A Q&A with Santa, and Fleet Manager Mrs Claus, of North Pole Inc
Over recent weeks Transport Secretary Philip Hammond has highlighted the need to increase the speed limit on Britain's motorways to 80 mph, to help boost the country's economy. When I first heard this story my initial thought was "great, it's about time this out dated limit was changed," but on my daily commute down the M6 I thought, would I want to travel 10mph quicker with crude oil market speculation causing difficult price spikes??? Then I started to question what impact this change would have on UK business, will it reap the rewards of increased productivity or would this change simply result in a greater spend on fuel, one of the UK's most highly taxed commodities?
Being able to transport produce quicker, get to collections earlier and jobs sooner can make a business more productive and even improve customer service, both traits of a successful business! But with fuel prices remaining high will businesses be burnt yet again by vehicles using between 10% and 15% more fuel (estimated increase in fuel usage by driving at 80mph rather than 70mph).
The question I would like to pose to you as fleet managers is whether you feel this speed increase will help or hinder your business. Can you see your business becoming more productive or can you only see inflated fuel bills??? Let us know how you feel by taking part in our poll below. Remember to leave a comment if you have any thoughts.