Driver & Vehicle Modification Techniques from NREL

[gone-ot]

FE benefits the government (NREL) attributes to "driver & vehicle modification" techniques:

http://www.nrel.gov/vehiclesandfuels/vsa/pdfs/50836.pdf

[Frank Lee]

WOW! There's about a million things to comment on/discuss in there!

First thing to me was, they identified stop-n-go and slow-n-go driving as making the biggest negative impact on fe (with no coasting or engine off). I don't know about the rest of the world but everywhere I go, the roads/routes are ever more interrupted by stop lights and stop signs as "development" and "progress" bring more roads and more road intersections to being- definitely a bass-ackwards trend that also aggravates another factor they single out, that of the driver driving aggressively because they feel pressed for time. Yes I know this is an article about the driver, not the road but still...

They identified a 30% fe spread between aggressive and eco-oriented driving for city, and 20% for highway. This isn't even including what we think of as hypermiling!

One thing I didn't see mentioned is how SPASTIC most drivers are with the controls! As I've noted in the past, I live on the straightest, levelest, most un-interrupted by intersections and whatnot residential street in the area... I can clearly identify via sounds from passing vehicles that the vast majority of drivers are not ANYWHERE CLOSE to holding a steady throttle! It is just as bad, ubiquitous, stupid, and unnecessary as the wrist epileptic seizures that overcome Hardley Abelson riders at every stop/idle opportunity.

It was noted that the vast majority of drivers could not come up with a realistic estimate on what they spend on fuel, thus making the effects of saving fuel, or even the desire to save fuel in the first place, basically invisible to them. Yup, I believe that. So then waddya do?

Page 15 has this synopsis: Driver change will require investment in:
1) Driver education
2) Driver feedback
3) Regulatory actions
4) Economic and Policy incentives, and
5) Social marketing.

Man, I've seen pretty close to ZERO as far as driver education anywhere, ever (except online). I've long thought that the auto manufacturers, driver's trainers, licensing bureaus, auto dealerships, and yes perhaps even government agencies could do a helluva lot more to get the word out about eco driving. Why they haven't remains a mystery to me.

My last thought for this post is they mentioned the Progressive Insurance "SnapShot" means of providing economic incentive by monitoring driver accel/braking and lowering rates for smoother, slower drivers. Sounds good in theory; practice shows that Progressive has merely jacked up all their rates thus making a "30% discount" the same as competitors' normal rates. So much for that.

[Fat Charlie]

Unfortunately, page 2 says it all. Yes, better instrumentation in the key. They mentioned retrofitting with smart phones or dedicated devices (SG/UG), but said that even the small barriers associated with those "...will be significant for people who may not be enthusiastic about changing their driving style to begin with." That's Governmentspeak for "you're wasting money paying me to write this because nobody here knows how to drive in the first place." The barriers specifically mentioned were "purchasing a device/foregoing other uses, mounting and calibrating it in the vehicle, etc."

So the main problems identified by the government are:
1. I'd have to buy a gadget.
2. If I don't, I won't be able to text while driving any more.
3. It's hard.

And those are significant barriers.

So can Washington force the states to have real Driver's Ed requirements (that actually get applied) and then wait 50 years for the current crop of idiots to die off? They'll have better results from just raising the mpg requirements.

I was impressed that their studies showed that "aggressive" drivers were seeing 20% increases in FE just by calming down a bit. Best eco driving tip: Watch the road, obey the law and drive safely (contributing to an accident will NOT save fuel).