Safer For You & The Environment!

Some time ago, I was driving home along the A3 near New Malden where the road has a 50 mph speed limit. Because I believe in good driving practice, I was travelling at, or just below, this speed but in the lane to my right, traffic was overtaking me and generally travelling well above the speed limit.

More Energy

I'm not going to carry on about whether people should be exceeding the speed limit or not, but one of the cars that overtook me was a Toyota Prius. Now this car is a 'Hybrid' i.e. it is powered by both a conventional (but relatively small) petrol engine plus an electric motor. It's a very economical vehicle (especially for its size) and is one of the few motor vehicles allowed into the London Congestion Zone free of charge due to its very low carbon emissions. HOWEVER. It is a fact of natural law that the faster a vehicle goes, the more energy is needed to push it over the distance it travels and therefore by exceeding the speed limit the driver was not only breaking the law but consuming more fuel than necessary. This therefore negated the benefits of driving a very economical and also ecologically friendly vehicle. Maybe the only reason why the person driving this vehicle was purely because of its special status concerning the London Congestion Zone, but I know for sure that I was using and emitting less fuel/carbon than this other person.

It's the way you do it...

What's my point? Well, it's not just the car that you drive that is eco-friendly, but the way that you drive and generally use it. The more acceleration used consumes more fuel and the more braking you have to do also wastes fuel. Therefore the more that you plan ahead as you drive, the less unnecessary acceleration and deceleration is needed. By planning, I don't just mean looking at a map or knowing where there might be excessive congestion before starting your journey (although this definitely helps!). But as you drive, looking further ahead and working out what could happen next (anticipating) will help you to recognise potential problems well before you encounter them which will produce great benefits in savings of consumption and therefore carbon emissions. (It can also result in a smoother more comfortable drive for you and your passengers).

Consider whether you really need to drive on a short errand of just a few hundred metres away and think instead about walking or cycling as an alternative.

Make sure there's no excessive weight in your car. Clear out unnecessary clutter from your boot and stow away the roof rack as weight and wind drag play a big part in wasteful consumption.

A cold engine consumes a lot of fuel and the sooner you drive off when the engine is cold, the sooner it warms up and burns fuel more efficiently. Therefore if you have a driveway, consider reversing in so that when you start your journey next morning, you can drive out forwards which is generally safer and takes less time, which in turn helps you to warm your engine up to its correct operating temperature earlier.

Lastly, keep the speeds down. By reducing speed by just a few mph below the speed you normally travel at can help to put money in your pocket, reduce the risk of getting a speeding ticket and of course, contribute towards the possibility of a longer life!

Tony Philips

Tony is an accomplished instructor who has been in the business since 1995, the list of his qualifications is as long as his arm!  Tony carries out fleet and advanced levels of instruction on behalf of Driverskills in the London area.