Credit Crunch Survival Guide: Driving the costs down

“Eco-driving” helps the environment and could save you up to £100 each year in fuel costs, says Jim Gilchrist who learned the necessary moves from a really smooth operator

‘YOUR problem at the moment is that big blue lorry up ahead that’s going to hold things back. Once that’s clear, then there’ll be the opportunity to go, just keeping your two-second gap on a dry road behind the car in front …” I’m driving northwards up the M9 past Stirling and the commentary is coming from Ian Dallas, who is not so much a back-seat driver as a passenger-seat instructor – a staff examiner, to be precise, with the Institute of Advanced Motorists. As the price of a litre of fuel the price of a litre of fuel threatens to go into orbit, Dallas is giving me advice on economical driving, a major element of which is keeping things smooth and
steady, which means anticipating what is happening as far ahead as possible.

“We’ve got an exit coming up,” Dallas continues. The blue lorry that was overtaking another vehicle ahead of us, has moved back into the nearside lane, allowing us to overtake.

“We’ve got the end of the motorway coming up in a mile, so we know we’re going to get a build-up of traffic, but we’re going up a slope and that’s helping us slow down …”

The constant commentary on what lies ahead is a standard part of his instruction procedure. He had to deliver such a commentary himself, but while driving at more than double our speed, when training as a traffic officer during his 30 years with the Metropolitan Police.

In our rather more relaxed journey, “ease and squeeze” is the catchphrase – avoiding putting the foot down too heavily on either accelerator or brake, thus saving fuel. At a roundabout, we turn left, on to a winding country road. “Just hold third gear for the moment,” says Dallas, “because we’ve got a couple of wee twists and turns here. Drift towards the centre line, just to open our vision up ahead on that left-hand bend. Control your speed just with ease and squeeze on the accelerator.”

He checks off approaching farm-road ends, driveways and junctions and points to tree lines or telegraph poles to suggest in what direction the road bends beyond the next crest: “We’re forever pushing our vision forward so we can anticipate.”

He stresses how you can use the lie of the road, as well as gravity itself, to slow you down or speed you up, again without heavy recourse to accelerator or brake. “Also, we have this thing about changing into high gear early on, but that’s not always necessarily the most fuel-efficient way. Sometimes it’s best to accelerate up to the speed you want, then get into the appropriate gear for that speed, so your engine’s not labouring and using more fuel. And if you’re on a twisting stretch of road, keep in a lower gear and use engine braking.”

Much of this, he agrees, is common sense, although it requires constant vigilance and assessment – “I suppose one analogy is the duck on the pond: on the surface all is cool and calm, but underneath it’s paddling like mad to keep going. Here, you’re staying calm but the brain is working really hard, taking in all the information, analysing it and using it.”

Such pedal-lite and anticipatory techniques have long been advocated by the IAM in the cause of safer driving, but have now become increasingly relevant in terms of economic and “green” driving. “The IAM has always had this thing of keeping it smooth, making it safe,” he says, “and it’s not about driving slowly. It’s about driving at a good pace, staying with the flow of traffic at what is a safe speed for the stretch of road that you’re on.”

The same principles apply to town driving, he adds. “There’s no point in accelerating up to a red light; just let the car drift up to it, and don’t accelerate away when it changes in the traffic light Grand Prix, because all you’re doing is wasting fuel.”

Sceptics may argue, of course, that the only environmentally friendly approach to driving is not to do it. But Dallas’s methods certainly reduce fuel consumption and he points to his own car, a petrol-driven Honda CR-V – a modest version of the kind of SUV that attracts much stick from the environmental lobby. Yet he drove down from his home in Crieff to meet me outside Stirling, clocking an average of 39½ miles to the gallon: “If you drive them economically, cars like that are not necessarily any heavier on fuel.”

But driving economically is only the half of it. How you maintain your vehicle can also make a significant impact on running costs – even things such as regularly checking your tyre pressures. “Just go 5 psi down on recommended tyre pressures and you’re looking at using 3 per cent more fuel,” he says, “and anything up to 20 per cent less life out of your tyres.” He recommends buying your own tyre-pressure gauge, as garage air machines can vary in accuracy.

Other simple measures, such as checking oil and coolant levels and making sure air filters aren’t blocked, can also make a difference. Roof racks and top boxes create wind resistance and can add anything up to 20 per cent on fuel consumption, he adds, so unless you need them for a trip, take them off the vehicle.

Also, simply buying petrol or diesel at a local petrol station rather than at motorway services can make a significant difference. “You’ll be paying a premium on the motorway, but you’d have to judge that against how far off the motorway you have to go to get another filling station. But it can mean six, seven or eight pence a litre less, so you’re looking at quite a bit of money if you’re putting in 40-50 litres on a run.”

The IAM is far from alone in its advocacy of more considered driving. Research carried out by the RAC earlier this year suggested that “eco-driving” not only helped the environment but could also save drivers up to £100 each year in fuel costs.

Non-“green” drivers in Britain, the report added, were wasting some £2.2 billion worth of fuel every year.

And even in an era of satellite navigation, the report continued, British drivers were wasting “the equivalent of 267 Olympic sized swimming pools” of fuel owing to poor journey planning. The RAC also found that two-thirds of drivers were not sufficiently aware that changing gear in high revs can reduce fuel consumption, while four in ten thought, erroneously, that driving under 45mph always saved fuel.

When the report was published, David Bizley, RAC’s technical director, commented: “With fuel prices at a record high, adopting eco-driving techniques is an easy way for consumers to reduce their fuel consumption to help purses, wallets and the environment.”

The RAC also recently echoed Dallas’s comments by pointing out the raw deal motorists receive from motorway service stations, whose fuel prices currently average 10p more per litre than supermarket forecourts located just off motorways. He called for more service stations to consider the financial pressures faced by drivers.

In the meantime, soft-pedalling combined with forward thinking can pay dividends.

• For further information, see www.iamtrust.org.uk and www.rac.co.uk

CITY CAR CLUB – IS IT GOOD VALUE?

The Scotsman's deputy arts editor Roger Cox says there's no need for urban dwellers to own a car at all.

"If you live and work in central Edinburgh, or in the centre of any other city where the City Car Club (CCC) operates, there's absolutely no need to own a car. I joined CCC in 2006 and since then have listened smugly to car-owning friends complain about the huge costs of MOTs, repairs, insurance, parking permits and all the rest.

I've no need to worry about any of these things because they're all taken care of by the CCC.

If I need a car – usually for surf trips to East Lothian and the Borders – I call or e-mail the company, tell them how long I need the car for and then walk about 100 metres from my front door to the (reserved) parking bay, where I then have a choice between a brand-new Vauxhall Corsa and a brand-new Astra estate. I've never yet tried to book and been told the car was unavailable – even if it were, there are other bays nearby where I can pick one up.

As for cost, a recent post-work trip to Coldingham cost me £31.80 for a 95-mile round trip lasting four and a half hours (7.30-11.30pm). If that sounds like an expensive way to spend an evening, consider that the cost of 100 such trips in a year would only buy me a pretty average second-hand car, before tax, MOT, insurance, etc. If only the surf on the east coast was consistent enough that I could guarantee that many trips in a year."



CUT-OUT-AND-KEEP THRIFTY DRIVING TIPS

• Underinflated tyres waste fuel and wear out quicker. Just 5 psi under the right pressure will use up to 3 per cent more fuel, so always check pressures before setting off, when the tyres are cold.


• Top boxes and roof racks add 20 per cent to fuel consumption at 70 mph, so take them off when you are not using them.

• Air-conditioning in the car increases fuel consumption by up to 10 per cent. We recommend that you turn off air-conditioning when the outside temperature is below 18C.

• Speeding at 80mph uses up to 15 per cent more fuel than travelling at 70mph. Sticking to speed limits saves fuel and avoids fines.

• Hurried or aggressive driving wastes up to 15 per cent more fuel, so allow plenty of time for your journey, stay well back from the vehicle ahead to minimise braking, as well as the risk of accidents, and keep a close eye on the traffic ahead.

• Finally, don’t use the car for short journeys as a cold engine uses more fuel: why not consider public transport when you are planning for the week ahead?