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Early terminations and contract extensions from fleets and company car drivers are being reported by leasing companies as job losses increase.

Over the past three months, the number of people claiming out-of-work benefits (job seekers allowance and low income benefits) has more than doubled, reaching 2.7 million in July, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The latest data also shows more than three million people were still furloughed as the Government scheme begins to wind down.

The ONS says that more than one-in-10 workers (12%) were, effectively, having their wages paid by the Government between late July and the middle of August, a 50% reduction on May’s figures.

Unsurprisingly, the highest number of furloughed staff were found in those companies yet to re-open – almost three-quarters of staff (71%) compared to 11% at those businesses back trading.

The scale of the downturn is unprecedented. The UK economy is now 17.2% smaller than it was in February 2020.

Furthermore, Quarter 2 2020 is now 22.1% below Quarter 4 2019, which is more than three times greater than the total fall during the next largest period of recession, which occurred during the global economic downturn of 2008 to 2009.

The Bank of England has warned that UK unemployment is expected to peak at 2.5 million by 2021, with more than a million jobs expected to be lost in the second half of this year.

It highlighted what it called the “considerable uncertainty” remaining about the prospects for employment after the furlough scheme finishes in October.

WINNERS AND LOSERS

Paul Hollick, chairman of the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP), said: “Some companies have taken the bit between the teeth by introducing redundancies quickly, but they were already on shaky ground, with plans already in place.”

However, he explained there have been “winners and losers” as a result of the pandemic, with those in the hospitality and travel sector hit particularly hard, while anything that is digitised and can create online services and solutions is able to tap into growing demand.

The amount of money spent online increased by 61.9% in June when compared with February, ONS data suggests. This has resulted in an increase of £943.5 million in average weekly sales from £1.5 billion in February to a staggering £2.5bn in June.

Courier fleets have been among some of the biggest winners, with DPD announcing it was recruiting 6,000 new staff, including 3,500 drivers, in response to the unprecedented boom in online shopping.

The delivery firm is investing £200m this year to expand its next-day parcel capacity, including £100m on vehicles, £60m on 15 new regional depots (10 more than originally planned in 2020) and the remainder on technology.

The new jobs will include delivery and HGV drivers, warehouse staff, management positions and support staff, including mechanics.

CEO Dwain McDonald said the business was experiencing the “biggest boom in online retailing in the UK’s history”.

It is a similar story at APC, with 100 new roles available, all of which will be permanent positions, including drivers, warehouse operatives, customer services staff and IT.

The courier firm’s chief executive, Jonathan Smith, explained that the past five months have seen “unprecedented demand” for its delivery services.

For firms facing a more uncertain outlook, Hollick believes business owners and operators do not know what to do in terms of “rightsizing their business”.

He explained: “No one really understands the total impact yet, because everything is being propped up (by the Government), but I wouldn’t want to be an account manager at this time.

“The way that you operate with customers is going to fundamentally change post-Covid. I think it’s going to be a case of sitting in an office or at home to do an account review rather than face-to-face.”

EARLY TERMINATIONS

Account management and sales teams would, typically, be out on the road, potentially covering long distances to visit their customer base on a regular basis.

But lockdown has shifted customer meetings online and, with obvious productivity gains, returning to pre-pandemic working practices is not on the cards.

Volkswagen Financial Services Fleet reported it was seeing “no demand” from customers for a return to face-to-face meetings. Head of sales and marketing, Tom Brewer, said: “We’re seeing a desire to continue with remote meetings at the moment.

“In our experience, this approach doesn’t seem to have any detriment to the quality of the conversations or the effectiveness of the meetings. There are upsides for all parties – aside from minimising the risk to everyone’s health – in the productivity benefits for us and our customers; meetings tend to be shorter and there is no fuel cost and no time lost to travel.”

It is not planning a reduction in headcount, but elsewhere companies looking to tighten their belts are recognising that they can do more with less.

As a result, Hollick expects the traditional company car market will shrink due to the significant job losses already being seen and those yet to come as the furlough scheme ends.

Furthermore, he says other employees, who qualified for a car due to the amount of annual mileage they covered, face having the benefit removed due to now not hitting the required threshold.

Three-quarters (74.8%) of fleets told Fleet News in a recent survey that they expect greater use of video conferencing in the long term, while almost 61% expect to see average mileages fall. And more than a third (35.8%) said that they expect to be running fewer company cars in the future.

Alphabet has reported an increase in early terminations and reschedule requests in recent months, driven predominantly by individual and small-to-medium enterprise (SME)customers.

However, Gavin Davies, Alphabet’s general manager for customer relationship management and public sector, said: “We are seeing bulk early termination requests from some of our corporate fleets as well, but they are also utilising other options, such as putting new car orders on hold while they assess their individual situations and future fleet needs.

“This has been the case particularly in those industries that have been hit hardest by the lockdown or still have staff on furlough.”

He added: “As the furlough scheme has given an artificial stimulus to current demand, we do expect to see an increase in early terminations as the scheme comes to an end in October.”

Matthew Walters, head of consultancy and customer data services at LeasePlan UK, says contract extensions have increased by approximately 50% above average. “Many businesses are also increasingly interested in the efficiency savings gained by outsourcing their operations and fleet activity.”

Jon Lawes, managing director of Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions, told Fleet News that sales teams were particularly impacted by a lack of travel. “We’re seeing customers looking to reduce their contract mileage moving forward, meaning that policy benchmark mileages have reduced by approximately 10% across certain customers,” he said.

The greatest impact has been in the retail sector, with job losses resulting in company car numbers being cut.

“The headcount and vehicle allocation for retail store area managers has reduced as a result of companies streamlining their middle management to respond to the economic impact of the virus,” said Lawes.

Since March, Lex Autolease has granted payment holidays to more than 3,000 customers, from small fleets to those with thousands of vehicles.

Mileages have also been amended to encourage rental cost-savings and existing vehicles redistributed. As a result, Andy Barrell, head of business development at Lex Autolease, said: “We’re not seeing mass vehicle terminations across our customer base.

“Customers are naturally more inclined towards short-term agreements when there is ongoing uncertainty, so it’s no surprise we’ve seen an increase in demand for short-term daily rental, alongside our informal extension agreements – giving customers more time to assess future requirements.”

The total number of new cars registered to fleet and business so far this year is 45.3% down year-on-year, with 433,868 units registered in 2020, compared with 792,091 in the same period last year.

Historic HMRC data shows a declining pool of company cars, with 890,000 employees receiving the benefit in 2017/18, compared with 940,000 the previous year.

Officials blamed the dramatic decline on reporting issues leaving some vehicles unaccounted for, but the figures for 2018/19, in the coming weeks, are still expected to show a downward trend.

Hollick, however, is predicting leasing firms and carmakers could benefit from a renewed interest in salary sacrifice. He explained: “A few big fleets have already mentioned to me that they are relaunching salary sacrifice schemes to take advantage of the low rates for electric vehicles (EVs). But it’s going to be a fascinating market and I don’t think anybody will know the true impact until the start of next year.”

Hitachi Capital’s Lawes says employees are concerned about the long-term economic impact of Covid-19 and committing to a company car contract, with some perk schemes affected.

That being said, he also sees the renewed potential of salary sacrifice. He told Fleet News: “Now is a prime time to take a salary sacrifice EV with 0% BIK charges.”

Although Alphabet has seen an increasing demand to move to cash incentives in recent years, Davies also highlighted the “significant taxation benefits” for companies and drivers who choose to adopt ultra-low-emission vehicles (ULEVs).

“Alphabet has seen a huge uptake in EVs since the 0% BIK rates were introduced earlier this year,” he said.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Petrol and diesel prices rose in August for the third consecutive month, but do not appear to be heading back to pre-pandemic levels, says RAC Fuel Watch.

The organisation says a litre of unleaded petrol rose 0.5p to 114.88p and diesel by 0.3p to 118.47p, meaning both fuels are still 13p a litre cheaper than they were at the end of January.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “Even though pump prices have risen for three consecutive months, August’s increase was slight sparing drivers any nasty shocks when they went to fill up.

“We had feared prices might rise more quickly as people started driving more after the lockdown but so far petrol has only gone up 9p a litre from its low of just under 106p in May which, it’s important to remember, is still 13p a litre less than it was in January.

“The short-term outlook for pump prices generally does not appear ominous for UK drivers despite a blip in the oil price at the end of August.

“The cost of a barrel of oil rose dramatically due to fears of a hurricane affecting supplies in the Gulf of Mexico, but fortunately there was no adverse impact to production as the hurricane was downgraded to a tropical depression and refineries were spared massive flooding.

“Our pump price forecast for the next fortnight shows petrol should come down by a penny while diesel ought to fall by around 5p a litre if retailers play fair and reflect the downward movement in the wholesale price properly.”

RAC Fuel Watch found the supermarkets increased their prices “very slightly” in August with petrol rising by a third of penny to 109.55p and diesel by over half a penny (0.63p) to 114.17p.

This makes a litre of unleaded at a supermarket more than 5p (5.33p) cheaper than the UK average, and diesel 4.3p cheaper per litre.

Asda started the month as the lowest cost supermarket petrol retailer but by the close Morrisons had edged marginally lower at 109.24p compared to Asda’s 109.43p.

On diesel, however, Asda was a penny a litre cheaper than its nearest rival, Morrisons, at 113.35p.

Yesterday, FairFuelUK, backed by the Road Haulage Association (RHA) and Logistics UK (FTA), has said it will ‘fight tooth and nail’ against rumoured plans to raise fuel duty.

Regional fuel price variation

Regional average unleaded pump prices

Unleaded	30/07/2020	27/08/2020	Change
UK average	114.27	114.71	0.44
London	115.38	116.04	0.66
East	114.60	115.22	0.62
Wales	113.19	113.73	0.54
Northern Ireland	111.20	111.71	0.51
South East	115.25	115.74	0.49
South West	114.10	114.57	0.47
North West	113.85	114.29	0.44
Scotland	114.13	114.53	0.40
East Midlands	114.11	114.48	0.37
North East	113.25	113.56	0.31
Yorkshire And The Humber	113.73	114.01	0.28
West Midlands	114.27	114.50	0.23

Regional average diesel pump prices

Diesel	30/07/2020	27/08/2020	Change
UK average	118.04	118.40	0.36
East	118.92	119.46	0.54
East Midlands	117.98	118.13	0.15
London	119.03	119.35	0.32
North East	116.85	117.07	0.22
North West	117.55	117.81	0.26
Northern Ireland	114.46	114.76	0.30
Scotland	117.81	118.18	0.37
South East	119.34	119.82	0.48
South West	117.97	118.37	0.40
Wales	117.05	117.72	0.67
West Midlands	118.15	118.47	0.32
Yorkshire And The Humber	117.32	117.62	0.30

By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Drivers whose photocard licence or entitlement to drive expires between February 1 and December 31, 2020 have been extended for 11 months from the date of expiry under temporary changes announced by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).

The initial extension expired at the end of August and has been further extended to the end of the year.

Under the changes, drivers whose photocard driving licence or entitlement to drive runs out between 1 February 2020 and 31 December 2020 will have their entitlement automatically extended from the expiry date, for a period of 11 months.

Drivers do not need to apply to renew their licence until they receive a reminder before their extension expires, says the DVLA.

Julie Lennard, chief executive of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, said: “Being able to drive is a lifeline for millions of people and this further extension will ensure that in these continued uncertain times, drivers don’t need to worry about the admin or the associated costs with renewing their licences.

“The temporary extension is automatic, and drivers do not need to do anything. Drivers who have already applied to renew their photocard driving licence or entitlement to drive can usually carry on driving while we process their application providing, they have not been told by their doctor or optician that they should not drive.”

The Government granted a seven-month extension to drivers whose photocard driving licence expired between the start of February and the end of August.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

The Government has launched a consultation to decide how it will stop vehicles from blocking pavements.

It outlines three options: improving the traffic regulation order process to make it easier for councils to prohibit pavement parking in their areas, giving councils powers to fine drivers who park on paths, and a London-style nationwide ban on pavement parking.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced the plans in March. The proposals are designed to improve the lives of people with mobility or sight impairments, as well as parents with prams who may be forced into the road to get around parked cars.

Shapps said: “Parking on pavements means wheelchair users, visually impaired people and parents with push chairs can be forced into the road, which is not only dangerous, but discourages people from making journeys.

“A key part of our green, post-Covid recovery will be encouraging more people to choose active travel, such as walking, so it is vital that we make the nation’s pavements accessible for everyone.”

Recent research from the charity Guide Dogs shows that 32% of people with vision impairments and 48% of wheelchair users were less willing to go out on their own because of pavement parking, decreasing independence and contributing towards isolation.

In 2019 the Department for Transport concluded a review which looked at the problems caused by pavement parking, the effectiveness of legislation, and the case for reform.

It found that pavement parking was problematic for 95% of respondents who are visually impaired and 98% of wheelchair users.

The Transport Select Committee also recently conducted an inquiry into the issue, with the commitment to consult on proposals forming a key part of the Government’s response to its findings.

RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: “Blocking pavements impacts most on those with disabilities and those pushing buggies and creates unnecessary danger for pedestrians. In short, nobody should be forced into stepping into the road to get around a vehicle that has taken up pavement space, so the Government is right to explore giving local authorities additional powers to enforce this types of selfish parking.

“However, outlawing pavement parking as a whole is more complex because not all streets in the UK are the same. For example, some drivers will put a tyre up the kerb on a narrow residential street to avoid restricting road access to other vehicles while still allowing plenty of space for pedestrian access. Therefore better guidance and a definition of what is and isn’t appropriate would be a more practical solution, rather than an outright ban.”

The consulation can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/managing-pavement-parking?s=03

By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

The Chancellor’s summer economic plan introduced a range of measures to help the UK economy recover from the impact of the coronavirus.

The plan, revealed to the House of Commons yesterday (Wednesday, July 8), to protect jobs, help younger workers and encourage spending with measures such as a temporary VAT cut, from 20% to 5%, for the hospitality sector and a restaurant voucher scheme.

However, help for the fleet industry and wider automotive sector, including a potential scrappage scheme, was not forthcoming.

Paul Hollick, chairman of fleet representative body the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP), said: “The Chancellor’s announcement was all about carefully targeted help for various sectors that are felt to be among the most vulnerable and it is disappointing that none of this support has found its way into areas that are likely to benefit fleets.

“This especially applies to low-carbon transport initiatives but there could also have potentially been aid for dealers, manufacturers and even fleet service support companies, all of which are facing specific problems.

“Given the fast-moving economic and infection situation, we don’t think this is the last time we’ll see him making announcements of this type over the next few months and we remain hopeful that we will be included in future programmes, an argument we’ll be making as an organisation.”

The automotive sector had been hoping for a scrappage scheme, offering money off a new car purchase.

Mike Hawes, chief executive at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), welcomed the Chancellor’s plans to safeguard jobs and encourage consumer spending in some parts of the economy.

However, he said: “It’s bitterly disappointing the Chancellor has stopped short of supporting the restart of one of the UK’s most important employers and a driver of growth.

“The automotive sector has been particularly hard hit, with thousands of job losses already announced and many more at risk.

“Of Europe’s five biggest economies, Britain now stands alone in failing to provide any dedicated support for its automotive industry, a situation that will only deter future investment.

“We urgently need government to expand its strategy and introduce sector-specific measures for UK auto to support cash flow such as business rate holidays, tax cuts, and policies that provide broader support for consumer confidence and boost the big ticket spending that drives manufacturing. Until critical industries such as automotive recover, the UK economic recovery will be stuck in low gear.”

The Chancellor instead offered a ‘job retention bonus’ to encourage firms to retain furloughed staff. The one-off £1,000 payment will be made to employers for every furloughed employee retained to the end of January 2021.

It applies to workers earning over £520 per month, with the cost estimated at up to £9.4 billion.

There is a six-month VAT cut for restaurants, hotels and attractions, from 20% to 5% from July 15 to January 12, 2021.

Food and non-alcoholic drinks in restaurants, pubs and cafes, as well as hot takeaway food will be covered. Accommodation in hotels and B&Bs and admission to attractions such as theme parks and cinemas also affected

The threshold for stamp duty on residential property in England and Northern Ireland will also rise from £125,000 to £500,000. It applies from July 8 until March 31, 2021.

Energy efficiency grants for homes have also been introduced.

In addition, a ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme offers 50% discount for every diner, up to £10 a head, from Monday to Wednesday throughout August.

Support for young workers is to be delivered through the ‘Kickstart scheme’ – a £2bn fund to pay for six-month work placements for 16 to 24-year-olds on universal credit – and grants for training young people.

In terms of infrastructure, more is expected in the Budget, while the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has earmarked £100 million for 29 road projects.

Nick Molho, executive director of the Aldersgate Group, said: “Beyond the need to commit public investment to support shovel ready projects and early stage innovation trials, it is critical that the Government puts forward a comprehensive policy plan in the autumn to drive private sector investment towards the low carbon and environmentally resilient infrastructure needed to put the UK on track for its net zero and nature restoration targets.

“Clear policy commitments in areas such as energy efficiency, clean transport and industrial decarbonisation will be vital if the private sector is to do a lot of the heavy lifting to build a competitive, jobs rich, low carbon economy.” By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Local authorities in London and Cardiff have raised £58.2 million from drivers committing moving traffic offences in just one year, with the same powers due to be rolled out to other councils.

Moving traffic offences include stopping on a yellow box junction, making an illegal turn or driving down a ‘no entry’ road.

The only local authorities that currently have the power to enforce these offences in England and Wales are London boroughs and Cardiff Council.

Figures obtained via a Freedom of Information request suggest they collected £58.2m in penalty charge notices (PCNs) in 2018/19 – 25% (£11.5m) more than in 2016/17 (£46.7m).

The Department for Transport (DfT) confirmed on July 27 that it plans to extend these enforcement powers to all local authorities in England and Wales.

Currently, local authorities outside of London and Cardiff only have powers to enforce bus lane contraventions. 

RAC head of roads policy, Nicholas Lyes, said: “It’s plain for all to see that London boroughs, TfL and Cardiff are generating phenomenal sums of money from the enforcement of moving traffic offences.”

In 2016/17, councils issued 752,871 PCNs, rising to 1,007,405 in 2018/19 which equates to a 34% rise.

Yellow box junctions were the biggest revenue generator, bringing in £31.4m in 2018/19 compared to £22.3m for ‘no turn’ offences and £4.4m for ‘no entry’ contraventions.

Looking at Cardiff alone, nearly four times as many PCNs were issued in 2018/19 compared to 2016/17 (74,142 compared to 19,080) translating to a £1.8m hike in revenue (£593,160 to £2.4m – 313%).

The most profitable offences for Cardiff are ‘no turns’ yielding £1.4m in contrast to £826,424 for yellow box junctions and £182,782 for ‘no entry’ offences.

Of the London boroughs which provided data to the RAC a total of 933,263 PCNs were issued in 2018/19, 27% more than two years ago (733,791). This, however, only translated to a 21% increase in revenues (£46.1m to £55.7m).

Yellow box junctions

Of the authorities which benefitted the most from the enforcement of yellow box junctions, Transport for London (TfL) topped the table with a revenue of nearly £10m (£9,969,545 – 135,923 PCNs) in 2018/19.

But in terms of single councils, Hammersmith and Fulham came out top with a £3.5m yellow box revenue pot (from 53,576 PCNs) generated from 16 enforced junctions out of 23 in its area – £1.1m ahead of its nearest rival Redbridge on £2.4m (34,782 PCNs from 14 enforced junctions out of a total of 35).

Merton, the only other council to pocket more than £2m in yellow box penalties, was third on £2.2m (31,081 PCNs from 27 enforced junctions, no overall total of junctions available).

In terms of average revenues per enforced junction, Westminster recorded the highest figure with a single junction generating £333,295 from 4,595 PCNs.

Hammersmith and Fulham had the second largest average on £223,472 (£3.5m from 16 enforced junctions) and Richmond had the second largest average revenue with £156,117.

TfL has 399 yellow box junctions but declined to disclose how many are enforced.

No turn offences

Three authorities topped £2m in revenue from ‘no turn’ offences with Ealing even managing to outdo TfL with a revenue of £2.6m (from 44,612 PCNs) versus £2m (£2,093,651, from 28,978 PCNs). Hackney had the third highest total on £1,888,845.

No entry offences

Harrow was top for ‘no entry’ offences with a revenue of £549,785 followed by Southwark on £420,760 and Islington on £357,265.

Lyes said: “The vast majority of drivers we’ve surveyed agree that those who stop on yellow boxes, make illegal turns or go through ‘no entry’ signs need to be penalised, but when it comes to extending powers to other councils many are concerned, with 68% thinking local authorities will rush to install cameras to generate additional revenue.

“Four in 10 drivers (39%) also believe that road layouts and signage will be made deliberately confusing to increase the number of PCNs issued.

“Clearly, the priority for enforcement should be to improve road safety and reduce congestion.”

The DfT’s decision to extend the same enforcement powers to other local authorities, however, Lyes believes should come with guidance setting out where enforcement should be targeted and the types of signs that must be used to make drivers aware that enforcement cameras are operating, and for what type of moving traffic offence.

“It should also make clear the circumstances in which a PCN can be appealed and where mitigating circumstances may apply such as stopping in a yellow box to allow an emergency services vehicle to go by,” continued Lyes.

“We welcome proposals that first offenders are sent a warning letter before subsequent penalties apply. This is particularly important where changes are made to urban road layouts. What we do not want is this being seen by cash-strapped local authorities as a way to generate revenue.

“In addition, we would urge local authorities to publish annual reports of moving traffic offence receipts by type and by junction.

“We would also encourage them to monitor hot spots where an unusually high proportion of PCNs are issued as this is more than likely a clear indication of a problem with signage or road layout.”

Tables

Key: NA – Not available; DNE – Does not enforce; DNR – Did not respond

Summary – all authorities in England and Wales with power to enforce moving traffic offences
All – London boroughs & Cardiff	PCNs – 16/17	PCNs 17/18	PCNs 18/19	Revenues 16/17	Revenues 17/18	Revenues 18/19
Box junctions	404,618	455,129	510,065	£25,893,253	£28,943,627	£31,410,486
No turns	290,094	384,356	419,801	£17,119,308	£21,908,787	£22,377,326
No entry	58,159	62,490	77,539	£3,725,794	£3,563,781	£4,453,518
Total	752,871	901,975	1,007,405	£46,738,355	£54,416,195	£58,241,330
Change – year-on-year		149,104	105,430		£7,677,840	£3,825,135
			+12%			+7%
Change 16/17 to 18/19			254,534			£11,502,975
			+34%			+25%

Cardiff	PCNs – 16/17	PCNs 17/18	PCNs 18/19	Revenues 16/17	Revenues 17/18	Revenues 18/19
Box junctions	4,163	8,165	23,752	£150,876	£296,030	£826,424
No turns	14,917	42,862	44,747	£442,284	£1,388,241	£1,438,732
No entry	0	4,474	5,643	£0	£160,292	£182,782
Total	19,080	55,501	74,142	£593,160	£1,844,563	£2,447,938
Change – year-on-year		36,421	18,641		£1,251,403	£603,375
			+34%			+33%
Change 16/17 to 18/19			55,062			£1,854,778
			+289%			+313%

London boroughs	PCNs – 16/17	PCNs 17/18	PCNs 18/19	Revenues 16/17	Revenues 17/18	Revenues 18/19
Box junctions	400,455	446,964	486,313	£25,742,377	£28,647,597	£30,584,062
No turns	275,177	341,494	375,054	£16,677,024	£20,520,546	£20,938,594
No entry	58,159	58,016	71,896	£3,725,794	£3,403,489	£4,270,736
Total	733,791	846,474	933,263	£46,145,195	£52,571,632	£55,793,392
Change – year-on-year		112,683	86,789		£6,426,437	£3,221,760
			+10%			+6%
Change 16/17 to 18/19			199,472			£9,648,197
			+27%			+21%

Box junctions PCNs ranked by 18/19
Rank	Council / Authority	PCNs – 16/17	PCNs 17/18	PCNs 18/19
1	Transport for London	108,151	122,991	135,923
2	Hammersmith and Fulham	65,367	64,316	53,576
3	Barnet	28,530	40,399	38,860
4	Waltham Forest	34,472	23,851	35,423
5	Redbridge	11,723	27,937	34,782
6	Merton	32,589	39,679	31,081
7	Cardiff	4,163	8,165	23,752
8	Brent	12,600	18,032	20,207
9	Islington	2,423	9,392	15,343
10	Wandsworth	1,440	5,517	15,321
11	Richmond	2,995	4,526	15,238
12	Barking & Dagenham	5,219	4,461	12,903
13	Enfield	16,903	10,958	11,018
14	Kingston upon Thames	17,245	15,665	9,654
15	Bexley	11,416	9,079	9,609
16	Ealing	7,126	9,229	9,565
17	Haringey	10,036	13,380	9,205
18	Camden	6,957	5,889	7,407
19	Hounslow	13,442	8,077	7,051
20	Lambeth	1,077	1,927	5,230
21	Westminster	6,946	6,416	4,595
22	Hackney	11	3,217	2,609
23	Harrow	1,835	1,220	1,161
24	Southwark	1,208	804	552
25	City of London	744	2	0
	Sutton	0	0	0
	Croydon	DNR	DNR	DNR
	Newham	DNR	DNR	DNR
	Bromley	DNE	DNE	DNE
	Greenwich	DNE	DNE	DNE
	Havering	DNE	DNE	DNE
	Hillingdon	DNE	DNE	DNE
	Kensington and Chelsea	DNE	DNE	DNE
	Lewisham	DNE	DNE	DNE
	Tower Hamlets	DNE	DNE	DNE
	TOTAL	404,618	455,129	510,065
	Change – year-on-year		50,511	54,936
	Change 16/17 to 18/19			105,447

Box junctions revenue ranked by 18/19
Rank	Council / Authority	Revenues 16/17	Revenues 17/18	Revenues 18/19	Number of Box junctions	Numbers currently enforced	Numbers enforced in 18/19
1	Transport for London	£7,622,149	£8,895,998	£9,969,545	399	NA	NA
2	Hammersmith and Fulham	£4,572,143	£4,518,388	£3,575,565	23	16	16
3	Redbridge	£833,095	£1,933,623	£2,463,172	35	18	14
4	Merton	£2,366,302	£2,885,817	£2,253,219	NA	23	27
5	Waltham Forest	£2,337,874	£1,587,932	£1,880,431	27	17	17
6	Brent	£864,875	£1,238,439	£1,241,202	116	59	59
7	Richmond	£156,978	£549,265	£1,092,821	14	7	10
8	Wandsworth	£87,065	£373,946	£982,139	22	11	11
9	Islington	£150,343	£607,728	£979,817	40	37	37
10	Barking & Dagenham	£337,624	£315,083	£917,360	NA	13	13
11	Cardiff	£150,876	£296,030	£826,424	N/A	12	11
12	Kingston upon Thames	£1,119,590	£977,429	£719,618	28	8	5
13	Enfield	£1,063,083	£692,022	£688,123	43	6	6
14	Bexley	£780,377	£606,236	£649,193	11	7	7
15	Haringey	£696,022	£893,305	£606,541	45	23	23
16	Ealing	£496,960	£611,529	£568,492	NA	9	NA
17	Camden	£472,327	£416,741	£543,354	55	6	6
18	Hounslow	£973,161	£576,374	£466,654	NA	NA	26
19	Lambeth	£73,550	£125,003	£356,874	NA	4	8
20	Westminster	£483,011	£475,462	£333,295	NA	1	1
21	Hackney	£195	£229,951	£179,421	23	1	2
22	Harrow	£127,994.93	£81,641.27	£77,154.11	18	5	8
23	Southwark	£84,230	£55,554	£40,073	36	4	4
24	City of London	£43,429	£130	£0	5	0	0
	Sutton	£0	£0	£0	5	1	0
	Barnet	NA	NA	NA	22	17	17
	TOTAL	£25,893,253	£28,943,627	£31,410,486	945	288	311
	Change – year-on-year		£3,050,374	£2,466,859
	Change 16/17 to 18/19			£5,517,233

‘No turn’ PCNs ranked by 18/19
Rank	Council / Authority	PCNs – 16/17	PCNs 17/18	PCNs 18/19
1	Barnet	21,558	36,745	53,297
2	Cardiff	14,917	42,862	44,747
3	Ealing	43,985	41,716	44,612
4	Hackney	0	2,194	31,327
5	Waltham Forest	23,222	25,757	29,052
6	Havering	4,486	26,080	29,012
7	Transport for London	14,117	26,539	28,978
8	Harrow	15,801	19,062	17,596
9	Brent	30,630	23,171	16,773
10	Westminster	2,264	16,546	16,391
11	Merton	18,454	21,259	15,577
12	Wandsworth	3,125	4,692	11,786
13	Tower Hamlets	1,042	6,612	9,611
14	Barking & Dagenham	7,514	9,294	9,161
15	Islington	9,272	9,634	8,930
16	Haringey	13,337	12,718	8,319
17	Southwark	10,515	9,045	7,297
18	Enfield	7,683	10,281	7,061
19	Camden	9,622	8,409	6,470
20	Hammersmith and Fulham	11,315	10,382	6,180
21	Kingston upon Thames	12,683	6,419	5,932
22	Lewisham	0	2,914	4,648
23	Lambeth	6,601	4,579	3,760
24	Redbridge	4,272	2,463	1,258
25	Hounslow	417	299	954
26	Richmond	2,995	4,526	846
27	Bexley	267	158	172
28	Hillingdon	0	0	54
	City of London	NA	NA	NA
	Sutton	NA	NA	NA
	Bromley	DNE	DNE	DNE
	Greenwich	DNE	DNE	DNE
	Kensington and Chelsea	DNE	DNE	DNE
	Croydon	DNR	DNR	DNR
	Newham	DNR	DNR	DNR
	TOTAL	290,094	384,356	419,801
	Change – year-on-year		94,262	35,445
	Change 16/17 to 18/19			129,707

‘No turn’ revenue – ranked by 18/19
Rank	Council	Revenues 16/17	Revenues 17/18	Revenues 18/19
1	Ealing	£2,683,701	£2,656,095	£2,685,346
2	Transport for London	£1,012,411	£1,903,322	£2,093,651
3	Hackney	£0	£133,420	£1,888,845
4	Havering	£459,856	£1,698,206	£1,872,821
5	Waltham Forest	£1,526,667	£1,688,329	£1,865,539
6	Cardiff	£442,284	£1,388,241	£1,438,732
7	Brent	£1,969,815	£1,756,762	£1,317,666
8	Westminster	£88,507	£1,195,813	£1,177,011
9	Merton	£1,322,351	£1,548,912	£1,132,455
10	Harrow	£1,044,236	£1,245,682	£1,096,385
11	Wandsworth	£175,279	£302,830	£718,888
12	Barking & Dagenham	£472,662	£631,866	£620,809
13	Tower Hamlets	£4,616	£395,168	£569,120
14	Haringey	£921,276	£853,553	£535,393
15	Islington	£553,306	£554,082	£495,051
16	Southwark	£706,394	£607,718	£463,048
17	Camden	£633,714	£578,576	£445,899
18	Enfield	£484,953	£656,839	£421,395
19	Kingston upon Thames	£805,522	£369,325	£399,809
20	Hammersmith and Fulham	£771,727	£710,464	£399,250
21	Lewisham	£0	£180,653	£263,818
22	Lambeth	£438,396	£315,769	£246,080
23	Redbridge	£287,682	£155,448	£81,444
24	Richmond	£214,526	£310,580	£61,407
25	Hounslow	£28,767	£19,388	£52,803
26	City of London	£53,942	£41,543	£20,215
27	Bexley	£16,719	£10,204	£11,034
28	Hillingdon	£0	£0	£3,412
	Sutton	£0	£0	£0
	Bromley	DNE	DNE	DNE
	Greenwich	DNE	DNE	DNE
	Kensington and Chelsea	DNE	DNE	DNE
	Barnet	DNR	DNR	DNR
	Croydon	DNR	DNR	DNR
	Newham	DNR	DNR	DNR
	TOTAL	£17,119,308	£21,908,787	£22,377,326
	Change – year-on-year		£4,789,479	£468,538
	Change 16/17 to 18/19			£5,258,018

No entry PCNs ranked by 18/19
Rank	Council / Authority	PCNs – 16/17	PCNs 17/18	PCNs 18/19
1	Harrow	2,209	3,223	8,286
2	Southwark	5,213	5,309	7,000
3	Islington	6,954	5,210	6,845
4	Haringey	7,379	6,049	5,825
5	Cardiff	0	4,474	5,643
6	Hackney	471	1,979	5,099
7	Lewisham	3,396	3,760	5,092
8	Enfield	3,665	5,029	4,086
9	Merton	172	39	3,673
10	Barnet	838	4,072	3,640
11	Waltham Forest	1,030	3,324	3,103
12	Hillingdon	0	0	2,974
13	Sutton	0	556	2,830
14	Camden	3,647	2,475	2,116
15	Kingston upon Thames	17,379	5,505	2,086
16	Redbridge	0	181	1,826
17	Lambeth	1,216	1,185	1,442
18	Hounslow	129	4,177	1,355
19	Tower Hamlets	116	646	1,326
20	Ealing	715	947	1,197
21	Westminster	NA	1,353	1,023
22	Barking & Dagenham	392	660	339
23	Transport for London	2,717	989	339
24	Bexley	145	191	204
25	Havering	227	949	113
26	Brent	127	201	75
27	Wandsworth	22	7	2
	City of London	NA	NA	NA
	Hammersmith and Fulham	NA	NA	NA
	Bromley	DNE	DNE	DNE
	Greenwich	DNE	DNE	DNE
	Kensington and Chelsea	DNE	DNE	DNE
	Richmond	DNE	DNE	DNE
	Croydon	DNR	DNR	DNR
	Newham	DNR	DNR	DNR
	TOTAL	58,159	62,490	77,539
	Change – year-on-year		4,331	15,049
	Change 16/17 to 18/19			19,380

‘No entry’ revenue ranked by 18/19
Rank	Council / Authority	Revenues 16/17	Revenues 17/18	Revenues 18/19
1	Harrow	£145,187	£209,595	£549,785
2	Southwark	£346,670	£343,540	£420,760
3	Islington	£393,285	£300,862	£357,265
4	Haringey	£453,605	£365,735	£339,607
5	Hackney	£27,468	£121,885	£307,539
6	Lewisham	£203,876	£217,105	£288,870
7	Merton	£12,287	£2,738	£243,063
8	Hillingdon	£0	£0	£198,979
9	Sutton	£0	£24,127	£190,571
10	Waltham Forest	£67,943	£210,741	£189,606
11	Cardiff	£0	£160,292	£182,782
12	Enfield	£197,406	£232,101	£179,249
13	Kingston upon Thames	£890,944	£308,018	£145,360
14	City of London	£434,750	£246,878	£145,180
15	Camden	£187,193	£153,129	£142,585
16	Redbridge	£0	£12,560	£115,166
17	Hounslow	£8,933	£223,070	£89,933
18	Tower Hamlets	£649	£39,489	£89,318
19	Lambeth	£79,154	£75,269	£87,269
20	Westminster	NA	£89,178	£73,395
21	Ealing	£29,972	£44,714	£49,843
22	Transport for London	£186,964	£70,586	£23,409
23	Barking & Dagenham	£20,996	£31,541	£17,980
24	Bexley	£9,253	£13,373	£12,512
25	Havering	£21,067	£51,291	£7,073
26	Brent	£6,826	£15,574	£6,353
27	Wandsworth	£1,365	£390	£65
	Hammersmith and Fulham	NA	NA	NA
	Barnet	NA	NA	NA
	Bromley	NA	NA	NA
	Greenwich	DNE	DNE	DNE
	Kensington and Chelsea	DNE	DNE	DNE
	Richmond	DNE	DNE	DNE
	Croydon	DNR	DNR	DNR
	Newham	DNR	DNR	DNR
	TOTAL	£3,725,794	£3,563,781	£4,453,518
	Change – YOY		-£162,013	£889,737
	Change 16/17 to 18/19			£727,724

By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

Driver offender rehabilitation courses, such as the Speed Awareness Course, may be permanently held online, following successful delivery during the coronavirus lockdown.

TTC Group, the UK’s largest provider of UK Road Offender Education (UKROEd) accredited courses, says support for virtual courses continues to gain traction from all stakeholders.

The benefits of holding courses online include; availability, time saved and reduced travel requirements.

Virtual classrooms have also given rise to specific benefits for special populations – individuals overseas, those in rural areas and, more specifically, TTC Group hosted a course dedicated to the hard of hearing.

Sharon Haynes, TTC Group’s client services director, said: “It’s all about making a positive difference, whether that is by creating safer motorists or by addressing key social issues in the areas we operate in.

“Online or in person these rehabilitation programmes can have a positive, life changing influence on people and it is so important to offer as many people as possible convenient access to them.

“The move to virtual classrooms continues to prove a major success and we look forward to understanding more of the impact of this in the near future.”

During the pandemic, TTC Group switched to virtual courses and transferred all pre-booked ‘physical’ National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme course attendees to a digital solution.

Haynes added: “This really did change the face of the driver offender rehabilitation programme and acts as a great template to consider what we can do in association with UKROEd moving ahead to benefit all key stakeholders from individual drivers, police forces, other road users and employers alike.

“However, there is still much work to be done behind the scenes and we are working alongside UKROEd to ensure the emerging benefits are supported by key data insights.”

Courses currently available in digital classroom format include: National Speed Awareness Course; National Motorway Awareness; Safe and Considerate Driving; and What’s Driving Us?

Lockdown speeding increase

Easy access to courses remains key while social distancing measures are in place across the UK, with demand remaining strong as speeding and other motoring offences continue to rise.

Motorists were speeding three times more frequently during lockdown compared to normal, according to analysis by telematics firm AX.

It found serious speeding events – the most severe category of excessive speed – occurred every 136 miles on average in April, compared to every 443 miles in February.

Major speeding events were also significantly more frequent, taking place on average once every 32 miles in April, down from every 94 miles in February.

It wasn’t just a case of motorists covering shorter journeys either, with major speeding events occurring on average once every 4.3 trips in April compared to every 9.8 trips two months earlier.

 Van drivers proved to be much more obedient than car drivers, with telematics devices detecting major incidents twice as often as normal compared to four times as frequently for car drivers.

Director of Investigative Services at AX, Neil Thomas, said: “It’s fascinating to see how driver behaviour has been influenced by the impacts of COVID-19.

“Whether it was simply down to reduced traffic levels during lockdown or perhaps drivers assuming police forces had bigger priorities, the data shows that given the opportunity, many drivers are clearly willing to speed and quite often significantly so.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

The theme for UK Road Safety Week 2020 has been announced as ‘No need to speed’, following findings that a quarter of people think vehicles travel at a safe speed on the street they live on.

Coordinated by Brake, the road safety charity, Road Safety Week 2020 will take place between November 16-22 and will encourage everyone to learn the what, why and the where of speed and will highlight that the speed of traffic matters to people’s safety.

‘No need to speed’ was chosen as the theme for Road Safety Week 2020 following the findings of the ‘How safe are the streets where you live?’ survey, conducted online by Brake over the past year.

The survey of over 1,700 members of the UK public, found that only a quarter believe that vehicles travel at a safe speed on the street where they live.

Brake also found that six in ten people feel that the speed of traffic on their street negatively affects their wellbeing and two-thirds identify motorised traffic as the biggest threat to their health and safety on their street.

The week-long Road Safety Week campaign is supported by funding from the Department for Transport (DfT) and headline sponsors DHL and Specsavers and will use the collective voice of members of the public, schools, communities, organisations and the emergency services to demonstrate that there is ‘no need to speed’ on the road.

To participate in Road Safety Week, people are invited to register for a free action pack.

Joshua Harris, director of campaigns at Brake, said: “Road Safety Week provides a unique opportunity, every year, to focus attention on how the safety of our roads impacts all our daily lives.

“Speed plays a part in every crash and just 1mph can mean the difference between life and death on the roads. This Road Safety Week we want to help everyone understand why speed matters and to join together to say there is ‘no need to speed’ on our roads.”  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News

We are now into the blackberry season and it would seem that birds love blackberries if my white car is anything to go by! And in these days of water-based car paint, cars are even more vulnerable to this acidic poo than ever before.

At best it makes the car look unsightly at worst, even if you have removed the droppings, the car can remain stained to the point where a lease car could be assessed to be seriously damaged when returned at the end of contract with the leasing company charging for a respray of affected panels. In one case that I reviewed the car needed a complete respray so make sure that you read this advice AND ACT IMMEDIATELY.

Here is the advice from Car Buyer:

We’ve all spent ages cleaning our car to a lovely mirror finish only to have our hard work ruined by the unsightly splatter of bird droppings. As well as being unpleasant and annoying, bird mess can actually damage paintwork, with potential repair bills in the hundreds or even thousands of pounds in the worst cases.

Time is of the essence, because the longer droppings sit on the paintwork, the more chance they have of causing costly problems. But why does bird mess damage paintwork? And what’s the best way to remove it safely?

How can bird droppings damage a car?

When bird droppings are removed from paintwork, they can leave a dull, cloudy mark, and even a visible ripple in the paint’s surface in the worst-case scenario. It’s also possible to make matters worse by scratching the paintwork in the removal process, either by being too aggressive or using the wrong tool.

For many years, the acidity of bird droppings has been blamed for the ‘etching’ effect they can have on paintwork. Recent research carried out by car detailing specialist Autoglym, however, has come up with another reason.

• Carbuyer’s best car cleaning tips and products

In its testing, it was found that as the top layer of paint lacquer warms during the day, it softens and expands, while bird droppings instead dry and become hard. Later on, when the lacquer cools and contracts, it can mould to the texture of the hardened bird mess, leaving a troublesome impression on the surface.

While the effect might be fairly slight, only a small imperfection is needed to create a visible dull patch that stands out against the shiny paint next to it.

How to remove bird mess safely

As we’ve mentioned, speed of removal is the most important factor in preventing damage, and according to Autoglym’s theory, this is especially important on sunny or hot days when the lacquer is at its softest. If you drive your car every day, you’ll have a good chance of spotting any offending droppings quickly and taking swift action.

If you use your car less regularly but it’s still parked outside, it’s worth having a quick look over it on a daily basis. For vehicles left outdoors for longer periods, a car cover is the most sensible and surefire solution. It can also be worth trying to avoid parking under trees, street lights and the eaves of buildings if your car seems to attract bird mess.

The key to easy and safe removal is to use water to ensure the droppings are soft. This is most easily achieved by placing a damp cloth or car cleaning wipe over the offending area and leaving it in place for a few minutes. Once you’ve done this, you should find it comes away from the surface easily.

Always avoid pressing hard, or using a rubbing or scraping motion to dislodge the droppings; if not all of it is removed first time, simply place another damp cloth or cleaning wipe over the spot again and repeat this process until everything has gone.

It’s advisable to wear disposable gloves when tackling this job and, of course, to wash your hands thoroughly afterwards.

What if my car is already damaged?

If the paintwork already has dull spots from bird mess, you can usually deal with them yourself with a little time and attention. More extreme cases may require the help of a car detailing company or paint restoration expert.

If you want to try to correct the paint at home, the first step is to wash the car to ensure it’s clean. Once it’s dry, apply a lightly abrasive car polish to the affected area, following the manufacturer’s instructions. This should gently remove the damaged top layer of paintwork, exposing the fresh paint below for a better finish.

Once it’s polished, ensure you cover the panel with a wax or sealant to protect it from the elements. If the condition of the paint is very poor, an expert will be able to assess the damage and use the correct products along with tools such as orbital polishers to get a satisfactory result.

WD40

I also came across this bit of advice but take care and follow instructions as you don’t want to make matters worse. According to WD-40, its magic-in-a-can spray has 259 automotive uses – and cleaning off dry bird poop from car paint is one of them. To remove bird droppings from your vehicle, spritz a little WD-40 on the area, let it sit for 60 seconds, then rinse or wipe away with a clean, soft cloth.

Final Warning & Advice

You should check your car’s paint warranty and make sure that you don’t do anything that could invalidate the warranty. And if you find that your car is badly damaged and could need a complete respray check to see if you are covered by your insurance especially if you have no claims discount protection. By Graham Hill thanks to Car Buyer

Before providing the latest report I must first warn those who are thinking of joining one of the many class actions against Daimler (Mercedes Benz) over their emissions cheat systems. Read the terms of the class action and make sure that you are not committing to any of the costs should the action fail. I’ll be keeping an eye on things for you as I had 3 Mercedes during the period in question!

Legal claims against Mercedes-Benz for emissions ‘cheating’ in England and Wales have been strengthened following a £1.6 billion settlement in the USA.

London law firm Fox Williams is pursuing claims for Mercedes owners in England and Wales in collaboration with US law firm Hagens Berman, which achieved a payout of more than £560 million for US Mercedes owners.

Mercedes, however, claims the cars sold in America are different to those in the UK.

It is estimated by Fox Williams that up to 1.2 million potential claimants owning (or having owned) impacted vehicles in England and Wales are affected. This includes private owners and businesses, such as fleet operators and hire car companies.

According to Hagens Berman’s investigations, Mercedes used defeat device, similar to the one used by Volkswagen, on its BlueTEC diesel vehicles.

Affected models are alleged to include the A-Class, B-Class, C-Class, Citan, CLA, CLS, E-Class, GL-Class, GLA-Class, GLC-Class, GLE-Class, GLS, M-Class, S-Class, SLK, Sprinter, V-Class, and Vito, built between 2008 and 2018.

Andrew Hill, the Fox Williams partner who is leading the action, said: “Like many members of the general public, I have been shocked at the allegations of deception and fraud made against some of the world’s largest and most prestigious automotive manufacturers, including Mercedes-Benz.  We believe business and private owners in England and Wales will very likely have good claims for the damage caused to them from unwittingly owning or leasing dirty diesels.”

Three other law firms, PGMBM, Leigh Day and Slater and Gordon, are also investigating potential group claims against Mercedes-Benz over emissions.

A spokesperson for Mercedes-Benz Cars UK said: “With regard to the US settlement, the vehicles in question were produced exclusively for the North American market.  The emissions control system of US vehicles differs in comparison to vehicles in Europe both with respect to hardware components and configuration of the control software.  In addition the legal framework and the certification process in the US is different to that in Europe.

“We believe the claims brought forward by the UK law firms are without merit, and will vigorously defend against any group action.”

Daimler AG, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, was fined more than £700m by German prosecutors in 2019 over the diesel emissions scandal.

It has filed objections against the German Federal Motor Transport Authority’s (KBA) recall orders regarding diesel exhaust emissions and these objection proceedings are ongoing.  By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News