Energy Saving Trust’s top tips for driving

The TransportEnergy BestPractice programme, which has produced the tips, provides drivers with knowledge and technical expertise in the fleet industry. It offers impartial information and practical advice on how to reduce fleet costs and cut vehicle emissions.

Ten Tips for safer, greener and stress-free driving:

• Drive defensively – avoiding harsh acceleration and heavy braking wherever possible. Remember that pulling away too fast uses up 60% more fuel
  
• Concentrate – look ahead, anticipate road conditions and the actions of others. You’ll be less likely to have an accident and will reduce fuel consumption
  
• Use the gearbox efficiently – changing gear between 1500 and 2000 rpm can reduce fuel consumption by 15%
  
• Drive off quickly when starting from cold – idling to heat the engine wastes fuel and causes rapid engine wear
  
• Don’t pump the accelerator or rev the engine unnecessarily – this simply wastes fuel
  
• Avoid short journeys – a cold engine uses almost twice as much fuel while catalytic converters can take five miles to become effective
  
• Stick to speed limits and make your fuel go further – driving at 70mph uses up 30% more fuel than at 50mph
  
• Plan your journeys – to avoid congestion, roadworks and getting lost
  
• Check your tyre pressure regularly – under-inflated tyres wear out more quickly and can increase fuel consumption by up to 3%
  
• If you’re stuck in a jam, switch off – turning off the engine after two minutes will save fuel and cut all emissions

ENDS

For further information or for interviews please contact Meg Baker or Victoria Moore at Luther Pendragon on 020 7618 9103 or
Clive Case at Energy Saving Trust on 020 7227 0322

Notes to editors

TransportEnergy, a division of the Energy Saving Trust, is working on behalf of governments to improve the quality of our environment. Funded mainly by the Department for Transport and the Scottish Executive, TransportEnergy works in partnership with the transport industry, corporate fleet sector and the public sector to help make our country a cleaner and healthier place to live and work.

Go to http://www.est.org.uk and click on TransportEnergy

TransportEnergy manages four programmes; PowerShift, CleanUp, Best Practice and New Vehicle Technology Fund – all with their specific aims and objectives to help create a sustainable market for cleaner, greener vehicles in the UK.

The TransportEnergy BestPractice programme, which has produced the top tips, provides drivers with knowledge and technical expertise in the fleet industry. It offers impartial information and practical advice on how to reduce fleet costs and cut vehicle emissions.

Transport Energy New Vehicle Technology fund is a programme which provides grants for the demonstration of near to market cleaner vehicle technologies.

TransportEnergy PowerShift is a programme to help kick start the market for alternative, clean fuel vehicles in the UK. The programme, through government grants and assistance, aims to create the conditions for clean fuel vehicles to be practically and economically viable. All applicants seeking grant funding for clean fuel vehicles (CFV’s) must choose vehicles that appear on the PowerShift Register.

TransportEnergy Cleanup is a programme aimed at improving air quality across England and Scotland. The programme, through government grants and assistance, encourages the fitting of emission reduction equipment to the most polluting diesel vehicles.

Motorvate is a fee-based membership programme that helps organisations achieve significant reductions in fleet costs, through benchmarking and auditing processes. Motorvate members commit to achieving a 12% reduction in fuel use and 3% reduction in mileage over a three-year period.