Downside to cheaper petrol.

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
ANTONISH
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Downside to cheaper petrol.

Post by ANTONISH »

I was listening to radio 4 and the subject of increased car insurance charges arose.
Apparently drivers for whom the cost of petrol is a deterrent to driving are now increasing their mileage.
It seems this includes a disproportionate number of drivers prone to having serious accidents-the young (risk takers) and decrepit old gits like myself (incompetent).
Accidents accordingly are on the rise.
I've had the impression over the last few months that car speeds seem to have increased - maybe this is related (or I'm just going slower).
Stradageek
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Re: Downside to cheaper petrol.

Post by Stradageek »

You know I think I agree. It's been great for the last couple of years watching gas guzzling Range Rovers pootle along in the inside lane at 50-60mph to save petrol, but I too think it's changed recently. Just today, my car pool compatriots were remarking that the 85mph 'fast laners' were back with a vengeance - roll on another fuel price rise and quieter roads!
Postboxer
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Re: Downside to cheaper petrol.

Post by Postboxer »

Or spend some of the extra tax income on road policing, then ban the bad drivers, then it will always be quiet.
greyingbeard
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Re: Downside to cheaper petrol.

Post by greyingbeard »

I hadnt noticed more or faster cars, but there seems to be a higher proportion of badly driven cars. Maybe some people are going further faster ?
Maybe some drivers are increasingly addicted to their phones and other gadgets ?
Im enjoying lower fuel bills, will be lower still when we dont have 50+mph gusts of wind so Im out on bike more. Dont enjoy roads in this weather.
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al_yrpal
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Re: Downside to cheaper petrol.

Post by al_yrpal »

Now would be a good time to scrap Vehicle Excise Duty and whack the price of fuel up so tax is related to road use and move to the French system where you have an insurance disc and MOT disc on the windscreen.

Al
Reuse, recycle, thus do your bit to save the planet.... Get stuff at auctions, Dump, Charity Shops, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Car Boots. Choose an Old House, and a Banger ..... And cycle as often as you can......
whoof
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Re: Downside to cheaper petrol.

Post by whoof »

I'm always amazed at the manner 'professional' drivers drive in terms of fuel consumption.
Yesterday a taxi came by me doing well over 30 mph in a 20 zone only to have to slam on their brakes at an already red light. When it went green he accelerated off like he was on the grid in F1, there was just the driver no passenger. I caught him up around the corner as he had taken his place about 10th in line in the taxi rank where he was going to have to wait probably 15 minutes before his next fare. He must spend way more each week that he needs to on fuel if he drove more sensibly and might also reduce the risk of running someone over.
For large firms like bus companies the possible saving on fuel must be enormous if they did a few simple things like looking ahead and rolling to rather than accelerating toward red lights and junctions and pulling away smoothly.

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/fu ... smart.html

I agree about adding Vehicle excise duty to fuel.
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Mick F
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Re: Downside to cheaper petrol.

Post by Mick F »

whoof wrote:I agree about adding Vehicle excise duty to fuel.
I don't.

It depends on where you live. Some folk have the option of public transport or to walk ............ but not everyone.
If it came in that VED went on fuel, it would hit the poor in the rural communities.
Mick F. Cornwall
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CREPELLO
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Re: Downside to cheaper petrol.

Post by CREPELLO »

Mick F wrote:
whoof wrote:I agree about adding Vehicle excise duty to fuel.
I don't.

It depends on where you live. Some folk have the option of public transport or to walk ............ but not everyone.
If it came in that VED went on fuel, it would hit the poor in the rural communities.

Whilst I partly agree with the sentiment, there are still ways of reducing the cost impact, such as using a more fuel efficient car, driving more economically, reducing unnecessary journeys.

The cost of collecting the tax is surelyless than that of VED.

The tax should be relatively progressive (rather than regressive). Higher milage drivers tend to be wealthier than low milers and would contribute a larger proportion of the tax income. Therefore a lower tax rate could be applied (than if an arbitrary rate was applied), if the government can depend on the high milers continuing to contribute their proportion of the total take.

Of course, this model would break down if most drivers decided to drive less! But that in turn would lead to lower infrastructure costs and lower costs to society (health etc), if we realise better ways of creating wealth, other than driving everywhere.
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Mick F
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Re: Downside to cheaper petrol.

Post by Mick F »

Still don't agree.

Some folk HAVE to drive to work. It's the only way to get there. There aren't many jobs locally, you have to travel. There are no busses, no trains, nothing that'll get you there.

Car share?
Maybe that's a good idea, but it depends if your workmates live near you and if they have the same shift patterns.

Ride a bike?
Not everyone is as fit as you and me, and some folk work 30miles or more from home. We have people near here who work in Exeter 50miles from here.

In Utopia, we would all live and work locally. We could walk or use public transport ..... or cycle or roller-skate to work. Private ownership of cars would be totally unnecessary.

Some few years ago, there was an article on Radio Cornwall where a reporter travelled with a chap from Launceston who had an appointment at Plymouth Derriford hospital. He took a total of 11hrs travel getting there and back by public transport for a journey of only 30miles each way.
Mick F. Cornwall
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al_yrpal
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Re: Downside to cheaper petrol.

Post by al_yrpal »

If you use the roads more and polute the atmosphere more you should pay more. If you work far away, move nearer. The tax should discourage long distance commutes. It makes sense

Al
Reuse, recycle, thus do your bit to save the planet.... Get stuff at auctions, Dump, Charity Shops, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Car Boots. Choose an Old House, and a Banger ..... And cycle as often as you can......
Gooseman
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Re: Downside to cheaper petrol.

Post by Gooseman »

It doesn't have to been some bucolic idyll either. Public transport round here (Bucks) is pathetic, with one bus an hour going into Wycombe and none into Maidenhead or Marlow. We have a train station (again one an hour on a branch line) and... well, we all know where we are. Thank goodness I like cycling.

So I get it that in our super efficient world today the concept of taking an hour to travel 5 miles leaves us all incredulous (although 11 hours? Sheesh, that is mad), but if we didn't have all these distractions, maybe we'd enjoy the journey a bit more.
Mike Sales
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Re: Downside to cheaper petrol.

Post by Mike Sales »

I always wonder if the drivers with a heavy accelerator foot who sit with their engine idling for minutes, or even leave it idling when they leave the car, are the same ones who whinge about petrol going up in price.
Almost any price increase can be attacked on the grounds that it hits the poor most. The better course would be to increase low wages, or benefits, instead of subsidising activities bad for society.
It's the same the whole world over
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
Stradageek
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Re: Downside to cheaper petrol.

Post by Stradageek »

In Utopia, we would all live and work locally. We could walk or use public transport ..... or cycle or roller-skate to work. Private ownership of cars would be totally unnecessary.

My vote is for Utopia Mick - why not aim high?
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Mick F
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Re: Downside to cheaper petrol.

Post by Mick F »

Stradageek wrote:My vote is for Utopia Mick - why not aim high?
Yes, agree.

However, I live in "Utopia".
Clean air, rural environment, good pubs :D mildish climate, no motorways, no heavy traffic, no road noise, no light pollution, peace and quiet, surrounded by woodlands and hills, short distance to the moors or the coasts .................... the wonderful list is endless.

You'll never get me away from here. I love it, and anyone coming here loves it too.
Don't tell anyone, coz they'll all be here. :lol:
Mick F. Cornwall
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Mick F
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Re: Downside to cheaper petrol.

Post by Mick F »

PS:
It's only Utopia because I'm older and retied.
Young people need to leave and earn their living somewhere else, or at least be prepared to commute ................... by car.
Mick F. Cornwall
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