Eco-Driving Technology

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Last week, in an experiment some cast aside as a PR stunt, several drivers drove a Ford Focus Hybrid car 1,445 miles, approximately double how far Ford estimated it could go, on a single tank of gas using Eco-Driving techniques.  The drivers were well versed in Eco-driving methodology, making the results of the test far less likely to occur in the general public.  They averaged just above 20 miles per hour over their 4 day test, which is 3 days, 23 hours, and 58 minutes longer than the average American’s patience driving without speeding.

Eco-driving technology might help keep people from losing patience–and interest.  Chip in a few dollars a month to help support independent cleantech coverage that helps to accelerate the cleantech revolution! Nissan unveiled plans in 2008 for an Eco-Pedal, that, among other things, would push back on the driver’s foot during periods of heavy acceleration, not to a point of stopping fast acceleration, but just to a point of reminding lead-foots that they are being, well, lead-footed.  The “SmartGauge with EcoGuide” will be available on the Ford Fusion Hybrid and the Mercury Milan.  Next year, Honda will utilize software in their Honda Insight Hybrid that will grade the driver’s eco-driving, something likely to be quite popular with those who choose to purchase Insights.  It’s called Eco Assist.

With Eco-Driving having been proven to consistently reduce fuel usage by drivers (reports of anywhere from 15-50% are fairly normal), this could be a key element to reducing our dependency on foreign oil.  Will the U.S. ever go the route of Sweden and Germany and require Eco-Driving techniques be taught in Driver’s Ed?

Scott Cooney (M.S., M.B.A.) is the author of Build a Green Small Business:  Profitable Ways to Become an Ecopreneur (McGraw-Hill), and will be writing a feature on how to make money teaching Eco-Driving on Triple Pundit this Friday.

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Scott Cooney

Scott Cooney (twitter: scottcooney) is a serial eco-entrepreneur focused on making the world a better place for all its residents. Scott is the founder of CleanTechnica and was just smart enough to hire someone smarter than him to run it. He then started Pono Home, a service that greens homes, which has performed efficiency retrofits on more than 16,000 homes and small businesses, reducing carbon pollution by more than 27 million pounds a year and saving customers more than $6.3 million a year on their utilities. In a previous life, Scott was an adjunct professor of Sustainability in the MBA program at the University of Hawai'i, and author of Build a Green Small Business: Profitable Ways to Become an Ecopreneur (McGraw-Hill) , and Green Living Ideas.

Scott Cooney has 147 posts and counting. See all posts by Scott Cooney