Aggressive driving is costing fleets dear

21 July 2008

Aggressive driving is set to cost companies significant sums of money in the light of recent fuel cost hikes, according to ING Car Lease’s head of risk, Diarmuid Fahy.

Recent research has shown that driving at excessive speed - a common habit of seasoned company car drivers - could cost average fleets many thousands of pounds, unless a more responsible driving culture is adopted.

Mr Fahy said: “Research published by a former AA fuel efficiency expert shows that a driver of an average car doing 10,000 miles a year of motorway driving at 80 mph, would save a massive £518 per year by simply dropping his speed to 60 mph. While there’s a happy medium to be struck here, in terms of speed of travel and fuel efficiency, figures from the Department for Transport show that over half of motorway drivers break the 70 mph speed limit.

“If we take this potential fuel saving figure and extrapolate it across an average sized fleet of 40 cars, this figure grows to nearly £21,000 that could be saved in fuel costs per year by simply taking it easier. This figure may be optimistic, as driving at 60 mph on the motorway is not realistic. But if this advice was also adopted when driving in urban environments, where unnecessary revving and braking are commonplace, the savings stand up.

“We are urging fleets to look creatively at the issue of fuel efficiency and consider other measures such as the use of air conditioning, better route planning, undertaking tyre and oil checks, and driver training. Higher fuel costs are here to stay and savvy fleets are already encouraging drivers to change their habits.”