Green driving: Test your knowledge

The greenest driving is that which is kept to a minimum; any trip replaced by walking or hopping on a bicycle will have a beneficial effect on your health, wallet and environment.

Test your knowledge

Green driving – keep your car or buy new?

It would be greener and cheaper for many drivers to keep their car for as long as it is reliable rather than trade it for a new car. Manufacturers make great virtue of the environmental credentials of their vehicles, but by the time the average new car leaves the showroom, its design, manufacture and marketing will have accounted for many tons of CO2. Swapping a thirsty and polluting older car for a lighter, more fuel-efficient model can make environmental sense if you are doing a high mileage, but if you do relatively few miles better to keep your car for as long as it is reliable. The greater your annual mileage, the greater the potential environmental saving from changing to a more fuel-efficient model. And although progress continues to be made by car manufacturers in terms of the amount of energy and water they use and the amount of their waste that goes to landfill, these factors continue to have a significant impact on the ‘lifetime’ environmental impact of cars.

According to the research, ‘Life-cycle energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions of world cars’:

“The tank-to-wheel fuel consumption is only part of the story. Petroleum and fuel transport and production consume energy, as well as car manufacturing and scrapping and the maintenance and infrastructure. The total energy consumption of car use is on average 54.7% higher than the tank-to-wheel energy consumption alone.”

Green driving also reduces the amount of road crashes and levels of driver stress; green drivers are safer, happier and wealthier drivers.

Buying your next car

• Choose a car with history. It may be economic to spend more repairing a vehicle than its market value – reliability is the key.
• Buy as small as you can for your day to day needs. You may decide you need a big car because you have relatives that live far away. If you only visit them twice a year, however, and most of your driving is done in a 50-mile radius, a big car may be inefficient. Buying a smaller car for the majority of driving and renting a bigger car for the long trips can lower emissions and save money.
• Many people now have an informal arrangement with friends or neighbours, but Car Clubs offer a slick, money-saving and green alternative to private car ownership. If you drive less than 6,000 miles per year, it is claimed a car club could save you up to £3,500 a year. Many people don’t notice the true costs of running a car, but when you add up the cost of tax, MOT, fuel, servicing, repairs, depreciation and parking you could be looking at over a hundred pounds a week.

Car Preparation

• Paying some attention to your car before you set off on a journey can help save money and reduce pollution.
• Weight. Reduce weight, and fuel consumption, by simply removing unnecessary items from your car that do not need to be there for a particular journey. These can include buggies, golf clubs, tools, footwear and so on.
• Remove roof racks. The wind resistance increases fuel consumption.
• Tyre pressure. Ensure that you have the correct tyre pressure. Every 6 psi the tyre is under-inflated the fuel consumption increases by 1%.
• Maintain your car. Check that your engine is properly tuned as this improves performance and limits fuel consumption.
• Check your windows and lights. Ensuring that your windows are clean and your lights are working will make your journey safer.

During the Journey

• Making small changes to your driving style, and how you use your car while driving, can make big differences to your environmental impact.
• Try not to be in a hurry. Stressed driving can be erratic and is uneconomical. Relax and try to enjoy the trip.
• Try not to beat the lights. The chances are that if you hit a red light and then try to beat all the following lights, you will rush but miss them anyway. If you drive at a more sedate speed you will usually find that by the time you reach the next light it will have turned green again.
• If your car is not equipped with stop/start technology, switch off the engine if you think you will be stationary for more than two minutes.
• Keep your speed down as driving at 50-60 mph means your emissions will be lowest. Driving over 70 mph will rapidly increase your emissions. It can cost you up to 25% more in fuel to drive at 70 mph compared to 50 mph.
• Avoid unnecessary revving or idling of the engine as this uses more fuel.
• Harsh acceleration and braking can use up to 30% more fuel and can cause increased wear and tear on the vehicle.
• Control your speed. Speed limits are there to be observed, but did you know that travelling at less than 15 mph creates the most pollution? As your speed increases up to 60 mph, your level of pollution decreases. Travelling over 60 mph increases your level of pollution again. The average car at 80 mph is around 25 per cent less efficient than it is at 55 mph.
• Careful motorway driving will improve safety and traffic flow. The concertina effect caused by one motorist braking sharply often results in traffic slowing to a near stop due to the delayed reaction of drivers behind. Keep a safe distance from the car in front and you can help prevent this kind of congestion.
• A well-rested driver is an alert driver and has better control. Footwear that is light and less bulky ensures sensitive control over the accelerator and can reduce emissions.