Clare – Page 19 – PetrolPrices

Pandemic petrol prices reach peak of £1.20-a-litre

Feb 2, 2021

Back in March 2020, during the first national lockdown, petrol prices reached lows of just 106.48p per litre. A decline in demand, oversupply and up to 80% less traffic on the roads was the cause, with motorists told to stay home and reduce travel to short, essential journeys only.

Now, ten months on, our situation remains mostly unchanged. A third national lockdown has meant restrictions are still in place and motorists have once again had their journeys capped. One thing that has changed during this lockdown, however, is the price of petrol.

Reaching heights of 120.1p-a-litre in some areas of England, petrol prices are now above what they were even before the pandemic began and are still increasing. In fact, as of this week, the cost of petrol is 5p more expensive than it was a month ago.

This is Money found that on average, motorists are currently paying £3 more than previous lockdown prices to fill up the average family-sized car with a 55-litre tank.

While journeys and traffic levels may be reduced, motorists are still having to make multiple short, essential journeys weekly and may still be travelling to and from essential jobs, meaning that they will most definitely be feeling the sting of these hiked-up prices.

AA spokesman, Luke Bosdet, acknowledged the situation motorists in lockdown are facing: ‘Many drivers in lockdown are using their cars for short trips, such as to the supermarket, and are filling up much less often than usual.’

‘If this week they have gone to the fuel station for the first time since December, they will have seen a 4p to 5p-a-litre leap in petrol and diesel prices.

‘This will be a nasty surprise and compound their lockdown frustrations.’

Currently, petrol prices in London and the South East are topping the scales at 120.32p and 120.76p-a-litre respectively, while diesel prices I similar areas are reaching highs of up to 123.71p.

Research also shows that not only are petrol prices on the rise in areas all across England, but they may also differ between forecourts. In some areas prices differed by up to 10p at a range of forecourts in the same place. This has meant that motorists are being forced to do their research before filling up in order to avoid paying more than they need to for their fuel.

But what is it that has caused this increase? And is the upward trend set to continue?

[Image Source: Shutterstock, Feb 2021]

What is causing the peak in prices?

One factor that could be to blame for the significant rise in petrol prices during this third lockdown is the cost of oil. The AA pointed out that, over the last month, the price of oil has risen by $5 to $6-a-barrell, clearly having a direct impact on the prices set for petrol.

It has also been suggested that supermarkets have played a part in the rise in pandemic petrol prices, with some organisations accusing them of taking advantage of the lockdown.

The AA suggests that a $2 increase in the price of oil is usually matched by a 1p-a-litre rise in the price of petrol. If this is the case, some retailers appear to be adding a small amount more to their prices. The AA has dubbed this a ‘lockdown bonus’ for fuel sellers.

With supermarkets making the most of this ‘lockdown bonus’, non-supermarket retailers have also been forced to up their prices to keep up with the competition, meaning that motorists are paying extra for their petrol, no matter where they get it from.

The Petrol Retailers Association chairman, Brian Madderson, explains that: ‘Petrol stations are rightly regarded as ‘essential’ businesses by the government yet the independent sector struggles for financial sustainability as fuel volumes plummet again during this latest lockdown.’

He suggested that non-supermarket retailers have struggled during this time, and have been forced to make every effort to keep their services running: ‘Unlike the big supermarkets buoyed by massive increases to grocery sales, independents have to hold onto every penny of margin to avoid cutting staff and reducing service levels in a tight market.’

As the pandemic continues, it is uncertain as to whether the upward trend in petrol prices will continue, but in the meantime, it is motorists already struggling with the economic hardships of a global pandemic who will suffer the consequences.

Do you think the rise in petrol prices during this stage of the pandemic is justified? Were you surprised at the price of petrol last time you filled up?

Tell us in the comments.

Smart motorways centre of attention again as death-preventing safety measures fast-tracked

Jan 27, 2021

Smart motorways have long been a point of controversy since being introduced over a decade ago, but this week they have once again forced back into the spotlight after a coroner ruled that they present an ‘ongoing risk of future deaths.’

This comes after the deaths of two drivers on the M1 were deemed to be caused by the lack of safety measures on smart motorways. When delivering a verdict of unlawful killing, a coroner ruled that ‘the lack of a hard shoulder contributed to the deaths of two M1 drivers.’

It is this ruling that has kick-started the discussion on whether or not the safety measures already in place are doing enough to protect motorists.

Currently, emergency laybys or refuge areas are 1.5 miles apart despite calls from motoring groups to have them more frequently spaced. To add to this, only 83.6 miles of motorway has been installed with potentially life-saving technology so far.

As a result, crisis talks with Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, are now taking place, confirms a Department for Transport spokesperson: ‘In light of the findings from the coroner, the Transport Secretary has called an urgent meeting with Highways England.’

An 18-point blueprint plan was demanded by Roads Minister, Baroness Vere, this weekend in the hope of improving driver safety as quickly and as efficiently as possible. It is thought that the meeting will have covered plans on how to ramp up the rollout of preventative safety measures across all 500 miles of smart motorways in the UK.

However, some experts believe that this may be too little, too late. Reports reveal that concerns were, in fact, raised back in 2011 about the safety of smart motorways by several Department of Transport (DfT) lawyers.

In information revealed by the Daily Mail, DfT lawyer, Farah Japanwalla – during a 2011 meeting about smart motorways – questioned whether ‘corporate manslaughter had been considered as part of the design and the potential liability of the agency if a road user was killed due to the operation of the network.’

Unfortunately, the concern was dismissed as a computer simulator used to test driver behaviour confirmed that it would be safe to proceed.

In light of the recent deaths caused by smart motorways, however, MP Karl McCartney, a member of the Commons’ Transport Committee admitted: ‘It seems we were right to suspect the policy [of smart motorways] was ill-thought-out and unsafe.’

AA President, Edmund King, also commented: ‘Questions were asked by government lawyers ten years ago when the plans to remove the hard shoulder were discussed.’

‘Had our calls for more emergency laybys been listened to a decade ago, we may not be in this position.’

While recognising an ongoing issue with smart motorways is a positive move forward, it leaves motorists questioning whether recent tragedies might have been avoided if concerns from a decade ago had been taken seriously. It also poses the question: who is to blame?

[Image Source: Shutterstock, Jan 2021]

What new safety measures can we expect to see?

Highways England has reassured motorists that they can expect to see new smart motorway safety measures being rolled out as soon as possible: ‘We are determined to do all we can to make our roads as safe as possible and are already addressing many of the points raised by the coroner.’ But what might these measures entail?

The new safety technology to be installed on all smart motorways will be the continuation of a system that has already been in use on over 37 miles.

It takes the form of a radar system that is able to rapidly detect the location of broken-down vehicles on smart motorways. Within 20 seconds, it will identify a stationary vehicle, allowing other preventative measures to be swiftly put into place to protect the driver of the vehicle and other motorway users.

On smart motorways where this technology has yet to be installed, stationary vehicles’ identification relies on CCTV. This is a much slower process and leaves broken-down vehicles trapped in live traffic lanes without an escape route.

While plans are in place to roll this technology out over all 500 miles of smart motorway by 2023, it still leaves motorists wondering how many more fatal accidents may occur between now and then?

Do you think it should have taken this long to install better safety measures on smart motorways? Are you fearful of using them because of the risks they pose?

Tell us in the comments.

Minor traffic offence fines given government go-ahead

Jan 27, 2021

In London, up to one million minor traffic offence fines are handed out each year by local authorities. Now, MPs have confirmed that the extra powers enabling London authorities to do this will be extended over the rest of the country in the coming months.

This means that in addition to fines for offences like speeding and parking, motorists will now be at risk of being fined for smaller contraventions like driving in cycle lanes, failing to follow one-way systems, failing to adhere to no-entry signs, entering yellow-box junctions and failing to give priority to oncoming traffic.

It is thought that motorists will be caught out by Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras and could have to pay fines of anywhere between £70 and £130.

With recent data also revealing just how much local councils pocket in parking fines per year, it is not surprising that the announcement for more fining has been met with some contempt.

Nicholas Lyes, head of road policy, revealed some motorists’ concerns to This is Money, saying: ‘Most motorists think local authorities will rush to install cameras as a way to generate extra revenue.’

He also stated that: ‘Two out of five drivers we spoke to fear road layouts and signage will be made deliberately confusing to increase the number of penalties issues.’

Despite complaints, however, it appears that the decision is set in stone as the RAC reported that this shift in legal powers would be rolled out across the country within the year.

Department for Transport also recently discussed the practicalities of bringing forward the legislative proposal to enable local authorities to issue fines for minor traffic offences. The one saving grace for concerned motorists being that it could be some time before the new laws are in place.

Transport Minister, Rachel Maclean, was asked in the House of Commons about how quickly these plans may come into force so that a clear timeline could be established. She stated that it would be ‘some months’ before local authorities were given the final go-ahead:

‘The moving traffic enforcement powers under Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 require a set of statutory instruments to be made covering enforcement, level of penalties, financial provisions, approved devices, adjudication and representation and appeals.’

‘This will take several months to bring into force, after which those local authorities with civil parking enforcement powers can apply for a designation order for moving traffic enforcement.’

In an attempt to quell concerns from motorists, she also reassured that: ‘Statutory guidance is being developed for local authorities on how to use the powers, including publishing their introduction in advance, to ensure that enforcement is carried out fairly.’

[Image Source: Shutterstock, Jan 2021]

How much of an impact will minor traffic fines have?

London and Cardiff are already subject to minor traffic offence fines, and motorists in both cities have found that at times, the offences are incredibly difficult to avoid. Some even described them as sneaky or traps.

This was a particular issue with yellow box junctions, with the RAC revealing that up to 80% of drivers found driving smoothly through yellow boxes to be challenging. At the same time, a third stated that they had become stuck in a yellow box due to slow responses from other road users. This begs the question, should motorists be held accountable for offences out of their control?

Unfortunately, the answer is yes. Motorists will not be able to dispute these fines based on the actions of other road users and will have to accept the charge. They will, however, be spared points on their licence.

The RAC also revealed that in the space of a year in London and Cardiff, over £30 million had been amassed from yellow box junction fines alone. A staggeringly high number for such a minor offence and one that is only adding to the contempt already displayed by worried motorists across the country.

Again, Nicholas Lyes is aware of these concerns and has put forward a solution, suggesting: ‘Local authorities should consider sending first offenders a warning letter – and only issue a penalty if they repeat the offence later on.’

While it is reassuring to know that concerns are being heard, it does not remove the inevitable impact that this will have on drivers everywhere.

Do you think minor offence fines are yet another ploy to feed cash-hungry councils? Or are you pleased that efforts are being made to improve the way we behave on our roads?

Tell us in the comments.

Councils pocket up to £10.6 million in parking fines per year

Jan 19, 2021

It has recently been revealed that local councils up and down the UK are frequently pocketing vast amounts of revenue from parking fines.

While the average council issued more than £850,000 worth of parking fines in under a year, some busier London boroughs brought in almost ten times that with numbers reaching £10.6 million.

These statistics have been drawn from a study conducted by This is Money, carried out to establish which councils were raking in the most revenue from parking fines during the period from August 2019 to July 2020.

During this period, it was discovered on average that 63 parking fines were being handed out per day by most councils. These drivers were charged with anywhere between £37 and £41.

Add to this the cost of parking charges accumulated during the same period and the total brought in by councils reaches £996 million. That equates to £2.7 million a day, or £32 per second. It was also revealed that some councils struggling for cash had raised parking prices by up to 230 per cent, which has only served to boost the already staggering numbers further.

A separate study, conducted in 2015, reinforces the dramatic increase in parking fine revenue over the last five years. In the same period between 2015 and 2016, numbers only reached £756 million.

At the time, this number was described by Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, to be ‘eye-wateringly large’ but also an inevitable result of growing competition for parking spaces in towns and cities.

He also added in defence of parking fine fees that ‘parking charges are one of the tools councils use to keep traffic moving whilst also allowing people reasonable and affordable access to high street shops and other facilities.’

Despite these worryingly high numbers from five years ago, a representative of the Local Government Association at the time insisted that ‘councils did not make a profit from parking’ but that ‘local authorities must strike a balance when setting charges to ensure there are parking spaces available and traffic is not held up.’

‘We’ve been clear that councils shouldn’t use parking as a cash cow,’ a spokesperson added, but with numbers continuing to rise, drivers have been left questioning the reasoning behind the increase.

In relation to this most recent study, Dan Huston, head of motoring at Compare the Market admitted that, despite previous warnings ‘parking fine revenues are a cash cow for many local authorities’ and that ‘up and down the country drivers are regularly being caught out by tight parking restrictions.’

He finished with a warning to UK drivers to stay vigilant: ‘we would encourage drivers to take extra care and attention when parking up their car to ensure they avoid a parking fine.’

[Image Source: Shutterstock, Jan 2021]

Parking fines in your area

London based local councils brought in by far the most revenue from parking fines, with key locations named as city centres and high streets. These areas also accounted for some of the most elevated parking fine charge fees, with the London Borough of Haringey demanding a colossal £72.04 from caught out drivers.

While the London Borough of Newham topped the charts for the most considerable amount of parking fine revenue with £10.6 million, other local authorities outside of London weren’t far behind.

The City of Glasgow came in at £5.4 million, with over 100,000 fines issued, followed by Birmingham City Council at £3.9 million with a similar number of fines issued but with a slightly lower charge than the City of Glasgow.

Also making the top ten list outside of London were: Brighton and Hove City Council, Liverpool City Council, East Sussex Council, Newcastle upon Tyne City Council, Medway Council, Bournemouth Borough Council, Cardiff Council and Oxfordshire County Council.

Every single local authority on the top 20 list, London boroughs included, brought in at least £1.5 million in parking revenues during the aforementioned time period.

Upon seeing these figures, one motorist commented that local authorities are ‘killing towns and villages’ with ramped up parking fine fees, while another defended councils, reinforcing the idea that ‘the council doesn’t issue fines if there isn’t any rule-breaking – why do motorists think they can park anywhere they want?’

Did your area make the Top 20 list? Do you think parking fine rules are unfair or justified?

Tell us in the comments.

Councils make switch to plug-in cars difficult with no plans to install on-street chargers

Jan 19, 2021

Despite record numbers of plug-in cars registered over the last year, research shows that only 9,300 on-street electric car chargers are set to be installed between now and 2025.

The move towards electric vehicles is accelerating as the new petrol and diesel model ban looms closer. Still, research shows that many local councils are failing to put plans in place to accommodate this shift by installing on-street chargers; some areas have no plans whatsoever to install any in the next five years. This is despite the £10 million government funding made available to do so.

In 2020, 175,082 plug-in models were registered in the UK, but current plans for installing on-street chargers would mean that there would be only one new on-street charger installation per 19 electric and hybrid models.

Experts have warned that without action, this lack of intent from local councils could prove to be a ‘huge bottle-neck’ to plug-in vehicles in the coming years.

The switch to electric vehicles by 2030 has already been dubbed as too ambitious, and motorists up and down the country have raised concerns about its practicalities. It seems that this new information has severed to cast further doubt.

A Centrica study which polled 2,000 UK drivers revealed that ‘half of the drivers who are not considering buying an electric vehicle blamed the lack of access to on-street or public charging points in their area.’

While motorists with access to a garage or driveway may not be impacted by lack of on-street chargers, it is motorists who rely on on-street parking who will be disadvantaged.

In fact, more than three-quarters of motorists in the same survey said that ‘the investment into more on-street charging points in urban areas would encourage more drivers without a driveway to go electric’ while a further three-quarters felt that the same could be said for rural areas.

Amanda Stretton, sustainable transport editor at Centrica, shares in the concern of motorists, saying: ‘The latest figures released today demonstrate the need for all UK councils to play their part in helping to achieve the 2030 ban. With over half of drivers attributing lack of charges as the main reason preventing them from purchasing an EV, it’s unfair that those without a driveway risk getting left behind.’

She also admitted that: ‘charging infrastructure and energy systems will need to be upgraded to cope with the demand and support drivers.’ Without these efforts, experts are concerned that this will serve as yet another barrier to the 2030 petrol and diesel ban’s success.

Electric vehicles charging via on-street charging point

[Image Source: Shutterstock, Jan 2021]

Councils not entirely to blame

While councils who are slow to install on-street chargers make up part of the problem, experts also say that they are not entirely to blame: ‘We cannot put the onus on councils alone to create the infrastructure to support electric vehicles, it has to be a team effort’, says managing director of parking provider, RingGo, Peter O’Driscoll.

In another survey carried out by RingGo, Mr O’Driscoll confirmed that they had obtained similar results to Centrica: ‘we found over 30% of those open to switching to an electric car still feel there needs to be greater availability of charging facilities to fully commit.’

He reinforced the need to educate motorists and councils alike on the benefits of electric vehicles in a plight to encourage them to take action: ‘There needs to be an education about not only the capabilities of electric vehicles – the distance they can travel, how often they need to be charged and the cost-saving associated – but also the tools available to find charging points across the country.’

Centrica added that in their endeavour to boost installations, they ‘are working with businesses to install smart charging systems which help automate charging at times which does not put pressure on the grid. This helps regulate demand and ensures customers get the best deal on electric prices.’

With 126 councils across the UK having no plans to install any on-street chargers before 2025, it seems that other organisations like Centrica and RingGo are being left to prepare the country for the big switch by themselves.

Unless something changes, experts warn, the ‘serious lack of investment’ in local infrastructure will ‘ultimately strangle ministers’ efforts to convince drivers to switch to electric cars ahead of the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel vehicles.

Do you think councils are doing enough to provide on-street chargers? Have you been convinced to make the electric switch?

Tell us in the comments.

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