity or another prompting warnings that short-term hire options would be limited or possibly unavailable.

ACFO chairman Julie Jenner said: “There are less than 140 days to go until the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics and doing nothing is not an option for fleet chiefs.

“However, anecdotal evidence suggests that many employers have under estimated the impact that the Olympic and Paralympic Games will have on their businesses.

“Whether it is staff travelling to and from offices or depots; goods being collected or delivered; or meetings and appointments being held there will be disruption.

“There is a vast amount of information already available in terms of temporary road restrictions being introduced and public transport availability as a result of the Games, but advance planning in conjunction with employees, customers and suppliers is crucial to maintain business efficiency.

“Travel will be affected during July, August and early September, but fleet decision-makers can get ahead of the Games by compiling travel strategies now. Consideration of vehicle and driver utilisation now is essential.”

Jenner added: “It is also important to remember that not only are the Games occurring during the peak UK summer holiday period, but that many employees will also be attending events. Therefore schedules may need to be compiled to ensure sufficient staff are available to ensure optimum business efficiency.”

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The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has released a report that claims that using smartphones while driving poses a greater risk than drink-driving.

The IAM partnered with the Transport Research Laboratory on the project, which saw a group of young drivers given a smartphone and asked to access social networking site Facebook while behind the wheel of the TRL’s DigiCar driving simulator.

As a result of the test, the IAM found that reaction times were slowed by around 38 per cent while key events during the simulation were often missed. Additionally, participants found themselves unable to maintain a central lane position, and were unable to respond as quickly to changes in speed by the car in front.

Previous studies on the effects of drink driving showed a reaction time hit of 12.5 per cent at the legal limit, while cannabis consumption slowed drivers’ reactions by 37.4 per cent.

The IAM’s figures are remarkably close to a previous study into the effects of sending or receiving text messages while behind the wheel, which showed reaction times slowing by 37.4 per cent. Given the similarity between texting and Facebook messaging, this is no real surprise.

What may come as a surprise, however, is the IAM’s claim that around 24 per cent of 17-24 year old drivers have admitted to using smartphones for email and social networking services while driving – despite the clearly deleterious effect such use has on safety.

“This research shows how incredibly dangerous using smartphones while driving is, yet unbelievably it is a relatively common practice,” explained IAM chief executive Simon Best of the study. “If you’re taking your hand off the wheel to use the phone, reading the phone display and thinking about your messages, then you’re simply not concentrating on driving. It’s antisocial networking and it’s more dangerous than drink driving and it must become just as socially unacceptable.

“Young people have grown up with smartphones and using them is part of everyday life. But more work needs to be done by the government and social network providers to show young people that they are risking their lives and the lives of others if they use their smartphones while driving.”

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Automotive bodies across the board have deemed Tuesday’s fuel duty debate an encouraging step towards some relief from suffocating fuel costs for struggling motorists and transport businesses.

The issue of fuel duty – which makes up 60% of prices at the pump – was granted discussion time in the House of Commons after an online petition secured more than 114,000 signatures as well as the support of 116 MPs.

A motion was passed without a vote and Geoff Dunning, Chief Exec of the Road Haulage Association, was impressed with the positive reaction from MPs on such a huge issue.

“Road hauliers in general and the members of the RHA in particular will be encouraged to know that their hard work is recognised by their parliamentary representatives,” he commented.

“The pressures under which hauliers operate was stressed by several MPs; it’s good to know that all the hard work is finally paying off.”

Mr Dunning warned against complacency, emphasising that the biggest priority was to ensure that January’s 3ppl increase didn’t happen: “We cannot yet regard the abolition of January’s proposed duty increase as a done deal. The fact remains that this will be a short term solution to a problem that must see a long term solution.

“There is still a long way to go but we are delighted that the debate has shown that the voice speaking in our favour is louder than ever before.”

The time has come

Edmund King, AA President, believes that motorists should be “given a break from the annual cycle of fuel duty increases”.

“We were disappointed that the January fuel duty rise went ahead at a time of rising oil prices and higher VAT,” he wrote in his letter to Chancellor George Osborne, published on the AA website.

“The private car is, for most people, a necessity not a luxury. It is their means to a job, health care, doing the shopping, visiting relatives and friends and also for improving the quality of their lives.

“Motorists do not understand the logic of high fuel duty rises which further increase RPI and force demand down at a difficult time for family and business budgets which need mobility to stay afloat.”

Mr King acknowledged the importance of balancing the books but added that the time had come for lower pump prices.

Kickstart now

Theo de Pencier, CEO of the Freight Transport Association was pleased with how Tory MP Caroline Nokes’ focused on the struggle of transport businesses during the three and a hour debate.

“Thanks to tremendous support for our campaign from industry, MPs and the public, the Government has now heard first hand how high levels of fuel tax have not just hurt an industry beset by redundancies and insolvencies, but actually reduced the amount of revenue taken by the Treasury,” commented Theo.

“Clearly, the instinct to raise taxes to fill a massive budget deficit heaps more cost pressure on business and stymies economic growth and must be suppressed.

“We have achieved a new level of engagement with MPs on this issue, but Government needs to act now to kickstart our economy; scrapping the fuel duty rises planned for 2012 would be an excellent start.”

No u-turn

Subsequent comments from Vince Cable suggest that freezing fuel duty will be easier said than done and a response from the Government was far from supportive.

“Abandoning the Government’s plan could lead to rising interest rates and falling international confidence, which would undermine the recovery,” read the letter onFairFuelUK.com.

Should 2012’s fuel duty rises still go ahead, some motorists can – to an extent – take matters into their own hands.

“Don’t wait for the Chancellor to reduce the cost of driving, do it yourself,” advised Peter Rodger, Chief Examiner for the Institute of Advanced Motorists.

“The way you drive has a big impact on the amount of fuel you use. If you slow down and leave more of a gap between you and other vehicles, you won’t need to accelerate and brake so much. That’s two easy ways to improve your miles per gallon by up to 15%.”

The UK’s first public Hydrogen fuel station has opened in Swindon!  The site is causing wide-spread speculation that this is the first step to making Hydrogen powered vehicles a more viable option that petrol or Diesel vehciles.

The station is located at Honda’s South Marston plant, and experts have already predicted that before long other car manufacturers will be following suit.

Hydrogen powered vehicles are pollution free, as the only emissions that would be produced are water!

Motorists have finally been given some good news today regarding fuel prices, in the 2011 Budget.

The news is welcomed by motorists as fuel prices have now reached new record highs, with diesel costing more than 140p a litre.

Chancellor George Osborne has finally confirmed that he will scrap the planned 1p rise in fuel duty which was meant to be introduced on 1^st April ; he surprised motorists by announcing a reduction of 1p a litre which will be effective as of 6pm today.

Osborne also confirmed a Fuel Stabiliser will be introduced to help keep fuel costs level; this will be financed by an increased levy on oil and gas production. A fuel duty stabiliser will work by making sure that when fuel prices go down duty will increase and when fuel prices increase fuel duty will fall.

BBC Radio 5 Live has carried out research which has revealed clear evidence that fuel crime is on the up.

The report tells how in the last year countless hauliers have become victim to thousands of pounds worth of fuel crime. The survey was given to 6,000 firms out of which there were 150 respondents.

One incident saw over five thousand liters of diesel stolen from a fleet.

Over the last year 88 of the 150 firms who responded, revealed that they had experienced fuel theft, most of which are reported to be haulage companies. Worryingly one of the respondents told how a fuel tank had been emptied whilst their driver was resting. This had led to an increasing number of firms investing in additional fuel tank security.

A concerning find is that a high percentage of those who have been targeted by thieves did not report the crime as they felt it will not be treated seriously by police.

The increase in fuel theft coincides with the price of fuel rising; it is believed thieves steal diesel and resell it at a cheap price.

HRM Revenue & Customs is in the process of exposing diesel laundering plants up and down the UK, they are reported to have uncovered twenty plants last year alone.

One report claims that fuel theft costs the UK around £800 million every year.

After weeks of petitioning to encourage the government to reverse their decision to increase fuel duty in April, Fair Fuel UK today handed in a document containing 120k names to Downing Street.

The group which was originally started by a haulage boss spent weeks gathering signatures to help prevent UK fuel prices increasing.

The group believes the number of names on the petition is a clear sign that the nation is really suffering as a result of fuel prices and for this reason the Government must do something about it.

The document was strategically handed in today so the Chancellor would view the petition before making a final decision whether to impose the fuel duty or not.

Today the Scottish National Party Government is calling on Westminster to scrap April’s planned fuel duty increase and to implement a fuel duty stabilizer. This debate is a first as the SNP has never before gathered to discuss fuel prices.

The SNP has told of how the petrol and diesel prices in Scotland are some of the highest in Europe and how the rise in fuel duty could be detrimental to economic recovery and the population.

It is thought that this debate has been prompted by the action of the nationwide FairFuelUK campaign. This campaign is fighting to create affordable fuel prices for everyone and now is believed to have over 100,000 signatures all in favor to have April’s planned fuel duty stopped.

SNP Ministers are believed to have said that the UK government must listen to the nations’ concerns about fuel prices as they are impacting everyone; from businesses to families the stress is being felt all round. The situation felt in Scotland is widely thought of as unfathomable as oil reserves in the North Sea region are plenty. Arguments by the SNP suggest that the oil reserves in the North Sea could be used to give motorists and businesses a little relief at the fuel pumps.

The SNP will reportedly unite with other parliamentary groups to put pressure on the UK government to implement a fuel duty stabilizer and to not increase fuel duty come April.

The SNP has widely commented in various interviews that the impact fuel prices are having on business and families is damaging. Many SNP ministers have told of how people are struggling to cope, and how businesses are no longer able to overcome increasing prices.

It is noted that the UK government will address the issue of rising fuel prices in the upcoming budget scheduled for the 23^rd March 2011.

Breakdown services across the country are revealing that the number of call outs related to empty fuel tanks is on the rise. It is thought that this increase derives from the rising cost of diesel and petrol.

One breakdown service revealed that the number of incidents related to this problem within their company rose by a staggering 40% in one month alone.

A separate survey taken of motorists showed that almost 50% of drivers have been at serious risk of breaking down due to having not filled up their fuel tank. It is reported that almost one third of these incidents occurred during the New Year; coinciding with rising fuel prices.

Investigations have also shown that since the fuel prices have risen, over 30% of drivers have chosen to drive less in an attempt to offset the cost of filling up their vehicle.

With avoiding filling up becoming a growing problem experts including mechanics and breakdown service providers are urging drivers to rethink this tactic as this can cause long-term damage to a vehicle.

What many drivers do not realize is that at the bed of the tank there is a lot of gunk including sludge, metal filings and sediment; if this is fed into the fuel nozzles it can be fatal.

Many experts are urging drivers to find other ways of tackling fuel prices suggested methods are:
- Use public transport
- Car share
- Cut down unnecessary journeys
- Adapt to more fuel efficient driving styles

For businesses running a fleet of vehicles the previously discussed techniques aren’t always plausible and therefore other more permanent strategies have to be investigated. The answer to good fleet management is to consistently monitor all expenses; something a fuel card makes effortless.

In a nutshell a fuel card functions in a very comparable way to a credit card with a number of distinct beneficial differences; purchase restrictions, recording of vital data and VAT invoicing are all offered as part of the fuel card service. It is very important to remember to have a strategy for fuel management.

If you would like to discuss your fuel management strategy please call us on:  0845 450 5755

Remember – Running on empty can cause serious long-term damage to your vehicle!