In the context of European Mobility Week, from 16th to 22nd September, the abertis foundation and FESVIAL (the Spanish road safety foundation) organised a study of “drivers and ecological, efficient driving” to find out about the habits of Spanish drivers and how aware and informed this group is of the issues. The research consisted of a survey of 1,575 habitual drivers from all over Spain. The full report, which also includes results for the autonomous regions of Spain, can be consulted at www.fundacionabertis.org.

Society is interested in efficient driving

According to the survey data, over half of drivers (56.1%) have a personal concern for efficient, ecological and economical driving, especially those in the 45-54 age bracket, and are therefore prepared to change their behaviour if they are told how to do so. Moreover, four out of every ten drivers think that they have not received enough information about ecological, efficient driving. In turn, a majority of motor vehicle users (86.9%) believe that future drivers should be given and required to possess greater knowledge of ecological, efficient driving.

According to the results of the sociological study, three out of four citizens think that greater penalties for those who pollute most would help to improve the quality of the environment, though only a third of drivers would be willing to pay more taxes to improve it.

Efficient driving by towns

Drivers in towns with more than 200,000 inhabitants are the ones who admit they take the least steps to drive ecologically and efficiently, and the differences are significantly larger in Madrid and Barcelona. Paradoxically, it is inhabitants of the cities of Madrid and Barcelona who state they have the greatest knowledge of the environment. In smaller towns the respondents stated that they drive in a more environment-friendly way.

The most widely-used efficient driving techniques

Three out of four Spanish drivers state that they take steps to help to save fuel and cut pollution. The most common of these measures is to drive in a uniform way, women being the group who drive in the most uniform way (87.7%) and avoid braking hard (87%), while men more often take other measures such as checking tyre pressure regularly (79.9%) and starting up without pressing the accelerator (77.2%). While it is advisable to turn off the engine during prolonged stops, 18% of drivers do not do so.

The results of the sociological study also reveal that 10.6% of young people aged between 18 and 24 never or almost never drive in high gears, start up without pressing the accelerator (17%), use air conditioning moderately (14.6%), carry out regular maintenance on their vehicle so that it does not pollute (13.3%) or turn their engine off during prolonged stops.

Environmental awareness

Eight out of every ten drivers state that they are aware of the harmful effects of CO2 on health and the environment. However, 39% of drivers know nothing or very little about their vehicle’s pollution levels. Men claim to know more about ecological, efficient driving and fuel-saving strategies. In turn, the younger the driver the better-informed they are about ecological issues and techniques to use less fuel.

Criteria when purchasing a vehicle

When buying a vehicle, 37.6% of Spaniards attach importance to its emission level, especially women. However, this factor is rated far below safety (56%), price (54.2%) and fuel consumption (53.4%), and at a very similar level to the make of car (37.3%). Young people attach greater importance to design and make. Buyers between 35 and 64 take more account of the pollution level, and from age 65 onwards the make once again becomes a priority.

Savings (73.7%) and reduced pollution (56.9%) are seen as the main benefits of ecological driving.

Advice on efficient driving

1.    Keeping wheels aligned and the tyre pressure right reduce fuel consumption.
2.    Changing the spark plugs, air filter, and oil at the right time can reduce fuel consumption by up to 20%.
3.    A badly-tuned engine can consume 8 or 10% more than usual.
4.    Objects which increase wind resistance, such as for example a roof rack or support for skis, should be avoided as these can increase consumption by between 2 and 5%. A full load on the roof rack can increase it by nearly 30%.
5.    Windows should be kept closed to stop objects or insects getting in. This also reduces fuel consumption as it avoids turbulence.
6.    The vehicle should be started up without pressing the accelerator, then waiting for a few seconds before moving off in the case of a diesel engine. The accelerator should not be pressed while waiting at traffic lights.
7.    The engine should be turned off if stopping for more than three minutes, in order to reduce fuel consumption and pollution.
8.    Proper use should be made of gears, especially in town; it should not be forgotten that cars use less fuel in higher gears and at lower revolutions per minute.
9.    Maintaining a suitable speed is important: exceeding 100 or 120km/h can lead to a considerable increase in fuel consumption.
10.    Unnecessary weight or objects should not be carried in the vehicle: 30 kilos of extra weight can increase fuel consumption by more than 10%.

The Abertis Foundation

The abertis foundation runs an extensive Road Safety Programme to raise awareness of the need for responsible, safe mobility in order to reduce accidents. The foundation is among the signatories to the European Road Safety Charter. As one of the responses to CSR by abertis, the leading group in mobility and telecommunication infrastructure management, since 1999 the foundation has also backed research and information concerning the repercussions of major infrastructures on the regions, especially on the population, economy and environment.

Fesvial

The aims of FESVIAL (the Spanish road safety foundation) include the prevention of traffic accidents, the promotion of sustainable mobility, safety training and road traffic education and the study of accident patterns, as well as research into the best strategies for prevention. One of its priority lines of action is to conduct studies to gain greater knowledge of key issues in the area of road safety and build up rigorous scientific knowledge of the different aspects in this field.