Eco drive to save on fuel
MOTORISTS could save themselves up to £100 each a year by opting for eco driving, according to the RAC.
Better driving technique and improved journey planning could financially benefit drivers who are currently wasting £2.2billion in petrol a year, the motoring organisation added.
The waste, due to poor journey planning and to driving more than five billion miles each year while lost, is the equivalent of 267 Olympic-sized swimming pools full of fuel.
The RAC said that 60 per cent of drivers were unaware that changing gear when revs were high could reduce petrol consumption and 40 per cent thought that driving under 45mph always saves fuel.
A further nine per cent admitted to checking their tyre pressure less than once a year, with 77 per cent not aware that under-inflated tyres increased petrol consumption. Also:
l Nine per cent wrongly believed that breaking regularly will reduce fuel consumption;
l 14 per cent incorrectly reckoned warming the engine up before moving off reduced petrol used
l 27 per cent were unaware that switching off air conditioning significantly reduced fuel used.
RAC's technical director David Bizley said: "With fuel prices at a record high, adopting eco driving techniques is an easy way for consumers to reduce their fuel consumption to help wallets and the environment.
"We hope that by raising awareness of the simple changes motorists can make to their driving style, they will be able to absorb some of the increasing cost of petrol through their own driving habits."
4:24pm Thursday 6th March 2008
Print 
Email this 
Comment
What are these links for?
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
More on Digg
More on del.icio.us
More on Furl
More on reddit
More on NowPublic/
More on Yahoo!
