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Eco-Driving Test Could Offer Quick Win for Lower Carbon Emissions

Making 'eco-driving' a compulsory part of the driving test could save up to 378,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year by 2010, new research from UKERC is suggesting. 

As well as reducing drivers' carbon emissions by up to 10%, it could also save the average driver up to £85 a year in petrol costs.

To achieve the emissions cuts, the paper proposes including assessment of energy-efficient driving ability in the practical test, as well as strangthening the assessment of good practice and adding more information on alternative fuels and vehicle efficiency to the theory test.  A similar scheme in the netherlands brought average efficiency improvements of 10% among drivers who received the training.

Implementing the proposals on eco-driving would support the statement in the UK 2006 Energy Review released in July, in which the Government said that it  intended to raise awareness of transport and develop initiatives on eco-safe driving. 

The inclusion of eco-driving within the driving test was backed by the House of Commons' Environmental Audit Committee in its report, Reducing Carbon Emissions from Transport released in August.