Simple tips to save money on Petrol and Diesel costs

Hopefully, you’ll have recognised by now that whilst we are a fuel card provider we are always encouraging drivers to save as much money as they can in as many ways as possible. At Forecourt Fuels we recognise that the cost of fuel has hit many businesses hard in an economic recession. Whilst our business is growing many people are looking to save money to survive.

Here we have another two tips to save fuel costs:

1. Unusually, we recommend that you don’t fill your vehicle right up with fuel each time. Fuel is
    heavy so having a full tank of fuel feels good but the reality is that you are around 4% less
    efficient with a full tank of fuel.

2. Remember that having your foot hard on the accelerator doesn’t always mean the car is
    travelling faster. It may be that a heavy right foot can be delivering unrequired fuel, so ease
    back on the pedal a little.

Fuel Consumption

We all know in reality, that driving more sensibly will improve the fuel consumption of the vehicle. Driving at a constant speed with fewer gear changes makes motorways the most fuel efficient place to drive. It is estimated that with actual driving changes you could save up to 10% on fuel costs alone.

In addition, the following two suggestions will save around 10%

1. Turn off the air conditioning unless you really need it. Air conditioning uses as much as 8% more
    fuel, although having a single window open can also increase fuel consumption by around 3%

2. Taking the roof rack off a car when not needed will decrease overall fuel consumption by around
    2%

Savings on Fuel Costs

It's actually possible to cut your annual petrol or diesel cost by up to a third, saving potentially hundreds of pounds a year, just by making a few driving changes. The highest proportion of the actual cost of fuel goes in tax as a deliberate result of successive government’s environmental and anti-congestion policies. Saving money on fuel is not just about finding the cheapest forecourt price; we can do that for you. We mean saving even more money by driving your car in a more efficient way.
The first two tips may be fairly basic by design, but simply work:

1. Keeping your tyres correctly inflated will not only help with the overall safety of your journey but will also increase your miles per gallon fuel consumption by up to 3%

2. Having the boot full of junk will increase your fuel consumption by around 3%. Just have a look at what you genuinely need and you’ll be saving collectively 6% by just inflating your tyres to the correct pressure and emptying the boot.

Fuel Tax in the UK

Fuel tax in the UK has constantly changed over the last decade and has risen steadily over the last 15 years. From 1993 to 1999 there was a rapid increase with duties on fuel consistently increasing by above annualised rate of inflation. This was as a result of a major change in petrol taxation in 1993 when the government of the time introduced the Fuel Price 'escalator'. This was legitimised as a way of the government helping to protect the environment by discouraging people from using their cars. Naturally, it produced a new source of revenue for the government in the process.
The fuel escalator forced prices to rise from one of the lowest in Europe to now, certainly one of the most expensive. When it was first introduced fuel prices rose by 3 pence a litre and tax contributed to 72.8% of the total cost. By 1997, just four years, the escalator had added 11.1p to the cost of unleaded petrol and was at 75%.