Eco Driving Gathering Momentum

August 26th, 2008 Posted in Roads, Travel Stories

‘Eco-safe’ driving will be included in the UK driving test from this autumn as part of the government’s campaign to cut carbon emissions. From September, candidates will be assessed on how green their driving is – including not accelerating or braking sharply, and knowledge of other tips such as checking tyre pressures and avoiding unnecessary baggage in the back.

Nobody will be passed or failed on the issues, but research has shown that ‘eco-driving’ can save between 5 and 17 per cent of fuel – and so emissions – and is safer, too, says the Department for Transport. The DfT estimates that, if all drivers in the UK followed the tips, CO2 emissions from cars could be reduced by 8 per cent – or more than 5.5 million tonnes of CO2 a year, saving motorists more than £2bn a year. In the Netherlands, specialists believe fuel use could be cut by up to one third.

In the EU, the eco-driving campaign is organised and co-ordinated by a consortium of organisations which are partners to the ECODRIVEN project. A total of 9 countries which are members of the European Union take part in the campaign.

The consortium is assisted by an Implementing Expert Committee to which the representatives of multinational and umbrella organisations and associations from the automative industry and the transport sector are nominated. The committee serves as an advisory and supporting body and supports the development and implementation of the campaigning activities and materials.

According to the project workplan the campaign itself will last for one year (between 2007 and 2008). The rest of the time will be used for the preparation, monitoring, and evaluation of the campaign activities and their impacts.

During the campaigning period, end-users will be regularly informed about ecodriving activities within their familiar social environment, which will stimulate them to reflect on and optimise their driving behaviour in a safe and energy-efficient manner.

To achieve this, in each country, the campaign activities will be organised in collaboration with car dealers, fuel stations, touring club consumer stores, drivers’ associations and driving schools as well as local actors such as municipalities, SMEs and hauliers.

In addition to the common campaign format, specific local collaborations in each country may be used to reinforce the common campaign messages.

For this reason, each participating country may use country-specific campaigning activities, tailored to different national audiences, and depending on their current level of ecodriving implementation. Their overview may be found here Country-specific campaigns.

The overall campaign goals are following:

At least 2,500,000 drivers of passenger cars, delivery vans, lorries and buses in 9 EU-countries have been stimulated to drive in a safer and more energy-efficient manner.
Until 2010, 0.5 Mtons of CO2 emissions have been avoided, as well as significant amounts of other emissions deriving from road transport (e.g. NOx and particulates).
ECODRIVEN has led to the establishment of a European-wide network of local and regional collaborations between local actors, relevant local departments and outlets of national and international companies and organisations.

Further Reading

Take the Eco Driving Quiz on the Energy Saving Trust website

BBC News article

Tags: Eco Driving