Why a smooth drive is a green drive

Company car drivers may soon be asked to justify the CO2 emissions their car is producing every month and could even have to compete with colleagues to achieve lower emissions levels.

That is the prospect raised by a new black box style device being developed by Fiat Group Automobiles and Microsoft called EcoDrive. The new in-car system, which is set to be launched later this year, will monitor CO2 emissions and driver style to encourage vehicle efficiency.

The device helps teach motorists how to drive their cars more economically and how to reduce emissions and will be available this year on Fiat's supermini, the new 500, the Grande Punto, Bravo and in the future, other Fiat cars equipped with the company's Blue& Me in-car infotainment system.

EcoDrive works by collecting all the necessary information relating to vehicle efficiency, such as distance travelled, acceleration and braking. Using the Blue&Me's USB gate it then transmits the data onto a normal USB key, allowing the fleet manager or individual driver to analyze the results on their computer.

The system presents detailed environmental performance data, including the CO2 emission levels for each trip, and assesses the driver's motoring style so as to provide tips and recommendations on how to deliver a smoother ride, achieve CO2 reductions, and save money on fuel.

Using EcoDrive, fleet managers can encourage company car drivers to set themselves challenges, such as CO2 reduction targets for specific journeys or over a set period of time. Adam Pumfrey, Fiat’s Fleet Director in the UK, says the technology could have a major impact on company car drivers' carbon emissions and should help promote greener and safer driving. "EcoDrive offers clear cost savings for company car drivers because it will encourage people to drive in a more environmentally friendly way," he claims. "It will reduce businesses carbon footprint and it must be better for road safety if people are thinking about their driving habits."

Driving style is often overlooked when firms are investigating ways to cut their fleet emissions, but it can deliver major savings. The fifth national MPG Marathon, which was held in October last year and challenged drivers to achieve more miles to the gallon than the manufacturer’s stated figure, underlined the scale of these savings when the winning team achieved a 48.95 per cent improvement on the manufacturer's stated figure whilst driving a hot hatch. The Mazda 3MPS has an official combined fuel consumption figure of 29.10mpg. The winners achieved 43.34 miles to the gallon.

Eco friendly driving requires a smooth and progressive style, with lots of concentration, planning ahead, and a forward calculation at each traffic light or roundabout arrival and exit, that allows the driver to avoiding unnecessary braking. Similarly, avoiding sharp acceleration can save up to 60 per cent on fuel consumption levels. Shifting-up the gears earlier but being prepared to shift down to avoid the car labouring, will also help save fuel, as will limiting the use of air conditioning.

The RAC Foundation also recommends switching off your engine in a traffic jam and sticking to the speed limit – travelling at 70mph rather than 50mph, can increase fuel consumption by as much as 30 per cent for a medium-size car.

Currently many drivers are unaware of many of these fuel and carbon saving techniques. According to a recent American Express survey of drivers' attitudes to rising fuel costs 20 per cent of the 10,000 customers surveyed said rising prices had impacted their driving. Fifteen percent said they drive less, ten percent had changed to a more economical car and one percent used more public transport. But none of the motorists surveyed suggested that they could cut fuel costs by actually changing the way they drive.

It is this lack of awareness that Fiat and Microsoft are hoping to challenge by providing drivers with a regular update designed to make it clear that a smoother more carbon aware driving style can deliver major cost and environmental benefits. It is a technology that might attract the ire of those road warriors who don't like being checked up on, but with more and more firms committed to cutting carbon emissions from both their staff's commute and their freight operations it is a system that is likely to become more prevalent in the coming years.