Guide to eco driving

With fuel prices on the rise, it has never been more important to save on fuel costs, educating drivers on how to maximise the mpg in the vehicles is becoming a top priority with fleets and could potentially save a company thousands.

We here at Fleet News know how important it is to be as economical with fuel as possible to try and save money, we have put together a few tips to economical driving to make your drivers aware of what small changes can effect fuel consumption.

Key Tips

• Smooth Driving – Avoiding harsh accelerating and braking can help to improve overall fuel consumption by around a third.
• Try not to stop unnecessarily – If you slowly approach traffic lights, queues of traffic or crossings, you could avoiding having to stop at all which could help to save fuel.
• Plan Ahead – By planning your route well in advance you can avoid known congestion times, giving drivers a quicker and less stressful journey. Equally planning out an unknown route effectively will help drivers find their destination quicker.
• Slim down – Unnecessary weight like roof racks or heavy boot loads when not needed will increase fuel consumption.
• Use appropriate gears – Using lower gears when travelling over 40mph will make the engine work harder and use more fuel, moving up the gear box early could save fuel.
• Tyre Pressures – Driving on under-inflated tyres increase fuel consumption by 3%. Keep checking that they are at the required pressure.
• Regular Servicing – By keeping your fleet regularly serviced means the better the cars will run, the easier it will be on the engine which in turn reduced fuel consumption.
• Windows VS Air Conditioning – The use of air conditioning increases fuel consumption, having the windows down is more economical unless you are driving faster than 70mph, having windows open when driving at faster speeds increases drag.
• As well as driving with fuel economy in mind, you can also help the environment and reduce CO2 emissions, gentle accelerating and braking can help reduce harmful gases as well as keeping the vehicle regularly serviced and making sure the tyres are at the correct pressure.

By implementing these small changes, fleet drivers have seen a significant impact on their fuel consumption and ultimately saved the company money, which in today’s climate is a top priority. Why not see if you could also save on petrol prices and compare today.

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