Amid the frantic rush to fill up our petrol tanks in recent weeks, many of us have overlooked one of the best ways to boost our fuel economy: eco-driving.
According to a Public Transit Fuel Efficiency Study from SmartDrive Systems (logo, pictured), fuel consumption could be reduced by as much as 18.7 per cent among transit fleets based on utilising eco-driving best practices. 
Among the techniques the report highlights are: smooth acceleration and deceleration; avoiding harsh turns; reducing idling; decelerating into the turn; and maintaining a constant vehicle speed.
It evaluated hundreds of transit buses and drivers in several US locations to determine the impact of training and instant vehicle feedback on fuel economy. During the study it picked up on several inefficient driving manoeuvres including: hard accelerations; hard braking; and hard turns.
Post training performance however, showed substantial reductions in these manoeuvres and within one month, the top 25 per cent of drivers improved their fuel economy by 25 per cent.
The company has now issued a short eco driving video to assist with public transit training.
The Green Car Website
