Quantifying the impact of driving style changes on light-duty vehicle fuel consumption

Abstract

• We examine a set of four driving style heuristics implementable by human drivers. • These improvements are applied to a large set of representative drive cycles. • They can save the average US driver 6% fuel with a 1.5% increase in travel time. • Percentage fuel savings are consistent across locations and vehicle types. Modifying driving styles can help to reduce the energy use and emissions of driving without requiring changes to infrastructure or vehicle technology. Here, we evaluate the energy consumption and duration of trips before and after driving style changes. These modifications are made using emissions-friendly driving style heuristics that are easily implementable by drivers and do not require real-time feedback or on-board diagnostics. We use a data-driven approach to apply these heuristics to a representative baseline of U.S. drive cycles. The simulated driving-style improvements provide an average fuel savings per trip of 6%, alongside a 1.5% increase in trip duration. Decelerating early and reducing highway speeds can each contribute substantially to fuel savings. Accelerating more gradually contributes less. The percentage fuel savings are relatively consistent across locations and vehicle classes. These findings can inform several decision-makers, including drivers aiming to reduce fuel consumption, car manufacturers or software developers designing driving style feedback, and policy makers examining emissions savings opportunities.