Longer semi-trailers could be running on UK roads by the summer under Vehicle Special Orders, according to the Department for Transport (DfT).

A government spokeswoman says that subject to the outcome of a consultation announced last Wednesday (30 March), the DfT intends to introduce a trial, operating under Section 44 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (Vehicle Special Orders), as soon as is "reasonably practicable".

The DfT hopes such a trial would take place within a few months of the consultation closing.

However, the spokeswoman warns that "changing the existing legislation would take more time" and require parliamentary approval but "we would seek to do this before the end of 2012".

The two-month consultation, ending on 21 June, is looking at the environmental benefits of increasing the total length for articulated lorries to 18.75m.

As we prepare for the Euro 4 LEZ legislation arriving in January 2012 we are replacing most of our fleet. Today Ronnie got his new motor and was quite happy at the thought of driving it. "Yes, it has a CD player" he told me.

Question

So how much of a reduction in petrol prices, would make any significant difference to the average car driver?Will going down by 1p make any savings at all for the average motorist?

Answer:

Apparently the key point is that under the existing arrangement the duty would have increased by 5p a litre, so the real saving is 6p. If you drive 10,000 miles a year you should save £1 per week. Every little helps.

The government has tried to woo the "Nissan Micra family" and head off a summer of discontent among lorry drivers by imposing a levy of up to £10bn on the oil industry to pay for lower prices at the pump.

Peter Carroll, a former haulier leading the FairFuelUK campaign group, said the move might be enough to buy off truckers agitating for fuel blockades. "This is clearly a huge victory for the FairFuelUK Campaign. This is excellent news and represents a real change in approach from government, although we have yet to see whether the oil companies will pass the reductions on," he said.

The windfall tax on oil companies announced in the Budget will not be passed on to motorists in higher fuel prices, a Treasury minister has said.

The chancellor announced a £2bn windfall tax on North Sea oil producers, to pay for a fuel duty cut.

Labour said the oil firms might recoup this through higher pump prices.

But Danny Alexander said consumers would not be passed these costs because petrol retailers could source oil from whatever source was the cheapest.

FUEL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Q. Are we at record diesel fuel prices yet?

A. Unfortunately yes this has been the case for several weeks. On February 1st the UK

‘high’ was recorded at 133.38ppl inc vat compared with the previous highest price in July

2008 of 133.25ppl (source, RMI). By Thursday 3rd March Petrolprices.com recorded this at

136.13ppl as the national average. Whilst for hauliers buying in bulk the RHA weekly price

survey, taken on 4th March this reached 112.18ppl as an average ex vat price (134.62ppl

with vat added for comparative consumer reasons).

Q. What about back in 2000 when the country nearly ground to a halt?

A. Diesel fuel peaked around 70ppl ex vat or 85.1ppl inclusive.

Q. How much has diesel gone up since the start of 2010?

A. 19.4% in duty and commercial rises, for the public however this is more as VAT needs to

be considered too and so their cost has increased by 21.9% ( in January 2010 the RHA

average fuel price was 93.96ppl ex vat).

Q. How does the barrel price of oil compare?

A. In 2008 oil reached $142, the highest point this year for end of day price was $116.50

(Brent 02.03.11) – the reason we are paying more now even though crude is still cheaper is

because of increased duty (up by 8.6ppl), the addition of the Renewable Transport Fuels

Obligation (RTFO) which add just over a penny per litre for bio fuel content plus in 2008 we

had a stronger Pound exchange rate of 1.99. On 04.03.11 the exchange rate was to 1.62.

Q. How much revenue does the government make from fuel taxes?

A. Fuel usage in the UK amounts to 49 billion litres annually (24b petrol + 25b diesel). At

the new increased rate of 58.95ppl plus 20% vat this brings in £34.6 billion – that is £1.01

billion more than at the previous duty rate of 58.19ppl and 17.5% vat.

Q. Is the duty rate the same for petrol and diesel?

A. Yes, the duty rate for both Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel and Unleaded Petrol was equalised

at 50.35ppl in April 2008. Since then duty has increased by 8.6ppl or 17% and that doesn’t

included the vat. Other European countries typically apply much less duty to diesel

compared to their petrol rate. An example would be France where diesel duty is 42.8 cents

per litre compared to 60.7 cents per litre for petrol.

Q. How much to run a truck?

A. Trucks use a lot of fuel, in fact around a third of the running cost is fuel alone – a 44

tonne artic/trailer combination will use around 7.5mpg and a typically cover 70,000 miles a

year. To do that, the truck will use 42,439 litres (9333 gallons) at a cost today of £47608 -

ex vat.

Q. So what does a penny per litre rise mean to a truck’s operating cost?

A. For every penny increase that adds £424 a year to the operating cost – since October

2010 that has meant an increase of £6055 per truck per year relating to fuel (Oct 10=

97.90ppl, 4 Mar = 112.18ppl – difference therefore 14.28ppl x £424=£6055).

Q. October seems to be where the rapid rise in price of fuel started to occur, what in

percentage terms has the increase since then been?

A. Fuel itself has risen 14.58% in little more than 4 months and depending on the type of

operation fuel can be anywhere between 30-45% of whole vehicle running costs. Using our

standard model the cost of running a truck has increased by 4.8% in those few months

simply from fuel increases. Other costs have increased in that time as well and will shortly

be reviewed.

Q. I’ve heard diesel fuel is cheaper in other European countries?

A. Correct, Luxembourg is generally the cheapest European country with the UK being 42%

more expensive once tax and duty are applied. The table provided at the bottom gives a

comparison of prices in general once duty and tax are applied for a typical truck tank of

diesel – the table also lists the duty and vat rates applicable in each country (update 7th Feb

2011).

Q. How many trucks are operating in Great Britain?

A. There are currently 415,000 HGVs registered

Q. Will PPL be forced to add a fuel surcharge?

A. Unfortunately, YES!

Hauliers are warning customers and the government that as a result of further dramatic increases in the cost of diesel over the past week, the cost of running a typical large lorry has been pushed up by £850 a year. This is one of the most important inflationary pressures in the economy.

The national average price of bulk diesel paid by haulage firms shot up by another 2.02 pence per litre to a new all-time record level, 114.20 (exc. VAT), according to the RHA’s Weekly Fuel Price Survey published at lunchtime today (Friday, 11.03.11).

The RHA survey shows that diesel has risen by 23.14 pence per litre (exc. VAT) since November 2009, adding £10,000 to the annual cost of running a typical large lorry. “Just funding that increase in hauliers’ core cost, and the accompanying VAT, is difficult in this climate,” says director of policy Jack Semple.

“It is essential that costs on this scale be recovered fully from customers – not least because other costs are also rising.

“It goes without saying that George Osborne must abandon the planned inflationary duty increase planned for April 1 – not just the one penny element, but also the RPI-linked

“inflation” element, which is much more significant at around three pence. We have already had plenty of duty inflation – 17% since November 2008 – to put on top of the surging price of diesel,” Semple said.