Brits drive on despite rising fuel costs
British drivers are becoming increasingly frustrated with rising fuel prices - but still won't leave their cars at home. A litre of unleaded petrol now costs an average 96.7 pence, a rise of 9.2 pence since January - with a massive two thirds of the pump price going to the government in tax. Constraints and strong global demand have pushed the price of petrol higher - Brent crude oil was at an 11-month high of $78.40 (£38.20) a barrel last week - but drivers do not seem to be reacting to the rise in prices.Luke Bosdet, an AA policy unit spokesperson, said that most drivers do not think driving is something they can cut back on - no matter how expensive petrol gets. "We've now had at least two particularly bad years for high fuel prices and as yet there hasn't been any major change in travel habits," he said."People tend to absorb the extra cost into the family budget and then cut back in other parts, maybe in leisure and entertainment spending."Mr Bosdet said the only real change being seen in driving habits due to high prices was an increase in the number of drivers picking diesel engines.It seems it would take a very dramatic jump in prices to get drivers to cut down their fuel consumption - a recent study in the US by Reuters and Zogby revealed that 40 per cent of drivers would only curb their fuel consumption if gasoline rose to $3.50 a gallon, from its $3 average.
Share this..
Related stories
Credit card companies sneak in higher rates
Under cover of the EU payment services directive, which will come into play on the 1st November, a whole host of UK credit card companies would appear to have sneaked in a number of interest rate rises. Under the payment services directive, credit card and debit card companies have been ordered to simplify their terms and conditions and sent out very thick documents to their customers to review.
Gordon Brown confirms government backing for HBOS and Lloyds TSB merger
Gordon Brown has today repeated the UK governments backing of the Lloyds TSB and HBOS merger even in the face of rumoured offers from elsewhere. In a sharp put down to the Scottish suggestion of a new management team to take control of HBOS he concluded that the Lloyds bid should be allowed to go through in the absence of another "serious" bidder.
This is a sharp reality check for o...
Who is feeding the Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown row?
Speculation regarding the relationship between Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown continues today with more and more newspapers reporting a split between the two UK government powerhouses. While Gordon Brown is obviously the Prime Minister and the leader of the government, Alistair Darling does hold a very prominent position in the UK political arena. So who is feeding the Alistair Darling v Gordon...
Read MorePensioners turning to credit cards to deal with debt
Pensioners on fixed incomes are turning to credit cards to manage in the face of rising costs.That is according to a survey from the Post Office, which revealed 64 per cent of over-70s are regularly using their credit cards to pay for groceries and 57 per cent of these said that the strain on their income means they have not been able to put money aside.A further 48 per cent said they have no mone...
Read MoreHM Revenue and Customs struggling to cope with call volumes
The Whitehall spending watchdog has today revealed that four out of ten telephone calls to HM Revenue and Customs went unanswered in the tax year 2008/09. This equates to a staggering 44 million calls out of the 103 million received over the period. While the department employs the equivalent of over 10,000 full-time staff at a cost of £233 million there are serious concerns about value for money...
Read More