Clare – Page 10 – PetrolPrices

Smart Motorway Cameras Concerns

Jul 13, 2022

This week, a new stretch of smart motorway opened on the M4, running 15 miles from Junction 8/9 at Maidenhead to Junction 3 at Hayes, West London. National Highways said that the cones and barriers in place during the works that started in 2018 would be lifted by early morning on the 16th July. This is the final part of an £848 million upgrade to turn this busy stretch of the M4 into a smart motorway.

In an earlier article about smart motorways, we detailed initial concerns about possible preventable accidents that had led to a pause in the rollout whilst evidence was gathered to see if they are safe or not for drivers.

Stopped Vehicle Detection (SVD) Camera Failures

In the meantime, an internal report obtained via freedom of information has found that technology on smart motorways is failing to detect nearly four in ten broken-down vehicles within a time limit considered safe by senior transport managers.

The technology in question is Stopped Vehicle Detection (SVD). The report stated that SVD is flagging only 62 per cent of those stranded in live traffic within 20 seconds. According to the unpublished 2019 report obtained by the Daily Mail under the Freedom of Information Act, this is the time frame deemed acceptable by the roads agency National Highways. This is particularly concerning when vehicles break down on all-lane running (ALR) smart motorways with no hard shoulders, and stranded vehicles and their passengers risk being hit by other vehicles.

The study also found that a fifth of SVD alerts are wrong even though the target is that they are incorrect in no more than 15 per cent of cases. The errors highlighted included flagging breakdowns on the opposite carriageway to where they happened.

The Daily Mail reported Jack Cousens of the AA saying, “ …smart motorways were sold to the public by National Highways on the basis that if the worst happens, we will find you and keep you safe. Shockingly, drivers are sitting ducks for longer than they should be. These figures show the system is woefully inadequate.”

In its 2022 stocktake report the Highways Agency stated, “It should be noted that the impact of the measures we have delivered as part of the 2020 Action Plan, such as introducing more SVD and enabling increased enforcement of Red X signals, is not reflected in the latest safety data. It will not be possible to assess the impact of these measures until at least late 2023 when some of this data will start to be available.”

Tinkerbell is the most popular name for a first car in 2022

Jul 6, 2022

The first fuel station in the UK

Jun 30, 2022

The first roadside fuel station in the UK opened in November 1919 and was located just outside the village of Aldermaston in Berkshire. There is sadly no trace of this motoring landmark, and the site of the station is now a layby on the A4.

The Development of petrol stations in the UK and elsewhere

The Automobile Association (AA) ran the Aldermaston petrol station, one of several they opened in the 1920s. Before the opening of these stations, there were no specialist filling stations, and fuel was obtained in nine-litre cans from a number of different retail outlets. Pavement pumps were installed in some places in the years before 1919, but the AA led the way with the idea of selling fuel from dedicated roadside locations. Part of the rationale behind the AA’s venture into fuel locations was to sell benzole, a motor spirit derived from coal and tar seen as a patriotic alternative to petrol imported from communist Russia. The AA stations were not open to the general public, you had to be an AA member to use them, and they were a non-profit offering.

Other parts of the world had developed roadside stations well before the UK. The first record of a roadside petrol station anywhere in the world was in Wiesloch, Germany. Bertha Benz, the business partner and wife of the creator of the first internal combustion engine in a car, Karl Benz, refilled the tank of the first automobile on its maiden trip in 1888. In 1905 St Louis Missouri was the site of the first station in the USA. However, Reighard’s Gas Station in Altoona, Pennsylvania claims to be the oldest existing station in the US, dating from 1909.

The 1920s saw a significant increase in the number of petrol stations in the UK. By the end of the decade, there were over 28,000 petrol stations, with a peak of around 40,000 reached in 1967. Today there are 8,385 petrol stations in the UK, a significant drop in the number of stations but the locations are much larger, and they offer a far more extensive range of facilities.

What is the future of petrol stations?

RS Automotive in Takoma Park, Maryland, become the first petrol station in the USA to stop selling fossil fuels and replace its pumps with electric vehicle chargers. Many petrol stations in the UK have installed chargers, but none have taken the step of removing fuel pumps altogether. One hundred years on from the first roadside petrol station in the UK, we await the next phase of development in how we refuel our cars.

Future Classics: top five imported cars set to soar in value

Jun 22, 2022

Alpine A110S, 2019

Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio, 2018

Abarth 695 Biposto, 2014

Fiat 124 Spider, 2017

Edition 1 Mercedes, 2016

Alpine A110S, 2019

The beautiful Alpine A110S is a lightweight coupe characterised by high engine power, a focused chassis setup and refined design elements. The A110S was engineered to deliver sharp handling response and high-speed stability. The smart styling flourishes both inside and out, helping amplify the car’s purposeful nature and give it true potential to become a future classic.

Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio, 2018

Alfa Romeo’s unexpected contribution to the shortlist of future classics is its latest model of the Stelvio Quadrifoglio. Built with many class-topping features, the premium compact SUV immediately set a new benchmark in its segment. With its design, performance and technology, Stelvio Quadrifoglio is officially the fastest SUV around the circuit, having registered a new record for its class on the iconic Nürburgring racetrack at 7 minutes 51.7 seconds.

Abarth 695 Biposto, 2014

The only road legal production car with an optional ‘dog ring gearbox’ is the Abarth 695 Biposto. The 695 Biposto is the most extreme version of the Abarth – essentially a Fiat 500 – with a 1.4 litre turbo engine. The car weighs just under a tonne at 997kg and accelerates from 0-62 in a remarkable 5.9 seconds.

Fiat 124 Spider, 2017

The 2017 version of the Fiat 124 Spider revives the original’s classic styling and typically Italian performance to a new generation. Paying homage to the original open-top 124 Spider that launched 50 years ago, the 2017 124 Spider delivers an authentic Italian roadster experience filled with driving excitement and technology, combined with a classic Italian design.

Edition 1 Mercedes, 2016

The special “Edition 1” model of the Mercedes-AMG C63 Coupé marks an extraordinary and powerful combination of exclusive design and equipment characterised and inspired by the aesthetics of future Mercedes-AMG racing coupés, which went on to compete in the popular DTM racing series in 2016.

¹ William Kikham, Director at Targa Florio Cars, John Graeme, Redline Specialist Cars, The Team at Cornerhouse Garage

Fuel Price Analysis: Jan 2021 to June 2022

Jun 14, 2022

The last few months have been a challenging time for motorists. At PetrolPrices, we analyse how prices have changed in the 18 months and look at how prices vary across regions in the UK.

Diesel & Unleaded PPL Price by Week since Jan 2021 (1)

Price Changes in the Last 18 months

Unleaded and Diesel Trend

In the first week of 2021, the average price for Unleaded was 117.19ppl. There was a steady increase through to early December when prices hit an average of 148.37ppl. Prices remained relatively stable until the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The next few weeks of turmoil saw a further increase to 170.38ppl towards the end of March, followed by a lull after the changes in duty. Sadly, since then, prices have continued their upward trend. Average prices are now at 187.93ppl, with a worrying expectation that there may be more increases to come.

Diesel tended to follow the trend of Unleaded’s steady increase up to the beginning of December, generally around 2ppl higher than Unleaded. The Russian invasion of Ukraine had a more significant impact on Diesel prices. The difference in the average price of Diesel was up to 7ppl higher than Unleaded. Diesel prices hit a new height of 191.21ppl in the last week, around 3.5ppl higher than Unleaded.

Regional Trends

The regional tables highlight and compare Unleaded and Diesel prices on 13th June 2021 and 2022. The most significant increase in Unleaded over the past year has been in Northern Ireland, where the increase is over 7ppl higher than in South West England.

Diesel price increases in most regions have been in the high 50s and just over 60ppl in the last year. The outlier once again is the South West, with an increase of 55.40ppl in the past 12 months.

This surge in the price of fuel has translated to spending around £25 more to fill your car. There are regional differences, but the cost of Unleaded and Diesel at the forecourt will cause challenges wherever you live.