Smarter Driver Training came to see Fleet News to give us an eco driving lesson.  What was surprising was the smallest of changes to driving style can really make a significant difference in the cars mpg. The individual in-car lessons last 50 minutes, drivers go around a 15-20 minute route twice, the second with the trainer guiding you. I achieved a 14% mpg improvement on my second attempt, predominantly achieved by keeping a sizable gap from the car in front. By doing this I could prepare more in advance for traffic lights and roundabouts to prevent stopping, step off the accelerator a few seconds earlier to reduce braking and changing into higher gears before hitting 2000 rpm. One of the drivers here on their second run achieved almost a 26% improvement, if company drivers achieved this, the savings could be substantial.

Many of us are guilty of slipping into auto pilot while we drive, not only can driving more economically help to improve mpg, it also makes us drivers think more of the road ahead, which could in turn make us all safer drivers too.

I have found that people can be sceptical when it comes to eco driving and the benefits of training. The training is targeted towards driving style and practical learning rather than advice to make the car itself more economical. Practical learning is not something you can read in a manual or find on the internet.

Training like this can really put things into perspective for drivers. When you can actually see the improvement, you can almost calculate your savings, especially if you travel a lot of miles, both for business and personal.

Click Here to see the full results of the driver training.

Author: Debbie Wood