Latest Fuel News

Fleet companies could make significant fuel savings by reducing the amount of weight in the back of vans and light goods vehicles, according to new research from the Energy Saving Trust.

The Energy Saving Trust says that if half the goods vehicle drivers in the UK lightened their vehicles by 75kg it would save around £50m on diesel each year, this would also result in 100,000 fewer tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

The figures are based on new research carried out by the Centre of Excellence for low carbon and fuel cell technologies – on behalf of the Energy Saving Trust, which for the first time models the impact of weight on fuel consumption using real-world driving conditions.

The research studied empty and fully loaded LGVs on typical urban and rural driving routes that accurately represent everyday driving conditions.

Under these conditions the research found that a typical car-derived van, will use around 26% less fuel when empty compared to when fully loaded and for panel vans such as the Peugeot Boxer, the difference in fuel consumption was up to 33%.

Energy Saving Trust senior knowledge manager Tim Anderson said: ‘Drivers often treat commercial vans as mobile store rooms for rarely needed equipment or parts, reducing the vehicle’s fuel economy. In addition, items such as unused roof racks add to air resistance, which increases fuel consumption.

‘Reducing the amount of additional weight in a vehicle will not only improve their fuel economy but it may also reveal that they have more space than they need.

‘As a result, businesses could consider downsizing their fleets and opting for smaller, more economical vehicles which better suit their company needs.’

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Reductions in fuel duty are the ‘key to unlocking economic growth’, says The Freight Transport Association,  and it hopes to enlighten the Government on how to achieve this.

At a meeting with chief secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander on Monday, they discussed the impact of fuel duty on the economy. There the FTA presented the findings of studies carried  out by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.

The talks, held at HM Treasury were agreed as a result of discussions between FTA backed petrol and diesel campaign group FairFuelUK were seen as a ‘promising start’ to future discussions with a further planned meeting expected in the next few weeks.

The meeting purposely took place before the Government’s planned 3p per litre fuel duty hike, which is scheduled for 1 January 2013. Critical analysis undertaken by FairFuelUK on the impact of fuel duty on UK growth and the economy formed the centrepiece of the discussions.

FairFuelUK is supported by more than a quarter of a million members of the public and was created by road hauliers and motoring organisations as a result of rising fuel costs which have a devastating impact on haulage businesses, their customers and ultimately everyone through the prices on the shelves.

Quentin Willson, national spokesman for FairFuelUK, said; “This is an enormously positive gesture from the Treasury for FairFuelUK to present their ground-breaking research on the impact raising fuel duty has on the UK economy. The fact that Treasury figures are interested and listening sends an important message to all the business and families out there deeply anxious about the forthcoming 3p rise in January. This sort of open-minded engagement is exactly what this country needs to see.”

James Hookham, FTA Managing Director – Communications and Policy, said: “FTA believes that the reductions in fuel duty are the key to un-locking economic growth and we are determined to enlighten the Treasury as to how that can be done.”

The results of the recent study include the identification of the impact of fuel duty on UK growth and the economy, and follows earlier research which was carried out by the Centre of Economic and Business Research.

Hookham added: “It is important that the Treasury understands the reasoning behind the reports both the FTA & RHA have commissioned, and takes the opportunity to act upon them in the autumn statement.”

In recent news,IAM call for a change in daylight hours for safer driving

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Fleet vehicles and the price of petrol are a crucial part of the day to day running of a large number of businesses. Almost all business require vans for deliveries – to and from clients and suppliers – as well as transporting around equipment, and even advertising their company. However, these vehicles and drivers are being threatened by the increasing cost of petrol and diesel.

A recent report, in The Telegraph newspaper, claimed that the average monthly motoring bill had increased by as much as £10. Initially, this might not sound like very much, but if a company hires several vans, this very quickly adds up. Over the space of a year, an entire fleet could be costing a company thousands in petrol alone, and that is before MOTs, road tax & van insurance.

For van drivers, especially those who are working as “self-employed”, this is particularly worrying. Many companies are looking for ways to reduce their costs, and often this including cutting down on the number of vans and of course van drivers that they use. The underlying problem is that even if van drivers attempt to cut down on the amount of fuel used, by doing less journeys, driving economically and organising delivery routes that are the most cost effective isn’t doing enough.

It is quite common, in the UK, for prices to hike at the beginning of the summer before the school’s break up. They will then, ordinarily, begin to reduce once summer is over. Whilst reductions do still occur, they are still not good enough.

Another issue that many van drivers must now contend with, as a direct result of price hikes on petrol is fuel theft. With rises going through the roof, the number of people who can no longer afford to run their vehicles has vastly increased, which has led to a subsequent increase in the number of fuel thefts. Unfortunately for their unwitting drivers, vans as well as lorries are the biggest targets for thieves. The question is why? There are a number of reasons, but the most popular assumptions are because vans and lorries tend to sit for long periods of time, or even that they contain larger amounts of fuel than most other vehicles

In other news,  Women’s car insurance premiums are to rise by 26%!

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By the end of this year the EU gender directive will be implemented putting a ban on gender based pricing for motor Insurance forcing  car insurance premiums for women up by 24%.

Last year, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that the long-established practice of setting insurance prices according to gender is illegal discrimination.

The Court’s decision forced members of the European Union to introduce a ban on gender-based pricing, and this ban will come into force on 21 December 2012.

Currently, women drivers typically pay less for car insurance than their male counterparts because they are statistically safer behind the wheel.

A report by HM Treasury states financial services providers should be allowed to make sensible decisions based on sound analysis of relevant risk factors.

What’s more, young women will feel the effects of this ruling the most – a 24 per cent rise in the cost of car insurance for 17 to 25-year-old females, according to government figures.

However, while the EU ruling is bad news for women, it’s good news for men’s prices, particularly young male drivers who can expect their premiums to fall.

In other news, Is your fleet fuel bill giving you nightmares?

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Speeds of up to 137mph have been clocked on road works on two motorways near Bristol, “lives are at risk”, a charity has said.

Work is underway to open up the hard shoulder on the M4 and M5 near the Almondsbury Interchange.

A Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents spokesman said the “excessive speeding” was “ludicrous”.

A spokesperson said, “These drivers are not only risking their own lives, they are risking the lives of other road users and the people who work in the road.

A Highways Agency spokesman said safety was its “top priority”.

“Road workers work in a dangerous environment, only feet away from moving traffic, and deserve respect and consideration from drivers, Driving through a mile of road works at 40mph takes less than 40 seconds longer than it does at 70mph but that difference can save lives.”

Between April and September, some 14,000 motorists were caught speeding by the average speed limit cameras – one driver was clocked doing 137mph.

The figures also revealed more than £168,000 has been paid in speeding fines, and that this figure was set to increase.

Police in Avon and Somerset said they were still dealing with a backlog of cases from the speed cameras.

They said, “Not all of the drivers have been identified or…court processes are still in progress if drivers have elected a court hearing rather than accept a fixed penalty notice or attend a speed education course”.

Average speed cameras record vehicle speeds by registering the time a car, lorry or motorbike takes to cover a fixed distance from which the speed can be calculated.

The system uses number plate recognition cameras to identify individual vehicles.

Some of the top speeds recorded were

137 mph – 11 August

135 mph – 11 August

131 mph – 6 June

126 mph – 16 September

125 mph – 8 July

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Forecourt Fuel Cards have learned that falling sales of fuel this spring is further proof that the market is failing.

According to the AA official figures showed almost 500 million fewer litres of petrol sold between April and June compared with the same period last year.

The figures, released by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, followed a near-120 million litre rise in petrol sales in the first three months when the tanker drivers’ dispute led to some panic buying.

Edmund King, the AA’s president, said: “Ever-increasing prices in recent years have sent petrol sales into steady decline and the panic-buying at the end of March may have brought forward sales in early April. Wet weather may also have played a part.

Mr King continued: “A fall of 2.27 billion litres in UK fuel sales over the first six months of this year compared to the same period in 2008 has got to bring some sense of reality to the fuel market and the Government.”

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Greenergy, the UK’s leading supplier of petrol and diesel, has purchased assets at the former Petroplus facility in Teesside from the joint administrators of Petroplus Refining Teesside Ltd, PwC. 

Located at Seal Sands, the terminal was previously operated by Petroplus as a diesel storage and supply location but ceased commercial operations shortly after the company went into administration earlier in the year.  Greenergy has been supplying its customers in the region from the neighbouring Vopak terminal, where it has invested in fuel manufacturing, storage and distribution facilities.

Andrew Owens, Greenergy chief executive, said: “The North East is an important hub in our UK fuel infrastructure platform and an area where we have significant sales volume.  We will continue to manufacture fuel and supply our customers from the Vopak facility.  Once it has been developed, this new site will be integrated into our existing North East system to give additional product and manufacturing capability.

“This strategic infrastructure investment follows Greenergy’s recent acquisition of assets at the Coryton refinery in a joint venture with Vopak and Shell.”

The terminal will remain closed for commercial supply over the next few months while development plans for the site are drawn up in cooperation with the relevant authorities.  The plans will include the construction of a new rail head, making Teesside the hub of Greenergy’s rail distribution network and allowing efficient movement of fuel between Teesside and its other UK locations by rail rather than by road or ship.

The 20 personnel currently working at the site will remain in employment and will assist in the development planning.

The acquisition follows investments by Greenergy in storage and distribution facilities at Coryton (2012), Cardiff (2010) Teesside (2009), Plymouth (2008) and West Thurrock on the Thames (2008).

Steven Pearson and Ian Green of PwC, joint administrators of Petroplus Refining Teesside Ltd since January 24, 2012,  said they were pleased to have completed the sale to Greenergy of  “substantially all of the company’s assets on  July 25″.

Pearson said: “This has been a very challenging administration due to the complex nature of the site and the number of stakeholders involved. We are pleased to have been able to secure a sale of the vast majority of the company’s assets to Greenergy, and in doing so preserving key infrastructure assets in the North East of England.

“All parties involved have worked extremely hard to achieve this outcome and I would personally like to thank the employees, advisors and relevant authorities who have gone the extra mile to help achieve this outcome.”

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ENVIRONMENTAL activists targeted a petrol station in the Monday morning rush hour – padlocking the petrol pumps to stop them working.

Members of Greenpeace carried out the planned attack on the Shell garage in Beddington Lane, which left the station unable to trade for three hours, in a protest over the company’s plans to drill for oil in the Arctic.

Shocked staff could do nothing but look on as protesters stormed the forecourt at around 7.45am on Monday and chained the pumps, using padlocks to stop them working.

Station manager Shailesh Patel said: “I had just arrived after it happened and one of the workers was here; he did not know what to do.

“He had been serving customers and a load of people from Greenpeace came and padlocked all of our pumps so they could not be used.

“They were coming in and waiting for customers to finish fuelling then as soon as they put the pumps down, they were chaining them up.

“We were shut for three hours; in that time normally we would have sold 4,000 litres of petrol here.”

And Croydon was not the only place to be targeted by the campaign group.

Activists shut down more than 50 other petrol stations in London and Edinburgh in their protest on Monday.

As well as padlocking the pumps, the activists were also shutting down stations by using an emergency shut-off switch to stop petrol going to the pumps, then removing a fuse to delay it being switched on again.

In other news, Shell employ petrol pump attendants to fill your tank

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Confused motorists were steering clear of Olympic lanes this week – even though they don’t come into force for the next 9 days.

Thousands of cars could be seen diverting away from the VIP-only “Games lanes” – fearing a £130 fine – as confusion spread about their operation.

The only Olympic lane to come into force today was on the M4 from Heathrow into central London, with the former M4 bus lane reserved for athletes and 2012 dignitaries.

A Transport for London spokesman said: “The M4 is flowing well today and central London traffic is down by 10 per cent, showing people have heeded our message not to drive in central London.”

But on main roads across the capital already painted with the Olympic rings logo, designating them as Games lanes, drivers were seen cutting into the middle lane — causing bottlenecks in the process.

This was happening on roads such as the A4 – while on the A40 Marylebone Road, the Games lane was empty of vehicles, causing congestion in the “normal” lane.

All Games lanes except that on the M4 remain open to all traffic until July 25 – two days before the opening ceremony – in a bid to minimise disruption to motorists.

Eltham MP Clive Efford called for leniency after raising the fines issue with Met Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe last week.

The police chief insisted there would be tough enforcement. “ People have to respect the lanes,” Mr Efford said. “But when the enforcement comes in, they [police] have got to look at the circumstances and if it’s a simple mistake, then I think they should look at it favourably.”

Some drivers said the lane system was so poorly signposted it was causing confusion and tailbacks, especially on access roads to the motorway.

Max Oppenheim, 40, a hedge fund manager from Chiswick, said: “I have been past it three times and only noticed the sign saying ‘ Olympic Lanes’ once.

“It is causing a bottleneck at the access after Hogarth roundabout, as when you come off, people are instantly cutting in from the right lane to avoid it.

“I effectively got T-boned. You can’t see it from a hundred yards back. There needs to be more clarity”.

However, Pedro Cintra, 40, who works for a media company, said: “ The road is fine, the Olympic Lane made no difference. The traffic was no worse than usual.”

Van driver Phil Roberts, 30, said: “The M4 was okay and the traffic was better than last week when it was closed. I wasn’t aware of the lane though and didn’t see the signs.”

The M4 lane can, in theory, operate between 5am and 10pm but will be activated based on demand.

It stretches along 3.5 miles of the eastbound M4 between junctions 3 and 2 —  the route of the former M4 bus lane which was abolished by the Coalition government. All other motorists are banned from the lane during operating hours but licensed taxi drivers are exempt.

Vehicles of 7.5 tonnes-plus are banned from the M4 link during ongoing repairs to the damaged Boston Manor flyover and are being diverted along the A4. But official Olympic coaches and buses are exempt from the ban.

Elsewhere in the capital jams have formed on roads as motorists avoid the lanes marked with the Olympic rings — even though most of the restrictions will not be activated until 6am on Wednesday 25 July.

Traffic has built up on an eastbound stretch of the North Circular near Wembley as three lanes of traffic converge into two. Motorists claimed a sign saying the Olympic lane was not in use was not clearly visible.

In other news, Stuck in a traffic jam for five and a half days !

Did you know we can save you a guaranteed 3 pence per litre on diesel pump prices when using one of our fuel cards?  

Visit www.forecourtfuels.co.uk for more information.