Motorists urged to drive with a bowl of water in car

Motorists are being urged to drive everywhere with a bowl of water in the passenger seat following the unwelcome news about rising petrol and diesel prices.

Breakdown experts the RAC said that fuel prices have increased for the first time in three months, with the cost of an average litre of petrol and the average litre of diesel rising by 2p and 3p on average in the space of a month.

The RAC says unleaded now costs 134.17p a litre on average, up 2p since June, 1 meaning the cost to fill a 55-litre family car stands at £73.79 (£1.07 more than at the start of the month). The price of diesel went up even more – by nearly 3p (2.8p) a litre, from 138.39p at the start to 141.21p at the end. This added £1.55 to the cost a household pays to fill a family car.

The experts said it is hoped that prices may start to come down again in future as wholesale prices dip. But for now with fuel prices at their recent peak, it's good practice to save money on fuel.

RAC fuel spokesperson Simon Williams said: “The arrival of summer has brought some wholly unwelcome increases to pump prices, with retailers wasting no time in putting them up following increased tensions in the Middle East. Unleaded and diesel are now both at their highest levels since late April, although we see no reason for further increases as wholesale prices have come back down again.

“July will be a telling month – will retailers halt further price rises, or even cut them if wholesale costs continue to slide? Or will drivers be stuck having to pay an elevated amount for the foreseeable future? This is particularly topical given it was only two days ago that the Competition and Markets Authority noted how weak competition within the fuel retailing market is.

“Thankfully, we’re a long way off the record pump prices of exactly three years ago – when the Russia/Ukraine conflict saw the average price of unleaded hit an unprecedented 191.53p a litre and diesel climb to 199.21p, with some retailers charging well in excess of £2 a litre."

Motoring experts at ChooseMyCar.com have urged drivers to consider a few rather unusual fuel saving tips to bring into your drive to help keep your petrol costs as low as you can manage if you're worried about rising fuel costs.

The first is to keep a bowl of water in the passenger seat.

The experts said: "Keeping an open bowl of water on your passenger seat is a great deterrent for unnecessary acceleration and braking.

"It sounds a bit strange, but it is a simple and brilliant reminder to drive gently. If you hit the accelerator too hard, you'll see water pour out the sides. Likewise, if you're driving too fast and braking hard you'll notice water on the seat. The best bowls to use for this are small cereal bowls, with water about an inch from the top."

Other experts' tips include:

Use your garage as an actual garage

By keeping your car warm in a garage, you will keep it at a better temperature for fuel economy. This will reduce your fuel consumption by using less air conditioning to heat or cool your car, especially handy during this current heatwave.

Empty your car out

Excess weight in your car can be a real fuel burner. It's good practice to empty your car out daily - especially if you have particularly heavy items in there. So make sure you don't drive to work on Monday morning with your golf clubs still in the boot!

Just don't do it

Consider cycling or walking to your destination. Not only will you save money on fuel, you can probably cancel your gym membership too. As a quick example, if your journey to work is five miles, you would save £416 per year - and boost your steps by 10,000 a day.