Petrol prices have hit 142.94p a litre, their highest level to date, according to the RAC motoring organisation.
Fuel prices were last around this level in April 2012.
It is now £15 more expensive to fill up an average family car than a year earlier, said the RAC, which called the new high a “dark day for drivers”.
The RAC said the increase was partly due to a doubling of the oil price since last year. Some analysts believe the oil price could rise further.
The price of unleaded petrol has jumped by 28p a litre since last October, the RAC said, meaning it now costs £78.61 to fill a family car.
“This will hurt many household budgets and no doubt have knock-on implications for the wider economy,” a spokesman for the RAC said.