We’ve pulled together the pertinent points from the myriad of research done in the fleet industry this month to give you a clearer view of what’s really going on…

UK workers who commute by car spend an average of £362 a month on motoring costs.

Rising motoring costs

The average worker now spends nearly a fifth of their wages on essential motoring costs, a study by online parking service YourParkingSpace.co.uk has revealed.

• The study found that UK workers who commute by car now spend an average of £362 a month on motoring costs.
• The biggest outlay was found to be on car finance, followed by fuel and maintenance costs, including servicing and MOTs.
• While workers who have to factor in daily parking expenses on top of essential motoring costs can find their commute costing as much as £465 a month.

The study looked at typical costs for the driver of a 1.6 litre version of the UK’s best-selling car, the Ford Fiesta, to make the average commuter journey.

Harrison Woods of YourParkingSpace.co.uk, commented: “I would urge anyone who is trying to cut the cost of their journey to shop around for the best deals on all of their motoring expenses. For workers who have to pay for parking, using a site like ours could save them hundreds of pounds a year.”

Source: YourParkingSpace.co.uk

Progress on car emissions slows

CO2 emissions of new cars sold in the EU continued to fall in 2016 but at a slower rate, a study by the European Environment Agency (EEA) suggests.

• Provisional data shows average new car CO2 emissions were 118.1g/km – down 1.4g/km (1.2%), compared to the previous year but marking the smallest annual improvement recorded since 2006.
• The share of diesel vehicle sales declined for the second year running and fell below 50% of new sales — the lowest share of new sales since 2009.
• However, diesel cars still remain the most sold vehicle type in the EU, representing 49.4% of new sales, followed by petrol vehicles (47%), and alternatively fuelled vehicles (3.3%).
• Around 64,000 pure battery-electric vehicles were registered, a 13% increase compared to sales in 2015.
• Electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles together accounted for just 1.1% of all new cars sold in the EU.

Annual improvements in vehicle efficiency need to significantly increase in each of the coming five years in order to achieve the second average emissions target of 95g/km by 2021.

Source: EEA

22% of drivers knowingly drive too close to other vehicles.

Concerns about tailgating

Drivers are still not getting the message about the dangers of tailgating nearly four years after the police gained new powers to tackle the issue, new research published by Confused.com suggests.

• According to figures published by the comparison website, 22% of drivers knowingly drive too close to other vehicles, putting themselves and other road users at risk.
• However, despite one in five drivers admitting to regularly tailgating, just 260 drivers have been prosecuted since on-the-spot penalties were introduced in August 2013.
• While 79% of drivers questioned remain unaware that tailgating is an offence.
• The study revealed the behaviour is widespread, with 82% of respondents experiencing tailgating, and 42% agreeing that more should be done to tackle the issue.
• 19% of respondents said they have even had an accident or near miss on account of being tailgated by another driver.

Intended to help the police tackle problem motorists, the measures introduced in 2013 mean that officers can issue £100 on-the-spot fines and three points for drivers spotted tailgating or lane hogging, rather than taking them to court.

Source: Confused.comFor more of the latest industry news, click here.