Eco Safe Driving has finally come into the picture now that fuel prices are starting to increase and the cost of travel generally becomes higher.  

Some very simple techniques can be used to reduce the cost of driving.  This will be part of the practical driving from the 10th of September 2008. Marked under "Planning" and "Control"

save money, Save fuel, Drive Safer.

Remember safety comes before eco safe driving.  

Why?

It will save you money in fuel and repair bills,

It may maker you a safer more considerate driver,

It will help reduce CO²  emissions.

Here are a few points which may help:

Choice of transport.  There are many forms of transport, some are more economical and practical than others.  Choose a sensible option, for example, in some situations it is easier, cheaper and quicker to take the train (e.g. London, Manchester)

However this may not be practical so choosing an economical car with low emissions may be the most eco safe option.  All cars have a rating now on CO² so find out what your car is like on fuel and emissions.  More modern cars are easier to recycle at the end of their life too.

Planning

Planning ahead helps you to reduce fuel by not stopping, not accelerating/braking unnecessarily!  Hazard Perception, (Planning) this means planning ahead on the road.  It is surprising how many drivers do not plan ahead, and therefore have to brake harshly.  Hazard Perception is about looking, and guessing what other road users are going to do, making safe and careful decisions about how to deal with the situation safely.  Traffic lights are a good example.  If they are on green they are likely to change, so plan for that to happen, and try and arrive on the next green light, so you do not need to stop.

Plan your route, avoiding wasting time and fuel.

Control - Accelerator and Brake Awareness.  This is key to all driving, the more accelerator and brake you use, the more fuel and emissions.  Therefore try to only use the accelerator where necessary, what is the point of accelerating when you are likely to stop or slow.  Same can be said for the brake; why brake harshly when you can release your accelerator to slow down further back, and thus save fuel?  Every time you use the brake you are wasting the energy already put into moving the car along.

Control - Driving in a sensible gear for the road speed and conditions can save a lot of fuel too.  In most cars 30MPH can be achieved in 3rd or 4th, at higher speed top gear can be very flexible and economical too.  Try block changes or avoid changing unless necessary, keeping your hand on the wheel for longer, modern cars can allow for 2nd to 4th, or 3rd to 5th for example, saving wear on the clutch, gearbox and saving fuel.

Control - Speed has a significant effect on fuel as the air resistance increases substantially as speed increases.  Just 5 or 10 mph has a big difference on the fuel used.  For example a motorway journey could be made at 60/65mph instead of 70mph, or 55mph, instead of 60 on a national speed limit road.

Turn off Air Conditioning, this uses a significant amount of fuel.  However this is a safety feature to clear windows on a damp day, or to keep you fresh in warm weather.  Therefore use it carefully, use climate control if you have it to reduce its use.  It can be more economical at speed to use air conditioning instead of having the windows down, due to the drag having the windows down create.

Maintenance.  Regular servicing makes vehicles more economical and reduces emissions.  This will save you money in the long term.  It will also give you better residual values from your vehicle and make the vehicle safer if proper checks are carried out.  Check tyre pressures weekly, this significantly affects fuel economy.

Check your economy, so you know how economical your car is.  Use this information to make better decisions on choice of car or your driving habits.  You may just find your car needs some mechanical attention?

Avoid cold manoeuvres.  A cold engine uses more fuel, and a manoeuvre uses more fuel.  So do these if you can when the engine is warmed up and at maximum efficiency. E.g. Reverse into car parking spaces so you can drive straight out.

Removal of weight and high drag items, like roof racks and excess items in the boot.  Roof racks can reduce fuel economy by about 5% or more.

Eco Safe Driving is included in the Learnmoore Learner Driver Syllabus

Do you want to improve your economy? or learn about it, why not have a lesson in eco safe driving? Contact us now for more infomation.