Safe Speed Forums

Is it possible to save the planet by sticking to the speed limit? The government's transport advisors think so.
The Commission for Integrated Transport argues that emissions from cars and lorries still outweigh by some way those from air travel, though aviation is growing as a source of carbon dioxide.

One remedy, the authors conclude in a report published on Wednesday, is for us drivers to have state-sponsored lessons in eco-motoring, an idea that would cost the government little but benefit the planet a lot.

The theory is that the way you drive can be as important as what you drive, and how much you drive it.

Smooth driving

By way of an experiment, we went to the Ford test track at Dunton in Essex, to break the speed limit.

Drive at 80mph on a motorway and it is claimed your car will pump out significantly more carbon dioxide than at 70.

With a technician plugged into the car's engine via a laptop, I drove a series of laps, maintaining 70 and then 80 on the two straightest sections.

The result? The car produced a third more CO2 getting from one end of the track to the other at 80 than it did at 70.

But there's more. Research suggests turning on the air conditioning uses 10% more fuel, therefore producing CO2.

Unfortunately keeping cool by lowering your car windows also increases fuel consumption, as does keeping the roof rack on after that family holiday.

Most of all, driving smoothly is the key to an environmentally-friendly motoring life.

Gentle on the accelerator, thinking ahead, judging the distance to the lights, and stopping without a jolt.

Ford's director of sustainability Andy Taylor says: "Our own analysis indicates that a driver can save around 25% of fuel consumption in a year.

"That will save around up to £200 a year, helping your wallet, but also making a material difference to the planet. At the end of the day for the vast majority of people, it's about the money."

However, the Commission for Integrated Transport (CFIT) wants action from companies like Ford as well as its customers.

By 2020, its report says, all cars should produce no more than 100g of CO2 per kilometre.

In other words, they'll all have to be roughly as green as the greenest production cars are now.

Flight taxes

Aviation doesn't escape either. Emissions trading - which forces airlines and airports to buy the right to produce CO2 - is a must, the report concludes.

And the government should be actively finding ways to make flying more expensive.

CFIT quotes a new Mori poll which suggests a growing number of air travellers accept the idea of higher taxes.

The commission's strategy is to find ways for the government to get more environmental bang for its buck.

It has predicted the measures would increase by 70% the CO2 savings proposed by the government's climate change programme.

In other words, the report says, the current plan to stabilise carbon emissions by 2020 would become one to reduce emissions by around 14%.

But the findings make clear there is a need for action at all levels - from the government, from companies, and from us, sitting at the wheel of our cars.

Eco-motoring 'can reduce carbon'

Car emissions depend on how a vehicle is driven
Motorists should be taught new driving techniques to reduce carbon emissions from their vehicles, a report suggests.

A report by the Commission for Integrated Transport also suggests new rules to ensure drivers can only buy the most fuel-efficient cars.

It also wants new cars to be as environmentally friendly by 2020 as the greenest cars which are currently available on the market.

The CfIT is the body which advises the government on transport.

BBC transport correspondent Tom Symonds said cars and lorries are the biggest source of carbon emissions in the UK.

The CfIT believes that motorists can be taught to drive more cleanly, saying that keeping to 70mph rather than 80mph on the motorway will cut emissions by almost a third.

The report also says speed limits should be more rigorously enforced*, and other advice includes turning off air conditioning, driving without a roof rack and generally driving with a "lighter touch".

Providing policy advice via evidence based reports on:

With a technician plugged into the car's engine via a laptop, I drove a series of laps, maintaining 70 and then 80 on the two straightest sections.

The result? The car produced a third more CO2 getting from one end of the track to the other at 80 than it did at 70.

Cruising at 80 does not produce 30% more CO2 than cruising at 70. The difference they describe is more likely to be due to the rate of acceleration on different laps. I reckon they could easily get the car to produce more CO2 with a lower maximum speed just by driving harshly.

Research suggests turning on the air conditioning uses 10% more fuel, therefore producing CO2.


Our own analysis indicates that a driver can save around 25% of fuel consumption in a year

It has predicted the measures would increase by 70% the CO2 savings proposed by the government's climate change programme.

current plan to stabilise carbon emissions by 2020 would become one to reduce emissions by around 14%.

CFIT quotes a new Mori poll which suggests a growing number of air travellers accept the idea of higher taxes

On a straight level road with the cruise control on I watched the instantaneous fuel consumption as I turned the A/C on and off. The difference is barely noticable, so I don't know where they get 10% from.

CFIT quotes a new Mori poll which suggests a growing number of air travellers accept the idea of higher taxes