RAC Foundation publishes new report on the effectiveness of eco-driving
Fri 19 October 2012
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A new report 'Easy on the Gas' from the RAC Foundation investigates the potential of eco-driving to deliver cost and emissions savings, and the ways in which it can be encouraged, for example through the driving test, intelligent vehicle design and information campaigns. The report concludes that fuel and carbon savings of between 5% and 10% are possible.
The report, written by Dr Ivo Wengraf, says eco-driving is by no means a simple, complete solution to either the cost of fuel or the CO2 emissions from road transport. The impact of eco-driving is influenced by vehicle design, local driving conditions and the behaviour of other motorists. Even when consistently applied, eco-driving cannot, in itself, offer consistent fuel and carbon savings. The consistency of its real-world application is the fundamental issue: however good it is in theory, it must be put into practice. Moreover, that practice must become permanent: the durability of outcomes from eco-driving training needs to be improved.
In policy terms, the report says, the various methods of encouraging eco-driving are very cost effective in terms of CO2 reduction. For example, the Dutch national eco-driving campaign has been assessed to have cost £13 per tonne of CO2 saved. Relative to the high cost of fuel, many eco-driving efforts are very affordable – courses, GSIs and suchlike are very often cost-negative. These measures save significantly more for drivers than they cost.
The Committee on Climate Change believes that emissions reductions of up to 0.3 million tonnes of CO2 are plausible, if around 3.9 million car drivers can be trained by 2020. The savings available through the application of eco-driving, the low costs of promoting it and instituting policies that favour it, and the direct financial benefits that it offers drivers through fuel and insurance savings – taken together these make a strong case for the further expansion of eco-driving in the UK.
The report makes a number of policy prescriptions:
• The driving test. Training through normal driving instruction represents a good-value training opportunity and introduces eco-driving as standard practice. Further promotion of eco-driving in the test syllabus will go some way to reducing the ‘old wives’ tales’ of motoring that often encourage inefficient driving behaviours.
• In-vehicle technologies. As new vehicles become more efficient, the difference between official and real-world measures of vehicle economy – the shortfall – is likely to become a more common problem. In-vehicle technologies, such as gear-shift indicators and tyre pressure monitoring systems, go some way to alleviating shortfall and encouraging a longer term interest in eco-driving. However, these technologies are only as good as their design. Poorly designed versions of these systems may offer no significant benefit, and may even alienate or distract drivers. Careful thought must be given both to the policies that regulate such technologies and to the designs themselves. The complex nature of human behaviour is a challenge when it comes to achieving greater levels of eco-driving: one solution to this is to design vehicles so that the impact of driving style in real-world vehicle emissions is minimised as much as is possible.
• Professional and advanced drivers. The fleet environment provides an excellent opportunity to learn to eco-drive. Fleet training benefits from a number of synergies with other characteristics of business and public transport fleets. Best use should be made of these to create a strong link between promoting eco-driving and achieving other corporate goals. Eco-driving will benefit from being further encouraged through all forms of professional and advanced driver training.
• Insurance. If insurance costs continue to rise for certain drivers, pay-asyou-go telematics systems are very likely to become more commonplace. The links between eco-driving and safe driving present an excellent opportunity to encourage eco-driving through the use of such devices in connection with insurance fee structures. As saving money is a strong behavioural change motivator, tying eco-driving to one of the most prominent motoring costs has merit.
• Data. Research on eco-driving is dominated by case-study and laboratory data: real-world information is lacking. There needs to be an effort, either via large fleets or through private vehicles already fitted with telematics systems, to collect larger real-world datasets. This would not only have application in the further study of eco-driving, but also assist in the related fields of traffic management and road safety.
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