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Potential
Vehicle
THE
MEGA
DEAL
Problem
onNINJA
the LASER FULL MONTY PLUS
Horizon
KEYLINE 884 MINI CLONER+MEGAMOS
Time spent refuelling
is becoming a critical
issue for LCV operators,
according to The
Fuelcard People.
»»Steve Clarke, group
marketing manager, has highlighted
an overlooked
SUPPORT
ARMchallenge in the rising
use of LCVs, reported in Commercial
Fleet. “Moving the same load in smaller
vehicles means more traffic,” he said.
“That is challenging, but is only the
tip of the iceberg. There will be a real
effect on everyone from greater van
traffic.”
“The number of LCVs is expected
to almost to double during the next
five years. This has consequences for
everyone,” said Steve Clarke. “Vans
refuel more often than trucks, carry the
same goods, on the same journeys,
but with more frequent refuelling and
the result higher forecourt demand.
That means queues. The longer that
it takes each driver to complete the
process, the worse it becomes. Unless
everyone gets in and out quickly, there
will be queues before the pumps and
bottlenecks rejoining the road.”
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‘Van users and drivers can hardly be
blamed, but we can all expect problems’
He also said that long lines of vehicles
trying to leave a filling station could have
safety implications.
“A constant stream of vehicles trying to
feed back onto the carriageway means
that other drivers have to slow down or
move over,” he said. “Either meaning
congestion or possibly sudden braking.
That is a potential hazard. If vehicles are
unable to leave the exit slipway, traffic
will back up right through the filling
station and cause queues before it. Van
users and drivers can hardly be blamed,
but we can all expect problems.”
Steve Clarke is well positioned to
comment, with many years’ experience in
the refuelling sector. He said, “You would
expect the leading name in fuel cards to
have an obv [