As shown through each motorist’s day-to-day experiences, cars seldom achieve the fuel economy figures cited by their respective manufacturers. It’s a fact of life which most motorists have acknowledged for some time, treating the numbers published by manufacturers merely as a relative guide.
Considerable venom towards carmakers flared up during and immediately after the so-called emissions scandal that started with the VW Group, but motorists across the spectrum can be accused of doing little to help themselves and their cars, if a recent supermarket foray demonstrated.
As I entered the store, on a day that wasn’t notably cold, I noticed a compact executive saloon parked in a bay not far from the entrance. The driver was sat in it eating a sandwich and fiddling with their tablet, while the engine was left running. When I emerged half an hour later to offload my shopping, the sandwich had apparently been devoured and the tablet put down to allow for some shuteye, but the engine was still running. I cringe to think how much CO2 was emitted and diesel consumed during that time.
Research by Barclaycard Fuel+ in 2015 reported that 636 million litres of fuel are wasted by British motorists each year on average, through failure to adopt environmentally-friendly driving habits. In their estimation, poor clutch control and needless engine-revving at traffic lights and in traffic queues is the primary culprit behind fuel wastage, running the engine whilst stationery and using air conditioning unnecessarily comprising the second and third most widely-practiced driving faux-pas.
Other ways in which business drivers and all motorists for that matter can maximise their cars’ efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions include optimal route planning to avoid getting lost, driving in as high a gear as possible, removing unnecessary objects from the boot to save weight and ensuring tyres are correctly inflated.
Counterintuitive acceleration also needs eradicating, instead smoothly slowing down when approaching red lights, resisting the urge to surge away from traffic lights and out of junctions like Lewis Hamilton, and not treating the distance between one traffic-calming measure and the next as if it’s a time-trial.
The new Worldwide Harmonized Light Duty Vehicles Test Procedure is set to replace the current New European Driving Cycle in 2017 and fleet managers will be keeping a close eye on the changes.
It’s true that car manufacturers and the automotive industry as a whole need to tighten up – but it’s clear that individual drivers also have a role to play.
