The government is to continue offering Plug-in Car and Van Grants until ‘at least’ October 2018. The grants will be maintained at the current levels with a review to be carried out in the autumn. The government said it would try to provide as much notice as possible before any changes to grant levels were […]
Fleet budgets are under pressure from rapidly increasing petrol and diesel pump prices and further rises are on the cards – potentially reaching record levels.
Average UK fuel prices reached a record high in April 2012 when a litre of unleaded petrol cost 142.48p and diesel was 147.93p.
Now the RAC has warned that unleaded petrol could reach 143p a litre with diesel certain to cost a few pence more – up from the current UK average of 128.9p and 131.8p as recorded by website petrolprices.com.
UK pump prices have been on an upward spiral for the last few weeks due to the cost of oil increasing to above $80, combined with a poor pound to dollar exchange rate of $1.33 which negatively affects the cost of fuel on the wholesale market.
Within three years all new vehicles must be equipped with 11 advanced safety features, such as advanced emergency braking (AEB), lane-keeping system, over-ridable intelligent speed assistance or driver’s distraction recognition, as proposed by The European Commission.
Coinciding with the European Commission’s announcement, Thatcham Research, the motor insurers’ automotive research centre, called on the UK government and carmakers to not stall on the mandatory fitment of AEB on all cars and vans.
A further four features will follow a few years after 2021 with the European Commission explaining that such features offered significant potential to compensate for human errors, a major factor in most road accidents.
Jaama anticipates increased business with commercial vehicle, coach and bus operators needing to use a ‘validated IT supplier’ for the DVSA’s newly launched Earned Recognition Scheme.
The Scheme was officially launched at this year’s Commercial Vehicle Show following a successful 12-month pilot involving more than 60 commercial vehicle operators from various sectors of the industry – some operators are already users of Jaama’s Key2 web-based technology.
Operators that use Key2 are able to record walk-around vehicle inspection checks, servicing and MoT information which will be directly sent to the DVSA database every four weeks. In return, their vehicles are less likely to be stopped for roadside inspections, saving them time and money.
Meanwhile, the DVSA will allow its officers to target more of their enforcement activities at the high-risk traffic who put other road users in danger.
Fleet and company car driver demand for plug-in hybrid and zero emission electric vehicles is expected to increase with the arrival of the all-new Worldwide harmonised Light vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) due to being the least affected by potential increases in motoring taxes.
This is according to a new white paper ‘Real World Driving Emissions’ published by Puddy Vehicle Solutions (PVS) to provide fleet decision-makers with insight into how WLTP and the related Real Driving Emissions test procedure will impact on car CO2 emissions and thus company car benefit-in-kind tax, Vehicle Excise Duty and capital allowances, which are all based on CO2 figures, as well as fuel economy. Vehicles are on average around 20% more inefficient under WLTP testing.
PVS founder Marcus Puddy, who has a 30-year fleet industry career behind him, believes many fleet managers – and consequently company car drivers – remain in the dark about the potential impact of WLTP and RDE on vehicle choice lists.
As a result, making the ‘wrong’ car choice could land employers and employees with tax bills significantly higher than currently.
Almost three quarters of motorway incidents related to tyre failure could be prevented if drivers carried out simple checks, according to new research unveiled by Highways England and tyre company Bridgestone. More than 30 people were killed or seriously injured in motorway crashes in 2016 due to illegal or faulty tyres. But an 18-month study […]
The proportion of breakdowns caused by potholes in the first quarter of 2018 was the third highest on record (since 2006), according to the RAC. An analysis of RAC breakdown data has revealed motorists are still suffering the effects of the harsh winter weather seen in February and March due to the resulting deterioration of […]
Users of Jaama’s multi award-winning Key2 vehicle and driver management system have been urged to undertake a data mapping exercise ahead of next month’s introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The regulation comes into effect on May 25 and organisations in non-compliance may face heavy fines of up to €20m or 4% of annual worldwide turnover – whichever is higher.
Under GDPR, employers must ensure that employees’ personal data – as well as that relating to clients and prospects – is processed lawfully, transparently, is secure, and is held for a “legitimate business interest”.
For example, that could include:
• Recording driver licence-related information;
• The capture and processing of mileage for travel management and business expense claims;
• Accident-related information;
• Fuel data capture;
• And the use of driver behaviour data from in-vehicle telematics.