Eco-driving represents a set of driving techniques which aim at fuel-saving, emission-saving and wear-saving by driving more comfortably and anticipating the road ahead. The principles are: take it easy on the brakes, ease out of the gas, maintain steady moderate speed, reduce idling, and maintain good vehicle maintenance. Eco-driving not only saves on fuel, it also makes the vehicle smoother to drive and saves on engine, tyre and brake wear and tear, making it a cost and safety investment for fleets.
At a Glance
| Question | Quick answer |
| What is eco-driving? | A set of smoother, more anticipatory driving techniques that cut fuel, emissions, and wear |
| What are the main techniques? | Gentle acceleration and braking, steady moderate speed, less idling, correct tyre pressure, reduced load and drag |
| How much fuel can it save? | Varies by vehicle, route, and driver, so it is measured, not guaranteed; for scale, the US DOE estimates aggressive driving can lower fuel economy by about 15 to 30 percent at highway speeds |
| Is it only about fuel? | No. Smoother driving also improves safety and reduces wear on brakes, tyres, and the engine |
| Does it work for fleets? | Yes. Telematics data on speed, braking, and idling lets fleets measure and coach eco-driving |
| Does eco-driving mean driving slowly? | No. It means driving smoothly and at an efficient speed, not crawling |
What Is Eco-Driving?
Eco-driving (also known as fuel efficient or green driving) is a technique to drive the vehicle in a way that maximises the distance travelled per litre of fuel used while reducing emissions and wear. It isn't one trick but a collection of habits that are based on the core principle: Smooth, anticipatory driving uses less energy than sharp, reactive driving. Each hard acceleration consumes fuel which a mild acceleration might not have used, and each hard braking wastes energy already used to gain speed in the vehicle.
Eco-driving is a win-win-win situation: a reduction in fuel consumption, emissions and wear on the parts that are most sensitive to rough driving, such as brakes and tyres for any driver and particularly a fleet. Eco-driving overlaps almost completely with safe driving, and that's because smoothness is the very same that saves fuel and makes the driver have more time to react.
Why is Eco-Driving important?
Eco-driving is important because driver behaviour can make a significant impact on the car's fuel consumption – and this is far more significant than many drivers realise. According to the US Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels Data Center, aggressive driving practices, such as hard braking, rapid acceleration and speeding, can reduce gas mileage by about 15 to 30 percent at highway speeds and 10 to 40 percent at stop-and-go traffic. Those are cost figures, and no savings that any fleet can expect to recover, but they do illustrate that two drivers, driving the same car in the same route, can have vastly different fuel numbers depending on their driving technique.
For a fleet, it is money and emissions at scale: significant driving style changes can be immediately reflected in the fuel budget and the carbon footprint as one traverses thousands of kilometres on many vehicles. Eco-driving is at the heart of the larger subject of driver behaviour and the same behaviours affect safety and maintenance, as harsh braking and acceleration cause parts to wear out quicker, and indicate higher risk driving.
9 Practical Eco-Driving Techniques
Eco-driving is down to nine techniques which can be employed by any driver. There is no special equipment required, but they will be changes in driving techniques in accordance with the posted limits, road conditions and with regard to the vehicle handbook.
- Anticipate the road ahead. Read traffic, lights and junctions early, look well ahead. Gradually slowing down allows the vehicle to coast to a stop more naturally, and can prevent the need to accelerate back up from a full stop – and use extra fuel.
- Accelerate gently and smoothly. Soft and gradual acceleration is much more fuel efficient than a hard and fast acceleration. One of the largest fuel costs that can be avoided is rapid acceleration.
- Slow down and brake down. Smooth and early braking keeps momentum going and wear to a minimum. Avoiding an unnecessary, severe braking maneuver does not mean you are not going to make a necessary stop: if you have a hazard ahead, the best thing to do is to brake heavily if necessary to prevent a collision. Harsh braking is also a common indicator of unsafe driving, and is addressed in detail in the harsh braking guide, hard braking wastes energy and occurs frequently.
- Hold a steady, moderate speed. Surging and slowing is not as efficient as constant speed! If available, cruise control on open roads helps to maintain a consistent speed.
- Drive carefully, in the speed limit. Gas mileage typically drops off fast as speeds increase, and the U.S. Department of Energy says that gas mileage typically falls fast above around 50 mph (80 km/h). Driving at the bottom of the range of safe and legal speeds for that road saves money and helps to keep you safe, not running at the bottom of the range speeds or below posted speeds.
- Cut unnecessary idling. When the engine is idling, it is running without any load. When it can be switched off safely (when the car is not in use, for instance during long waiting times), legally (by following the regulations), and the car doesn't need the engine to be running (for refrigeration, for example, or for warm up in cold weather), that waste is avoided.
- Be sure the tires are properly inflated. Regular tyre pressure checks, part of good tyre management, help to support eco-driving as tyres with a lower pressure have higher rolling resistance and use more fuel.
- Lower load and drag. The more weight, the more fuel consumed, and roof top racks or loads that disrupt the airflow also cause fuel consumption to go up, so take what you don't need, particularly at speed.
- Use higher gears and low revs (auto vehicles). In a manual transmission, "up" earlier and maintain a higher rpm within the optimum range will save fuel. Stick to the vehicle's handbook and don't run too high a gear at the speed as this will not assist and may cause wear. This is a function performed by automatic cars.
How much fuel can be saved by using eco-driving?
It depends on the vehicle, the route and how aggressive the starting style is, and there is no guaranteed number, and results should be measured, not promised.
The evidence is what the size of the effect of driving style is. According to the US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center, fuel efficiency can be reduced by as much as 15 to 30 percent due to aggressive driving at highway speeds and 10 to 40 percent due to aggressive driving in stop-and-go traffic. That's the price of aggressive driving, not something every fleet will accomplish: achieving the benefit is the extent to which drivers are already aggressive. A separate report from the US DOE states that you can expect to see a 7 to 14 percent improvement in fuel economy if you reduce your speed by 5 to 10 mph per vehicle (not less than a safe/legal speed). So all that is left to say is that driving habits are enough to impact fuel use that doesn't require any new equipment and that the actual amount for any fleet is determined by measuring before and after.
Is Eco-Driving Safe Driving?
Yes, but the overlap is very significant and it's why most fleets invest in it.
| Eco-driving habit | Fuel effect | Safety effect |
| Anticipating the road | Avoids wasteful stops and starts | More time to react to hazards |
| Gentle acceleration | Uses less fuel | Smoother, more predictable for others |
| Early, gentle braking | Preserves momentum | Lower risk of rear-end collisions |
| Moderate, steady speed | Better fuel economy | More time and space to respond to hazards |
| Reduced idling | Saves fuel | Lower emissions around people |
The difference is very small and contextual: safety is always the key and if the tires need to be turned off to avoid a collision, then it's better to brake hard, even if it's not efficient in terms of fuel use. However, when applied to everyday driving, this smooth, anticipatory driving that conserves fuel also reduces the risk of a crash, and is thus often taught in driver management as a combined program of both eco and safe driving.
How do fleets measure and improve eco driving?
Eco-driving is a series of driving behaviors for one driver. For a fleet, the difficulty lies in quantifying and enhancing those habits with a significant number of drivers, and there's telematics to help with that. Eco-driving is about behaviours, and the same systems that can be used to track vehicles can be used to record these behaviours.
- Measuring the behaviours. Telematics collects data such as speed, quick acceleration, extreme braking, and idling time, making driving style a quantifiable concept that a manager can view, by driver and by trip, instead of just a nebulous notion.
- Alerts and coaching. A driver safety scorecard can be based on behaviour data and is used to identify those drivers who are wasting fuel in their driving and those who need coaching. A driver safety scorecard could include behaviour data to indicate who drives efficiently and who would benefit from coaching, thus raising awareness of fuel wasting driving.
- Establishing a relationship between style and fuel and wear. Driving-style data, used in conjunction with fuel management data, reveals how behaviour and fuel usage are correlated, and that smoother driving is reflected in later more consistent maintenance costs.
A practical way to implement this would be to measure first, coach second; establish a baseline for a set of drivers of fuel usage, idling and harsh events over a period of time, then communicate drivers' own numbers to them and coach the outliers, then measure the same drivers on similar routes and vehicles at a later point in time and compare their routes. Since it's a comparison with the fleets own previous numbers, it will tell you what really happened without using other fleets's headlines of percentage.
FAQs
So what does it mean to be an "ecodriver"?
It is driving well and is planning ahead, which means that the car consumes less fuel, generates fewer emissions and wears less. The primary habits are to accelerate and brake gently, to drive at a moderate speed and to avoid unnecessary idling.
Is 'eco driving' about the speed of the vehicle?
No. Eco-driving means driving in an efficient manner and in a smooth way – not slow paced. Slowing down a vehicle or drivers, or holding up other vehicles, is not the objective; driving in a steady, anticipatory manner at a sensible speed is.
What is the amount of fuel saved by eco-driving?
This will depend on the vehicle, the route and the aggressiveness of the starting style, so there is no definitive number that can be given and only way to find the true number is to measure your fleet before and after. For comparison, the US DOE estimates that aggressive driving costs a vehicle 15 to 30 percent less than it otherwise would have in terms of fuel economy, at highway speed which is the cost of aggressive driving – not a saving every fleet will recover.
So what is eco-driving and is it the same as safe driving?
Largely, yes. Eco-driving and safe driving go hand in hand as the smooth and anticipatory driving style can save fuel, which also provides extra time and space to react to hazards. If ever safety comes into conflict with the other, a solid stop—absolutely—is the right thing to do.
Is that such a big deal about wasted fuel?
Idle hours, or extended periods of no activity where the engine is idling, will accumulate throughout a day or a fleet. If there's a long wait for an off-ramp, then, as long as it's safe and legal, turn it off.
What are the methods for measuring eco-driving in fleets?
Through telematics. Systems count and report speed, acceleration, braking and idling, and display the findings by driver and by trip, sometimes as a score, which will enable managers to identify who is driving efficiently, and where coaching is needed.
Eco-Driving supported by Your Fleet Platform.
Eco-driving begins at the driver's level and data helps a fleet. Fleet Stack is a self-hosted GPS tracking and fleet ERP system that captures driving-behaviour metrics like speed, harsh braking, and idling, so you'll no longer have to guess about the habits underlying eco-driving. To get a bigger picture view, begin with a full view of the fleet management guide.
About the author:Prerit Khera is CEO and Co-Founder of Fleet Stack (a brand of Quantumlogic Private Limited), with hands-on experience integrating GPS tracker protocols (GT06, Teltonika, Queclink and others) into fleet platforms. Before founding Fleet Stack, he worked at Tata Motors, and today he leads the company’s push to connect fleets worldwide through IoT telematics software. Connect on LinkedIn.
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