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South Africans have to dig even deeper into their pockets to fill up their fuel tanks following the petrol price hike earlier this month. The cost of a litre of fuel has shot up by between 81 cents and 98 cents a litre depending on the type of fuel you use.
What’s behind the petrol price increase?
In South Africa, there are various costs that constitute the total fuel price. It’s adjusted on a monthly basis and takes into account a number of factors, including the Rand/Dollar exchange rate, the international price of fuel, the cost of shipping fuel to South Africa and the transport of that fuel to various area’s around the country.
Other costs associated with the petrol price include the Fuel Levy and the Road Accident Fund (RAF) Levy, which make up a large part of price at the pump. The Fuel Levy goes directly to the National Treasury, while the RAF Levy goes to the RAF and is used to care for victims involved in vehicle accidents.
The Automobile Association published an infographic breaking down the latest fuel hike for April 2016 – detailing exactly where your fuel money goes.
What can you do to save fuel?
Buying cheaper fuel or diesel is the easiest way to cut your fuel costs, but there are other things you can do to get the most mileage out of your tank.
Air conditioner or open windows?
Air conditioning increases fuel consumption, especially at low speeds. If it’s a hot day, use the air conditioning when travelling at high speeds but open the windows around town.
Bumping along
Braking hard, accelerating and then braking for the next speed bump is inefficient and uses extra fuel. Try to drive along at a steady 25 – 35 kph instead when driving between speed bumps.
Maintenance
Get your car serviced regularly to maintain engine efficiency and make sure you’re using the correct engine oil (check your vehicle’s handbook)
Sensible driving
Your Matrix device detects harsh driving behaviour such as harsh braking, cornering, acceleration and over speeding. Monitoring your own driving behaviour can help you become a better driver, and save fuel in the process. Through your Matrix smartphone app* or the Matrix Internet Tracking platform*, you can receive alerts of harsh driving as they happen or you can pull reports to monitor how you drove in a date range. Click here to find out more about harsh driving alerts from Matrix.
If you find yourself broken down without fuel, simply alert the Matrix control room of your situation and trained personnel will assess your situation and send the necessary assistance to your exact location using GPS.
For more information on our features and safety offerings, visit us at www.matrix.co.za or contact Matrix Customer Care on 011 654 8090.
*Available to MX2 & MX3 customers.
Kind regards
The Matrix Team
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