With recent changes in the fuel policies for almost all car rental companies, you will no doubt find yourself with what’s known as a Full-To-Full fuel policy next time you rent a car. Gone are the days of having to pay for a tank of fuel regardless of how many miles you may or may not be driving.

What Is A Full To Full Fuel Policy?

Full To Full means exactly what it says, when you collect the rental vehicle it will have a full tank of fuel. The rental company will require a deposit for the amount of this fuel which is generally between £60-£100 depending on the size of the vehicles fuel tank.

You can then drive away safe in the knowledge that you will not have to try and find the closest petrol station and fill up before you continue your journey, this is particularly helpful when arriving on a late flight or with your family in tow, all who just want to get to your destination and start their holiday.

The requirement on you is to return the vehicle at the end of your rental full of fuel, do this and your deposit will be returned in full. If you do not return it with a full tank, they will charge you for the missing fuel and a refuelling charge (admin charge). The simplest way of ensuring you can return the vehicle full, is to do a little research.

Where Is My Nearest Petrol Station?

A simple online search ‘nearest fuel station’ or ‘petrol stations near Heathrow‘ for example, will provide you with a list.

In my experience, there is usually a petrol station within a couple of miles of any airport. Obviously you will need to make sure it’s open at the time you intend to return your rental car but they tend to be open 24hrs, especially in built up areas close to the airport.

Researching petrol stations near to your location may also help, however you will need to consider the distance from your nearest fuel station back to the airport. If that journey is more than just a few miles then by the time you get back to the rental office, the tank will no longer be full.

What Are The Cost Implications?

When researching the nearest petrol station, the information that it won’t give you is the cost of the fuel. For those like me who are price conscious then this is an important part of the research. Services close to airports tend to cost more per litre than the inner city filling stations. There are websites like confused.com that will give you a good idea of the cost per litre at various outlets, it’s surprising how much it can vary. But, it’s down to you to weigh up the benefits of saving at the pump and driving further to return the car and potentially being charged by the supplier, or filling up close to the airport at a higher cost but ensuring there will be no charges for not having a full tank.

I Filled The Car Up But it’s Not Showing Full

The majority of suppliers know that it is not always possible to pull into the airport with a brimming fuel tank. This can work both ways, sometimes you will fill up, drive 50 miles to return the car and it still shows full. Other times, you may fill up a mile away from the airport and the fuel gauge isn’t playing ball that day. A general rule of thumb is, fill the car up within 10 miles (15km) of their location and show them a receipt for this and all will be well.

If you have any questions regarding fuel policies or charges involved then please get in touch. Our reservations team is on hand to help with anything car hire related. We may even be able to help find the Nearest Petrol Station for you. Contact us by phone on 0113 88 00 748, email us on sales@thealternativeagency.co.uk or chat with us online.

When arriving in a foreign country there a lot of important factors to consider before getting behind the wheel. Driving on the wrong side of the car is a challenge for some, Speed limits in kilometres and not miles per hour and rules of the road are all important ones. But, first and foremost you should know which side of the road to drive on.

Growing up in the UK means I have driven on the left-hand side for much of my driving life, it’s nations that were once British colonies that make up the large proportion of countries that drive on the left. These include Australia, India and South Africa.

More than two thirds of the countries in the world drive on the right-hand side, including China and the USA. Canadians used to drive on the left but changed to the right in the 1920’s to make travel between Canada and the USA easier.

Why Do We Drive on Different Sides?

For a very long time, it didn’t really matter which side of the road was used. There weren’t that many people travelling and the roads they used weren’t paved and didn’t use any kind of traffic signals. The public were free to travel around however they pleased.

It’s said that a preference of driving sides goes back to horse riding when most societies preferred left-hand (riding) driving. This offered certain advantages for a right-handed rider. Riding on the left allowed for a weapon to be held in their dominant hand as they pass a potential enemy. They also mount the horse from the left meaning they would be mounting from the path side rather than going into the road.

In 1773, the British Government created the General Highways Act, which advised the public to drive on the left. The Highways Act some 60 or so years later in 1835 later reinforced this, making it the law. Britain went on to introduce the left-hand side driving convention in all colonised countries.

So Why Do the Majority Drive on The Right?

At the turn on the 20th century, the majority of countries around the world still had no rules or laws in place for what the preferred riding/driving side was. Until Henry Ford mass-produced his Model T. An automobile with left hand drive, helped make the idea of right side driving popular. As automobiles became more and more popular worldwide, more and more nations began to adopt official laws about driving. The most popular combination being on the right-hand side of the road in a left-hand drive car.

It has been said many times that we should all drive on the same side, the only answer to this is practicality. Much like the Americans choosing to stick with imperial over metric, changing a city like London to drive on the other side would be a mammoth task and cause everyone involved a lot of upheaval.

Which Countries Drive On the Left?

Below is a list we have compiled of which countries drive on the left hand side and which countries drive on the right hand side. This is not an exhaustive list, but includes countries popular with our customers.

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