The Courier Shop

Well it seems like there really is nothing new under the sun, as vehicle satellite tracking has been rebranded as the tool to tame white van man. The ‘new’ product is called “Driver DNA” and tracks the driving of a vehicle and shows harsh braking patterns and agressive driving patterns, again all things that are shown in real time with satellite tracking.  A system we use goes as far as ‘geo-fencing’ postcodes and emailing alerts when vehicles reach a certain area or postcode or breaks the speed limit. It can tell you when the vehicle is turned on, whether it’s idling – just about anything you could want to know and quite a few things you wouldn’t want to know as well.

Couriers have long used Tom Tom fleet systems and products such as Journeeze to manage their fuel consumption and where their vehicles are. Fuel is the biggest expenditure where white van man are concerned and monitoring closely is something they do. As any good fleet manager would tell you, monitoring fuel consumption is an early highlighter of vehicle faults and all vehicles are checked on a daily or weekly basis as per transport regulations, with records that prove the action has taken place.

Driver DNA hardly seems original, any good tracking system will do the same as it does and has several years heritage as well. It’s disappointing that once again white van man is blamed for co2 emissions and bad driving. Obviously the makers have never seen or drove near school run mum, who drives erratically without thought for anyone else on the road just delivering her kids to the school, reversing without using her mirrors, signaling one way then going the other. Now you know why most accidents happen close to schools. Instead of inventing the double seatbelt to combat School Run Mum, the creators of Driver DNA have just decided to reinvent the wheel with no thought to what products already do the job, that already solving the problem they proclaim exists.

2/10 for effort, must try harder is this white van womans report, you are three years behind the times.

Sarah

Part two of our three part blog series on fuel saving for drivers. As well as saving you money, you drive just that bit greener

Get set….

* Take off roof racks and trailers if they’re not use. They increase the drag and cause you to burn more fuel.

* 61% percent of journeys are under two miles and arguably a waste of fuel and money. short journeys – walk or cycle them instead.

* Engines will be colder on short journeys, and this can double fuel consumption. Do you really need to complete that short journey?

* Planning – as many jobs as possible in one trip saves you money. Aim to get as much as you can out of the journey. Three jobs in one trip is better for the environment than three individual trips!
* Sitting in queues costs money and wastes fuel. Avoid congestion by checking the local news or
http://www.trafficmaster.co.uk/home.php for delays before you set off. If you hear of delays and jams, route around them. We use Tom Tom Live for this and it’s value is immense.

* Only travel in the rush hour if you absolutely have to, this is more for your sanity as well as fuel conservation.

* Do you know where you are going? Motorists waste 350,000 tonnes of fuel per year getting lost! You can plan your route on the http://www.theaa.com/travelwatch/planner_main.jsp, it’s free too. Alternatively, buy a Sat Nav system, worth their weight in gold and safer than a map.

* Idle your engine during its initial start for no more than 30 seconds. An idling engine produces 80 percent more pollution than when the vehicle is moving. Modern car engines warm up faster, when they are in motion.

Part one was posted yesterday, and part three tomorrow.

Sarah

Safer delivery

A few days ago the new minister for transport, Andrew Adonis launched a new database that would list all vans with their carbon emissions, so that companies and individuals could source the appropriate vans for their needs.

The site has been launched via the Business Link website and will also list fuel consumption.

The online database – the biggest of its kind in Europe – has been compiled by the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA), Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), and Department for Transport (DfT). It allows users to search for new van models on the UK market and compare their CO2 emissions and the fuel consumption.

Vans make up around 15% of road transport emissions in the UK and their emissions are rising at the highest rate of any road vehicle. If everybody buying a new van bought the most fuel efficient model in its class the average buyer could save up to 17% on both CO2 emissions and fuel costs.

Source: White van man goes green

This is a bit late in coming and doesn’t include payload information which is a bit disappointing – that can make a big difference when choosing the right van for green purpose, but it is a step in the right direction.

Now, what is being done for the other 85% of vehicles that pollute the environment?

Sarah

The complete guide to becoming a courier

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• White Van Man faces his biggest crisis
• New car sales 25% lower in May
• New car sales fall despite Government scrappage scheme

For several years now, the UK has been moving the issues of Global Warming and the depletion of the earth™s fossil fuels further and further up the political agenda. Today, petrol and diesel prices have reached a record high, causing economic difficulties for businesses and private individuals alike.  At the same time, Government is pressing ahead with its policy of taxing vehicles on the basis of their emissions “ the more polluting the vehicle, the higher the tax.  Although it insists that this incentivises motorists to drive more environmentally-friendly vehicles, the reality is that motorists are faced with two choices, both of which cost money they can ill afford

Sell their current car and buy a new low-emission example. Due to ever-increasing fuel prices and a draconian Road Fund Tax policy, second hand values of high-emission cars are falling dramatically, making the cost of this changing your car higher than ever. It follows that the greater the Government incentive, the smaller the number of people who can afford to buy less-polluting cars.

Accept that there is nothing they can do about rising fuel prices and Road Fund Tax and simply find a way of paying it

Motorists are therefore between a rock and a hard place.  They would like to do the right thing and make the change, but cannot afford to do so.  If they do not change, they cannot afford to run their vehicles (on which they rely) without diverting funds from somewhere else (e.g. food, clothing, education, etc). This is undoubtedly having a detrimental knock-on effect on personal lifestyles and the economy generally.

A solution

The team behind Hydrocharger Limited has been researching and developing Hydrogen on Demand systems for internal combustion engines for around five years with a view to reducing fuel consumption and reducing harmful emissions.  Today the company offers an aftermarket product called Hydrocharger that customers can be confident will increase MPG for existing cars and light vans by around 25%, and at the same time will reduce emissions by around 40%.  Hydrochargers are also producing very significant improvements for Heavy Goods Vehicles.

What is Hydrocharger?

In very simple terms, a Hydrocharger system consists of one or more interconnected cells filled with distilled water and a small quantity of electrolyte. When the engine is running a current is passed through electrodes in each cell to produce HHO (hydrogen and oxygen), which in turn is fed into the air intake of the engine. The Hydrogen acts as a secondary fuel source, which reduces the volume of the primary fuel (petrol or diesel) that is required.  At the same time the oxygen causes the primary fuel to be burned more completely. The result is a reduction in petrol/diesel consumption and a dramatic reduction in harmful emissions.

Hydrocharger cells are unique in appearance, being made of heat-resistant ABS with a full-height transparent water-level viewing window. All the components have been carefully designed to maximise the volume of hydrogen produced for a given current, whilst at the same time minimising electrode deterioration and preventing overheating. Registered Installers can either install Hydrochargers in the engine bay (if room permits) or remotely in the boot of the vehicle.

Why buy Hydrocharger?

With around 4,500 satisfied customers to date, Hydrocharger Limited is almost certainly the UK leader in this exciting new market. Hydrocharger offers the average motorist significant net savings in fuel costs.  If the Government could be persuaded to set a vehicles Road Fund Tax band by its actual emissions (i.e. post Hydrocharger installation) rather than by the manufacturers quoted figures, the argument for fitting a Hydrocharger to every vehicle on the road would be even more compelling.

We are not aware of any other product of a similar price that can offer today’s motorist the chance to

1. Reduce running costs so significantly
2. Reduce their carbon footprint so dramatically

A sobering thought If every vehicle on the UKs roads were fitted with a Hydrocharger, it would have the same effect environmentally as taking TWELVE MILLION vehicles off the road

Goal

The Directors of Hydrocharger Limited are committed to making it possible for as many vehicles as possible to be fitted with a Hydrocharger within the next five years, both in the UK and overseas.  Their primary motivation is the environmental and social benefits that Hydrocharger offers, rather than their own personal financial gain.  The Directors believe strongly that it is our collective duty to ensure that our children have a future to which they can look forward.

Innovation

Hydrocharger Limited is the first company in the UK (and one of the first in the world) to harness the established technology of hydrogen production from the electrolysis of water and apply it to the automotive aftermarket.  Utilising what is (to all intents and purposes) “free” energy brings welcome solutions to two of the major challenges facing motorists and society as a whole – how to combat  ever-rising fuel costs and reduce pollution levels.  Every conceivable economic indicator points to the fact that Hydrocharger is the right product in the right place at the right time.

Motor manufacturers are all introducing new technology that will make the cars of the future cleaner and more efficient  but thats tomorrow.  The problem is NOW.  Buying a new, cleaner and more economical car does not cure the problem“ it simply shifts your problem onto somebody else (whoever you sell your existing car to).  Fitting a Hydrocharger does fix the problem because it increases your current cars MPG by 25% and reduces its harmful emissions by around 40% – and its a fraction of the cost of replacing your existing car with a new one!

Hydrocharger can transform the cars we have today and make them as clean as or cleaner than the cars we can expect to be buying tomorrow.

New Product Release

We have now released our new truck system email for more information.

Pricing

Car/Van upto 3000cc                        £220

Car/Van 3000cc +                                 £440

HGV/24 volt system                          £1500

Email for more information to get the right kit for your vehicle.

sam@hydrochargeme.com