Mike Waters’ Blog: 1 November 2012 – Reaching your fleet’s sustainable potential

Whether the motivation is cost-saving, reputation or a genuine concern for the planet, for businesses looking to reduce CO2 emissions and fuel consumption the obvious place to start is by selecting efficient vehicles.

Whether modern petrol or diesel, hybrid or even fully electric powertrains, it’s the best way to make the biggest difference.

However, that should never be where the sustainable focus ends because the role of the driver is such an important one in achieving a vehicle’s potential.

A really efficient vehicle can become average if the driver has a poor driving style.

The emissions, mpg or range quoted are indicative and based on a standard test cycle, so heavy-footed behaviour can have a significant and adverse impact on performance.

An increasing number of companies are looking to driver training as a means of getting more from their vehicles with tailored eco sessions now available.

This type of training covers topics such as driving at lower speeds, changing gear at the right time and eliminating heavy braking.

It’s not complicated stuff, but if a driver hasn’t been told how to operate efficiently, it’s unfair to assume that they will naturally behave that way.

Not everyone needs or wants to be trained, but the point I’m making is that you can make a significant difference if you know how.

Driving sympathetically can increase mpg and reduce vehicle emissions, and on electric vehicles we have also seen how it can significantly increase range.

We have had examples of drivers who can’t understand why their electric vehicle isn’t achieving the range claimed by the manufacturer.

However, they are not thinking about how they drive and not tailoring their driving style to maximise the vehicle’s potential.

Having the radio, heaters and lights on and accelerating and braking like you might in a petrol or diesel car all drains the battery.

Of course, where the vehicle is driven can also make a big difference, but the driver remains the main barrier to achieving optimum performance for any given drive cycle.

So for all drivers, whatever they are driving, it’s important to think about driving style because the machine alone can’t reach its optimum.

If CO2 and cost reduction are motivations to your business, it is essential to recognise that drivers have the potential to play a major part in meeting those objectives.

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