Ten years ago, petrol cost, on average, 77.9 pence per litre, although it was occasionally even less than that.
Now the price of one of the country’s most desirable commodities has risen to over £1.30 p/l in some parts of the country, and with the unease in the Middle East unlikely to bring the price of oil crashing down any time soon, motorists are having to get clever in order to save money.
Motoring is an expensive business these days: increasingly there is a feeling in the air that, for some members of society (the author included) a car is a luxury, not a necessity, and one that has to sit by the wayside until wallets get fatter.
Insurance prices have also skyrocketed, apparently due to the rise of personal injury claims and fraudulent activity.
So there really is no other alternative. We all have to drive less.
For some, the pleasure of opening their car’s throttle up during a rip-snorting excursion on sun-kissed country roads is as good as it gets. Driving can be a pleasure: of that there is no doubt.
But as the nation tightens its belt (and other things as well, perhaps) such pleasure cruises may have to give way to more essential, pedestrian driving.
As salaries are stretched further, Britain’s drivers are employing the calm, considered style that many would argue they should have used in the first place in order to make those petrol fumes go further.
Here is a brief summary of some essential fuel-saving tips:
Remove unnecessary weight: That eighty-piece toolkit in the boot can sit in the garage until it’s needed. As can the kids. Tell them to get the train to the safari park.
Ensure tyres are properly inflated: there is often a sticker in the car’s handbook to inform drivers of the correct pressures. The higher the pressure, the more efficient the car will be, but overdoing it tends to be rather dangerous (not to mention expensive, when the rubber needs to be replaced after a paltry 5000 miles). Not recommended.
Turn the engine off in traffic jams: Some common sense needs to be applied here, of course: killing the power every time a red light illuminates and constantly having to restart it will cause engine wear and road rage in equal measure. It is better idea to try and forecast the road ahead. If a three-hour queue looks likely, then it’s probably safe enough to cut the ignition.
Use the accelerator economically: sitting revving the engine at traffic lights is not exactly the behaviour of the economy-minded motorist, nor is waiting until the rev-counter needle is bouncing off the red line before you change gear. Most drivers don’t realise that the car’s speed will still increase briskly enough if the throttle pedal is kept at a constant level. And that does not mean pinned to the floor.
Drive at constant speed: obviously this depends on the conditions: cruising down the M6 at 30mph will probably result in a ticking-off from the police and a spectacular accident, as will bombing through a built up area at a constant 50mph. Stick to the speed limits for each area, read the road and avoid being glued to the bumper of the car in front, and both fuel economy and a more relaxing drive should result.
It seems a vicious circle: the more inflation increases, the less people buy petrol and the more expensive it becomes. Because petrol price is one of the criteria that influence the Consumer Price Index, inflation may again increase, and we’re back to the start again.
But the fact is, with drivers making fewer journeys, car accidents will decrease, insurance premiums should (hopefully) fall, and the roads will be a safer place for everyone. Never mind the positive impact on the environment. It’s easy to take the Top Gear view of life and pretend nothing’s wrong, but the fact is that there is. Dearer petrol = less deaths. And that’s why we should be grateful.
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