Motoring in West Berkshire takes the green challenge
EFFICIENT Driving tests carried out around a typical Newbury route have revealed that local drivers could cut their fuel costs by as much as £314.09 a year - just by learning to drive more efficiently.
The local people who drove the route in the same Ford ECOnetic Focus car managed it on average an amazing one-third less economically than an expert driver from BP Ultimate’s Great British Fuel Efficiency Challenge.
The savings would equate to £314.09 a year for a driver who does 10,000 miles a year. And they would reduce harmful C02 emissions by 780Kg.
Now drivers in Newbury are being challenged to learn the efficient driving techniques for themselves.
Sue Horler, from BP, said: “BP Ultimate Unleaded can already give up to 28 miles more per tank compared with ordinary fuel - and now we want to help drivers go even further.”
I tried the challenge, using a half-hour route around Newbury devised by BP, starting at the NWN offices in Faraday Road. Under the expert eye of instructor Ian Dawson I took the ECOnetic Focus, fitted with all sorts of electronic telemetry, on a route taking in a mixture of town roads and roundabouts.
According to Ian, blipping the throttle of a diesel engine above 2,000rpm causes excess fuel consumption - not easy when you are used to driving a petrol engine. He summed up my driving: “Richard drove quite smoothly but was a little aggressive on the throttle at times.”
He added: “With the stop-start nature of the route applying the coasting in gear technique would improve Richard’s fuel consumption further.”
The figures show that on the 4.9-mile, 35-minute drive, I achieved an average fuel consumption of 30.58mpg and COe emissions of 243g/km.
According to BP, I could have achieved 47.78mpg and 155g/km. Based on my annual mileage of 10,000 miles, that would represent a saving of £566.78 on fuel. Phew.
12/08/2009 10:46:00
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