Rising costs of fuel causing drivers to drive on empty tanks

Over the last three months, the cost of fuel has risen to the highest it has ever been putting even more financial strain on families who are unable to cope with the high cost of living. As a result of this, breakdown service Green Flag have reported a 40% increase in the volume of calls related to cars breaking down due to no fuel.

Many people have seen the cost of fuel increase by as much as £30 when filling up the tank completely but on average the cost of filling up has increased by £20. When I bought my economically friendly Nissan Micra four years ago, it costs just £25 to fill up each time and would last me 3-4 weeks; now filling up my modest car costs nearer to £48. Most people cannot downsize on their vehicles as they need the extra room for their growing family. Small cars such as the Micra, Clio, Punto, Mini and Ka just don’t have the room for a week’s grocery shopping and a pram. You also need to take into consideration that car seats take up a lot of room in these cars too. So upgrading to a bigger car is the better option so families are being penalised more than any other age group.

Knowing that fuel has increased dramatically in the past few years, only 4% of people have decided to car share when going to work and only 6% have gone on to buy a fuel-efficient vehicle. In a survey that was done, it was found that Northern Ireland had the most breakdowns that were fuel related and drivers who are 18-34 (younger drivers) were most likely to run out of fuel. Most drivers were found to run their vehicle on nearly an empty tank but then forgot that they needed to re-fuel causing the vehicle to breakdown.

Unfortunately there is little we can do to beat rising fuel prices other than buying a more fuel efficient car, but most families cannot afford to change cars at the moment as the job market continues to be unstable and banks refusing loans.
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How to make fuel last longer**

• Try combining errands such as picking up the kids and doing the grocery shopping or doing the grocery shopping on the way home from work
• Make sure tyres are at the recommended psi as advised by the car manufacturer
• Try not to accelerate unnecessarily and braking sharply, they both consume fuel
• If you have an unused roof rack, then remove it as it is also going to increase fuel consumption

Breakdown companies are now alerting drivers to make sure they have enough fuel when setting out on a journey, even if it means filling up a little at a time, try not to let the fuel indicator arrow fall into the red as many drivers panic when the dashboard starts flashing red and beeping that fuel is low.