Transport Services have been offering ‘Smarter Driving’ Training for registered University drivers during April. There are about 900 staff and students who are registered as drivers of University fleet vehicles, and who took the initial driving test.

This further training allows them to look into their driving habits and learn techniques for more efficient fuel-saving driving. This would save money not only for the University but also the individual when driving their private car.

The driver training was carried out by EST (Energy Savings Trust) coaches in one-to-one 50 min lessons. According to EST’s information, drivers are able to reduce their fuel consumption by approximately 15% after tuition on average.

For a typical car in the UK this equates to annual savings of more than £250 and more than half a tonne of CO2!

Ronnie Ford, Transport Services Manager for the University said: “The latest round of driver training brings the number of staff trained to 82 and we hope to put on more staff training in the future. So far the feedback from all who took part is encouraging with one participant getting an incredible 57mpg, which for a van is really impressive!”

Ronnie has also recently looked into other ways to keep fuel consumption and vehicle running costs down across the University. Six vehicles are already fitted with a tracking device which shows instances of unnecessary vehicle idling and non-efficient driving. A good number of fleet vehicles have also been equipped with speed-limiting technology. Vehicle usage is constantly monitored and the size of the fleet has been decreased in the last year.

If you are a registered University driver and want to take part in the next training round, please email Ronnie Ford directly on Ronald.Ford@glasgow.ac.uk, and he will contact you once new dates have been confirmed.

To promote fuel-efficient driving is one of the actions in the University’s Strategic Travel Plan. http://www.gla.ac.uk/travelplanning/travelplan/

Further hints and tips on fuel-efficient driving can be found on the Travel Planning webpage.

First published: 25 May 2012

<< May