UK Drivers cut petrol use by 15%

by liamssoft | October 10, 2011 at 11:15 pm

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They put up VAT [Value Added Tax] by 2.5% expecting to rake more money in from the already cash strapped tax payers, only to find that unsurprisingly sales in all areas have fallen to compensate.

Retail sales on average have fallen by 25% and even branded food sales by 15%. Businesses are going bankrupt at the fastest rate ever recorded and hundreds of thousands are losing their livelihoods.

Come this January and the Government tax take is going to be a fraction of what it was before the VAT increases...............

Drivers have cut their petrol consumption by more than 15% since the credit crunch and the recession.

The AA has calculated that petrol sales in the first six months of 2011 were 1.7bn litres less than in the same period three years ago.

The AA says the drop in petrol sales is a direct result of record fuel prices.

Many drivers are struggling to make ends meet in any case, so the high cost of petrol leaves them with no option but to try to use less.

And businesses have been cutting back as well.

The cut in fuel purchases, comparing the first six months of this year with pre-recession levels, is equivalent to 40,000 delivery rounds by fully-laden petrol tankers.

One result has been lower emissions of potentially damaging exhaust fumes.

Another, says the AA, is that the fall in sales has deprived the Treasury of nearly £1bn in fuel duty between January and June this year.

bbc.co.uk

............Worried by the falling petrol sales the government announces that the speed limit on motorways is being increased to 80mph from 70mph hoping that the extra fuel used in driving faster will help close the shortfall.,,,,,, In my opinion, for what its worth, this government, like many others, hasn't got a clue how to run a market stall, let alone an unsuccessful UK....