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6 tips for a more eco-friendly and economical drive
Changing simple habits while driving can save a lot of money - and CO2 emissions.
When you change your driving behavior, you do both the environment and your finances a favor
Changing simple driving habits can save you a lot of money - and CO2 emissions. By changing your driving behavior, you can save on fuel consumption and therefore extend your range, which means you don't need to refuel as often.
As a transport and logistics company, we have a great responsibility to help reduce CO2 emissions, so all our trucks have an Eco-Driving system installed, which measures the factors in driving behavior that contribute to more environmentally friendly and economical driving. And we want to share these with you!
Overall, there are 6 parameters you should focus on in your driving
✅ Predictive driving
✅ Idle speed
✅ Speed
✅ Braking and hard braking
✅ Smooth speed
✅ Deployment
1) Predictive driving
Basically, it all boils down to being anticipatory in traffic - and it can be done if you're focused enough. It's about, for example, not driving at full speed to a red traffic signal where you have to brake hard.
And just as you've braked hard, the traffic signal turns green. If you don't know why this scenario is bad for your wallet and the environment at this point, read on. When you've finished reading the guide, you may want to return to this scenario - where you'll have the answer to why anticipation is crucial in traffic.
2) Idling
The City of Copenhagen says it well with their campaign: "Stop the engine! Idling leads nowhere".
When your car is idling, it actually pollutes more than when it is driving. This is because the engine cannot utilize the fuel when idling as it can when the car is running.
This results in more fuel being used, toxic gases and more particles being emitted into the air from the exhaust.
So if you're currently idling unnecessarily - that is, not turning off the engine when you're stationary - there's already a lot of money to be saved by turning off the engine.
Situations you typically idle - and where you can change your behavior
🚫 When you're waiting for someone
🚫 When loading and unloading
🚫 When waiting for a free parking space
🚫 If you stop to take a break
🚫 When you're in a traffic jam - don't turn off the engine. But it's a good idea to try to avoid rush hour traffic
🚫 Turn on automatic engine stop
3) Speed
Not only can speeding cost you your license, incur incredibly expensive fines and increase the risk of accidents, it also increases fuel consumption. And when fuel consumption increases, it naturally has an effect on CO2 emissions and how quickly you use up your tank.
Therefore, avoid:
- Unnecessary overtaking
- When overtaking there is a strong acceleration - which is also reflected in fuel consumption
- Generally fast acceleration
- If you increase your speed from 110 to 130 kilometers per hour, for example, it can easily cost you 20% more in fuel consumption. When you're traveling at that speed, there's more wind resistance, which means the car uses more energy. You can compare it to cycling into a headwind - all things being equal, it will feel like a harder ride compared to cycling downwind.
4) Keep a steady speed
The smoother you drive - the less energy is needed from the engine. Therefore, try to maintain a steady speed, neither speeding up nor slowing down too much - where possible. That way you'll make the best use of your energy.
5) Braking and hard braking
Of course, it's impossible not to brake at all - braking is necessary no matter what. However, there may be cases where you do brake unnecessarily. And here there can be a lot of emissions and money to be saved.
As mentioned, it's all about always trying to be proactive in traffic. That way you make the best use of your energy. The better you are at anticipating traffic, the less you will use your brakes unnecessarily.
You generate wasted energy when you hit the brakes while driving. Your car has used energy/fuel to get up to speed - but it also uses energy/fuel when you use the brakes to slow down. Therefore, it's a good idea to keep a good distance from the cars in front so you don't have to brake or take over their driving behavior.
Instead, you can:
🚗 Release the accelerator in good time when approaching a red light
🚗 Avoid hard braking by being proactive
🚗 Roll as much as you can to slow down
6) Deployment
This factor is perhaps the easiest of all we've mentioned. It's all about letting off the accelerator as often as possible.
Release the accelerator when:
- You are driving down hills
- When you need to slow down (where you simply release the accelerator WITHOUT stepping on the brake - when possible).
We hope you can use our guide. If you're more curious about how you can be more environmentally friendly in your driving, read our case study, how tires affect the environment.
