Driving style for better fuel economy

Abstract

Driving style has emerged as an important determinant of fuel economy. There is now evidence that driving style can be influenced to improve fuel economy as well as other aspects such as safety. However, it is not clear which are the most appropriate and influential factors that affect an individual's, or a group's, driving style with respect to improving fuel economy. In this paper, such factors were identified from the literature and by way of driver training programmes for fuel economy. The factors were then categorised under driver factors, operating the vehicle, vehicle dynamics and driver awareness. The influences of the factors on fuel economy were prioritised using a multi-criteria analysis method called the analytical hierarchy process to determine their relative importance. It was found that driver awareness, measured in terms of culture change and better management, was considered the most influential category. The second most influential category of factors concerned operating the vehicle or vehicle control where acceleration and speed were dominant. The driver-related factors were considered to have the least influence on fuel economy. The results can be used to improve interventions such as driver training by emphasising the most influential driving factors.