Should eco-driving be part of driver’s education?
As awareness of the benefits of eco-driving habits builds in the US and around the world, there is also a growing interest in incorporating eco-driving techniques in early drivers education courses.
Until recently, professional eco-driving training has been a specialty course provided to already-experienced drivers, often as a work-related program for professional fleet drivers in an effort to reduce company fuel expenses and reduce preventable accidents.
Several studies done in the last 10 years indicate a direct connection between efficient drivers and those drivers with fewer preventable accidents.
One internal study at a major US-based trucking company indicated that their top fuel-efficient drivers were squarely in the top percentile of drivers with the fewest preventable accidents. It was also found that their drivers who routinely drove in an inefficient manner were among those drivers with the greatest number of preventable accidents.
How are eco-drivers safer drivers?
By practicing eco-driving techniques motorists maintain a high level of awareness to traffic patterns and the flow of vehicles around and ahead of the driver, allowing the driver to plan to minimize the loss of momentum while operating their vehicle safely and efficiently.
Eco-driving motorists are encouraged to “de-couple” emotionally from the circumstances of normal traffic, focusing instead on a competition between “themselves and the gas pump” verses jockeying for position with other drivers around them.
By limiting the top-speed and maintaining generous following-distances eco-drivers give themselves extra time to react to unexpected changes, providing additional decision making time and a greater likelihood of maintaining control in evasive maneuvers.
This correlation between efficient driving and safe driving creates an opportunity to apply measurable indicators to driver safety.
In the past an individual driver’s skill and risk was measured by referring to DMV records to count number and severity of traffic citations, or by referencing insurance records to measure the number and severity of traffic accidents on record. “Defensive driver” insurance discounts are provided to drivers who have had fewer accidents and fewer citation – without any real data to determine if the driver is truly driving in a safe and skilled manner – or has just been lucky.
With the advent of inexpensive on-board driver-behavior data-logging devices (like the CarChip Pro) we can build software systems (like FuelClinic) that are designed to analyse real-world driving behavior based on actual data. With the proper training and monitoring programs in place, this driving data can be processed in near-real-time with timely reporting in an on-going effort to improve both fuel efficiency and safety records.
(Click image to add your vote to this poll)
Several states are currently working to add eco-driving to drivers education, including Michigan and Florida, with RFPs seeking qualified training materials to be added to their existing driver training programs.
What do you think? Should eco-driving techniques be added to the existing driver’s ed program in your state? Comments are welcome below, or join the discussion over at our Facebook Community.
Shea Holbrook to Make Rookie World Challenge Run in 2010
GROVELAND, Fla. (Feb. 4, 2010) – Shea Racing, LLC. is proud to announce its participation in the World Challenge season opener, March 26-28, at St Petersburg, Fla. Team owner and driver Shea Holbrook, 19, of Groveland, Fla., will strap-in and make her debut professional road race in the World Challenge Touring Car (TC) class. According to series archives, Shea is one of the youngest female drivers to take the grid in World Challenge history.
Holbrook is a competitor thru-and-thru. Formerly a state-, regional- and nationally- ranked water-skier, she is no stranger to the thrill of speed or danger. A few years ago, Holbrook traded in the water skies for the smell of race fuel and burnt rubber.”It’s an awesome experience go over a jump at 50-plus mph to hurl yourself hundreds of feet thru the air, but it just doesn”t compare to going into turn 17 at Sebring at 100-plus mph,” Holbrook said.
Holbrook is currently a college student studying Broadcasting and wants to make motorsports a career.
“This being my first professional race, I have two goals,” Holbrook added. “First, to bring the car home in one piece and second, for all those veteran drivers out there that read this, regardless of where I finish, I plan on giving you all the respect that you deserve and I’m thankful for having the opportunity.”
There are many people in the motorsports world that have greatly enriched Holbrook’s life. People like John Doonan (Mazda Motorsports), George Ayres http://www.greenerspeed.com , Skip Baber Racing, Lyn St James http://www.lynstjames.com and Marcus Haselgrove http://autohausmotorsports.com, to mention a few, “thank you all for your friendship, wisdom and continued support.”
Currently Shea Racing’s primary sponsor is MD&F (Mom, Dad & Friends) but we are diligently trying to change this. We do have very creative marketing plan for interested companies that actually requires no upfront capital, so if you’re interested in finding out the details please contact www.SheaRacing.com .
We would like to thank World Challenge and SCCA Pro Racing for the opportunity and look forward to a great season. See you on the grid!
Learn more about Shea Racing at her website or on her Facebook Group Page.
Sirius Traffic Helps Motorists Avoid Traffic Congestion
Slowly we are moving to generally-available real-time ITS solutions that will help drivers navigate around traffic congestion, find fuel at the lowest cost along the route, and provide real-time feedback to drivers about how their driving style is effecting their fuel economy and safety.
SiriusXM constellation of satellites transmits much more than music, news, and Howard Stern – with the right equipment you can receive real-time traffic information for your area beamed directly to your car.
Source: Sirius Traffic FAQ
Real-time traffic flow — Real-time traffic speed on each road segment is averaged over a five minute period and is shown on the navigation map, usually as color-coded roadways… Real-time traffic incidents — This includes updated traffic information on accidents, road construction, road closings and other traffic-related incidents… Since the Sirius Traffic service is integrated with a vehicle’s navigation systems, SIRIUS Traffic can help drivers pick the fastest route. Navigation systems can also reroute based on the updated real-time traffic.
Currently available mostly on high-end OEM platforms (there are a few aftermarket receivers that can read the signals and integrate with your on-board navigation system) to warn you when your route becomes congested, is under construction, or has other incidents – provide you a chance to re-route avoid delays.
Recently it was announced that much of the 2010 class of Mercedes Benz vehicles will come with an OEM version of the Sirius Traffic service pre-installed with a 6-month trial activated.
Source: Sirius Buzz
The news came in today that Sirius Traffic is available on all 2010 Mercedes Benz vehicles equipped with navigation and Sirius satellite radio. It is expected to be installed in 70% of the Mercedes Benz 2010 lineup and will be standard on the S-Class, CL-Class, CLS-Class and G-Class models.
Sirius Traffic comes pre-activated with a six month trial subscription for the higher then typical converting customers along with a six-month trial subscription of the “SIRIUS Everything” package.
For those of you who don’t know Sirius Traffic provides traffic speed and flow information to vehicles over Sirius’ network. It also provides information on traffic incidents, scheduled road closings and road construction. Since the Traffic feature is integrated with the vehicle’s navigation system, the service assists drivers in picking the quickest, safest routes based on real-time traffic conditions.
Lern more about Sirius Traffic here and read the Sirius Traffic FAQ here.
MINI Cooper D Sets New Zealand Fuel Economy Record Of 3.5 l/100km (67.2 MPG)
Source: The Motor Report
A MINI Cooper D (diesel) – piloted by trained ecodrivers Mark Whittaker and Paul Owen – has just set a new record for fuel efficient driving, by driving 2000 km on just over 72 liters (19 US gallons) of diesel fuel – achieving 3.5 l/100km (just over 67 MPG) average for that trip.
Mark Whittaker said the aim of the exercise was to highlight the potential for cutting New Zealand’s transport related emissions at little or no extra cost.
“In setting this record we are demonstrating that everyone can contribute to reducing emissions by choosing a fuel efficient car and employing simple ecodriving techniques,” Mr Whittaker said.
While Whittaker and Owen had originally targeted an average of 3.0 l/100km, the final 3.5 l/100km figure bested the country’s other top fuel miser – the third generation Toyota Prius – with which the Cooper D shares an official fuel economy of 3.9 l/100km.
The MINI Cooper D sports a fuel efficient and spunky small clean diesel engine and state-of-the-art start/stop technology similar to the new Ford Focus ECOnic we profiled a few days ago.
The Cooper D’s figures are thanks to a host of technological innovations borrowed from parent company BMW (including a start-stop system and a thrifty diesel engine from PSA).
BMW Group New Zealand Managing Director, Mark Gilbert said the fuel economy record proves how far diesel technology has come.
“The MINI has proven that new, small clean diesel engines have an important part to play in improving the fuel economy of the New Zealand vehicle fleet,” said Mr Gilbert.
“And the other clear message from this exercise is that it is not only what you drive, but how you drive, that counts,” he said. (Emphasis added)
That last bit sounds familiar! We certainly agree.
The bad news is that although it was mentioned last February that MINI was considering making the Cooper D available in the US, it has yet to become a reality according to our local MINI dealer. A message to MINI USA about the future availability of the “D” here in the US is awaiting reply – I’ll update you should we hear back. (If you’ve seen a “firm” scheduled availability date, please let me know.)
The future availability of the Ford Focus ECOnic diesel is also yet to be announced. In the past I mentioned my experience driving the SEAT with a small clean diesel a few years ago in Estonia… for now, you’ll still need to cross the pond to have this much fun driving at over 65 miles per gallon.
Lotus Tests the Two-Stroke “Omnivore” Engine
Source: CNET Green Tech
Last year, Lotus announced the development of its Omnivore engine, the name denoting flex fuel capability. Today Lotus released test results for the engine, along with the kind of detail on how it operates only an engineer could love. These test results cover the first phase of testing the Omnivore engine with gasoline. Presumably, testing with fuels derived from alcohol and other sources are in the next phases.
In Lotus’ lab, the Omnivore engine brought in 10 percent better fuel economy than current direct injection engines, which are the most efficient on the market.
Two-stroke engines have twice as many “power strokes” at any given RPM when compared to the common four-stroke engines, making them more powerful and naturally efficient. (The engine is not “wasting” as much energy moving the piston up and down in power-robbing intake and scavenging strokes.) Two-strokes are smaller and lighter when compared to four-stroke engine of similar horsepower, and have fewer moving parts that simplifies the inner workings, making them cheaper to build and maintain.
In the past, the problem has always been pollution – it was considered near-impossible to build a two-stroke engine that could meet modern emission standards. Apparently Lotus is solving this problem:
Omnivore also uses a two-stroke, rather than a four stroke cycle, but still manages to turn in emission levels equivalent to modern production engines.
This Lotus prototype engine uses an ignition system called “homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI), meaning that instead of igniting its fuel charge with a spark plug, the compression of the cylinder causes the charge to ignite, similar to a diesel engine.”
More good news – the prototype is a flex-fuel engine, which would allow the owner/operator to choose what kind of fuel preferred to power it with – fossil-fuel gasoline (and diesel?) or bio-mass alcohol (ethanol/methanol) or a combination of the two.
Flex-fuel engines already exist, the problem with the current crop is that they are engineered as gasoline engines, and re-programmed to also run on alcohol blends – meaning that mechanically they are still designed for the lower compression ratios required to run on modern gasoline blends. Alcohol fuels have “less energy” per gallon than gasoline, but can run at a much higher compression ratios, allowing a properly-built alcohol engine to “gain” additional efficiency and reduce the “MPG” gap with gasoline.
The Lotus engine can apparently modify it’s compression ratio thanks to what they call the “puck” – or the “variable compression mechanism…at the top of the cylinder which dynamically changes the displacement depending on running conditions.”
Once again innovative engineering is proving that there still are many ways to improve fuel efficiency with the internal combustion engines, and there are no technical reasons we can’t be driving cars that get 60+ MPG regularly. The “fuel efficiency flat-line” from the mid-1980’s until just recently was due to something else – not because it was “technically impossible” to build more efficient engines.
A Personal Thanksgiving Announcement
I have a very special Thanksgiving announcement this year – the birth of our son Patrick, a healthy 19″ long 7lb. boy who has been keeping us very busy for the last few days.
So things here at the website and blog will likely be slower than normal for a few days as we adjust to our new “work schedule” :)
Help Me Caption This Image – Win a $50 Gas Card (CLOSED)
THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED… WINNER TO BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY
I’m constantly looking for ways to quickly and succinctly describe the goals and objectives of FuelClinic to people who are not yet familiar with our concepts.
I’ve had an idea for a few months kicking around in the back of my mind for a graphic that shows a schematic-like “common” car illustration with a “smart” or “green” driver behind the wheel. I’ve managed to kludge together a quick mock-up, that roughly illustrates my idea:
Now I need help with the caption… I struggled with a few like the one you see above, as well as others like ”Key To Efficient Driving Exists Between the Seat and Steering Wheel” … you get the idea, but I think we can do better.
So, I’m asking you to submit your suggestions for a great caption to this illustration - one that is creative, catchy and most clearly describes the positive effect of improved driving habits in helping create safer, smarter, more efficient drivers.
Add your suggestions in the comments section of this post. Use your real email address so we can track back to you if your caption is selected. I along with a small group of judges will choose a winner from the suggestions we get. I will send a $50 gas card to the person who submits the winning caption for this illustration and your caption will be used in the final version of this image on our website and in some marketing material.
UPDATE: We will be picking a winner from all entries on Wednesday, December 2, 2009 — winner to be announced on Monday, December 7, 2009
National Teen Driver Safety Week (Day 2) – Public awareness campaigns needed to highlight the dangers of distracted driving
This week is National Teen Driver safety week, and our youngest and most novice drivers are at greater risk of injury and death from unsafe and distracted driving. There are many stats related to teen driver accident rates. One of the most shocking is that sixteen-year-olds are involved in more than five times as many fatal crashes per mile driven as adults.
What is “Distracted Driving”?
While the ABI doesn’t have a strict definition for “distracted driving” they imply that it includes driving drowsy, talking on the phone or texting while driving, speeding or being aggressive, and basically not paying attention to the road. This is a pretty broad array of behaviors but the popularity of cell phones over the two decades and the increase in road rage certainly helped the rate of “distracted driving” fatalities shoot up.
As text messaging and cellphone addiction increases, and the availability and variety of in-car gadgets continues to grow, the potential for distracting drivers long enough to reduce reaction time and rob drivers of that critical second or two that could mean the difference between accident avoidance or tragedy.
Improving Public Awareness
Public awareness of distracted driving is gaining momentum thanks to the efforts of driver safety groups, municipal governments, the Ad Council, and the recent debate on Capitol Hill that resulted in President Obama placing a ban on all text messaging while operating a government vehicle or while operating a vehicle while on government business.
Private insurance companies as well as trade organizations are also getting involved in improving teen driver safety. The Century Council has created this excellent distracted driving poster (which you can download from their site.)
The Century Council has also created an excellent online e-card and game called “The Concentration Game” that demonstrates to driver the impact of distractions on a seemingly simple navigation task like driving home from the store. As you try to solve the maze, your concentration is broken by unexpected distractions. This is a good one to share with your family and friends.
Public awareness campaigns like these really do work. Take for instance the Safe Communities of Wright County who created a series of effective billboards that…
…according to a 2006 Star Tribune article, crashes have dropped nearly 25% since the campaign began and phone surveys found that 73% said they were more aware of the risks of distracted driving. Other states have adapted the billboards and the campaign has even been included in a recent marketing textbook.
Tomorrow we’ll talk more about distracted driving, and go over an interesting public opinion study that sheds some light on one of the biggest perceived driver distraction threats that we have not yet mentioned!
Public Awareness Resources for today:
- Safe Communities of Wright County — Safe Communities of Wright County (SCWC) is working to change the odds of crashes and the resulting injuries and fatalities. Since its inception in 1997, it has sponsored innovative traffic safety initiatives throughout Wright County and its efforts are being felt for each citizen and driver who passes through. Severe injury and fatality rates have dropped 34 percent since 1997. That statistic has remained constant despite Wright County being identified as one of the fastest growing counties in the Unites States.
- Century Council Teen Drivers Initiative — As part of our involvement with teen driver safety, The Century Council has produced an interactive initiative called The Concentration Game which mimics distractions a driver may face. We encourage you to play the initiative and embed it on your website. Additionally, if you are a motor vehicle administrator or professional driving instructor and would like to download a poster to display in your place of business as a reminder to not drive distracted.
- Join the Driver Distraction Group at LinkedIn — a professional group of legistlative, legal, enforcement, engineering, sales and human factors people who discuss issues related to driver distraction study and mitigation.
If you know of any other related public awareness campaigns, please post a link and short description to their website in the comments section.
National Teen Driver Safety Week (Day 1) – The need for improved driver education for novice drivers
In 2007 the US Congress established National Teen Driver Safety Week to take place during the third week of October. This year we will work to bring you information and resources that you can use to help reduce the risk to yourself and the younger novice drivers in your family or your social groups.
Today, we’ll review the summary or facts presented by the CDC concerning the risks to young drivers, and a call for improved driver education standards in the US. As is usually the case, our children benefit greatly from the educated and responsible involvement and active participation from their parents.
From the CDC:
Motor vehicle-related injuries are the biggest health threat to teenagers in the United States, accounting for two of five deaths among teens ages 16 to 19 years. The crash risk is highest for drivers 16 years of age due to their immaturity and limited driving experience.
Most traditional driver education provides classroom training about the rules of the road and a few hours of behind-the-wheel training. Research suggests that this approach is not effective in reducing the crash risk among newly-licensed teen drivers. Driver education programs may be improved by teaching psychomotor, perceptual, and cognitive skills that are critical for safe driving, and by addressing inexperience, risky behaviors, and other age-related factors that increase the crash risk among young drivers. However, more research into these factors is needed before they can be addressed effectively.
Inexperience increases the crash risk for new drivers of all ages. However, younger novice drivers crash at higher rates than older novice drivers. These higher crash rates may be due in part to developmental factors such as peer influence, poor perception of risk, and high emotionality. Research about such developmental characteristics could increase our understanding about why young drivers have higher crash rates and could help to improve driver education programs and licensing policies.
A growing body of research indicates that close parental management of teen drivers can lead to less risky driving behavior, fewer traffic tickets, and fewer crashes. However, many parents tend to be less involved than they could be. A recent study indicates that parents can be motivated to increase restrictions on their newly-licensed teens, at least during the critical first few months of licensure. A model intervention, the Checkpoint Program, led to increased parental limits on teenage driving at licensure and three months after licensure.
Teen Driver Resources for today:
- Allstate Insurance Company — offers a website called Allstate Teen Driver that helps parents understand the need to get involved with their children’s driving, and gives advice on how parents can help their teen drivers understand the importance of driver safety.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — offers a collection of fact sheets, research, and activities that will help you understand the scope of real risks to young novice drivers, and links to other resources you can use to talk with your teen drivers about their safety.
- Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association — offers a collection of national teen driver statistics, with links to Colorado and Utah specific break downs of similar statistics.
Please feel free to post links to other teen driver safety resources you have found to be helpful in the comments section of this post.
Driver Distraction: New Presidential Text-Messaging-While-Driving Ban
President Obama’s new ban on text messaging behind the wheel of government vehicles and texting in personal vehicles if using government-issued phones or on official business is an important warning to motorists to the dangers of distracted driving.
Federal employees will not be allowed to text while driving, according to an executive order signed Wednesday night by President Obama.
Department of Transportation Secretary Ray H. LaHood on Thursday announced the measures aimed at curbing what he called a deadly epidemic of distracted driving.
The order covers federal employees when they are using government-provided cars or cellphones and when they are using their own phones and cars to conduct government business.
Separately, the federal government plans to ban text messaging by bus drivers and truckers who travel across state lines, and may also preclude them from using cellphones while driving, except in emergencies.
Tragically, distracted driving claims thousands of lives each year. Texting is becoming more and more popular with both teens and adults, and many of those teens who grew up texting are now getting behind the wheel as inexperienced – and distracted – drivers.
Last year, 5,870 people died and 515,000 were injured nationally in crashes linked to distracted driving – often due to the increasing number of drivers who juggle cell phones, BlackBerries, and other gadgets.
Drivers who talk on cell phones are four times as likely to crash, regardless of whether they’re using a hands-free device, studies show. In fact, a yakking driver is just as much a road hazard as one who is legally drunk. Texting poses even greater risks, since motorists have to take their eyes off the road.
It’s not just cell phones and text messages. The availability and variety of in-car gadgets continues to grow, and with it the potential for distracting drivers long enough to reduce reaction time and rob drivers of that critical second or two that could mean the difference between accident avoidance or tragedy.
Beyond the PR – Additional Detail about Believe Sustainability
This morning we published a press release regarding the 2nd place finish in the ITS Congestion Challenge. I wasn’t really sure that a second place finish would be news worthy, but after seeking the advice of a few colleagues, I decided it wasn’t a bad idea.
I decided to highlight one of the most interesting bits in the release with a comment from Mr. Lincoln Paiva from Brazil who found FuelClinic at the ITS Congestion Challenge, and wants to work together to take advantage of our new “clean cities” derivative product currently under development.
One such silver lining is a partnership with Believe Sustainability in Brazil, who is interested in using FuelClinic to help reduce carbon emissions from transportation in São Paulo, one of the world’s largest and heavily populated cities.
“We are researching more sustainable ways to reduce the pressure of individual transport in the chaotic traffic in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro” said Lincoln Paiva, CEO of Believe Sustainability and Organizer of Improve Air (http://projetomelhorar.com.br/) Project Sustainable Mobility. “FuelClinic would provide a system that can help change the concept people have regarding the use of the car.”
Brazil is truly energy independent, with sugar-cane ethanol being plentiful, our little promotional video needed a few updates - including translation into Portuguese, and swapping out the “transportation relies on oil 98%” with a “20% of CO2 is produced by transportation”. Mr. Paiva wanted to use the animation during a conference he was speaking at, so we decided to produce a 2nd version.
Here’s the Portuguese version:
More details and a video from the IBM Sponsored ITS Congestion Challenge
A few more details today about the ITS Congestion Challenge as well as a video from the conference. Apparently there were 116 startups from over 20 countries – not the 90 that I had been quoting in this blog and in our press release. Some additional details about how it all worked from the Spenser Trask blog:
The challenge from June through August. The VenCorps community reviewed and rated the 116 participating startups on five criteria: the speed and efficiency of their solutions; behavioral impact; safety; sustainability; and economic competitiveness. Based on community ratings, nine finalists were picked for the 30-day Showdown. During the Showdown, community members allocated VenCorps Points to their favorite challengers.
In this video Gerry Mooney, IBM General Manager Fiscal Stimulus & Economic Recovery, talks about IBM’s commitment to helping solve traffic congestion problems and their intention to support some of the innovative new ideas that made it into the final round of the Challenge.
This sounds like an outstanding opportunity.
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