There are growing calls for the UK government to reduce all speed limits by 10mph as the ongoing conflict in Iran continues to strain household finances. Transport and Environment (T&E) has proposed five key changes for the Labour Party government to consider.
Proposed measures to reduce fuel consumption
As the Iran war reaches its three-month mark, T&E urges the government to introduce lower speed limits and promote work-from-home mandates. The organization states: "Encourage flexible working arrangements where feasible. Three additional remote working days per week could reduce individual driver fuel bills by up to 20 per cent."
It further adds: "Reinstate or strengthen motorway speed limit enforcement, with a minimum 10 km/h reduction on key corridors, as per the IEA emergency recommendation."
Additional recommendations
The report outlines three further changes: accelerate investment in public transport as an emergency energy security measure; issue clear public guidance on eco-driving, tyre pressure maintenance, and car-sharing to accompany any emergency communications on fuel prices; and pursue these short-term measures alongside the long-term structural solution of accelerated EV adoption, which permanently removes drivers from oil market exposure.
Daniel Quiggin, Senior Policy Advisor for Energy and Climate, explained: "The IEA has identified a set of practical, low-cost behavioural and policy measures that governments can implement immediately to reduce fuel consumption and the household bills that come with it."
T&E has quantified what these measures would mean in euros for EU car drivers. Quiggin added: "These measures can ease the immediate burden — but they are not a structural fix. Only the transition to electric vehicles, which permanently removes drivers from oil market exposure, offers lasting protection from the next crisis. In the meantime, demand-side measures represent the fastest available policy response, and governments should act on them now."
The IEA's 10-point plan for reducing oil demand in transport identifies five measures applicable to EU car drivers, four of which T&E assesses to be viable short-term measures.
