Drivers not keen on green

How far would you go to make your transport choices eco-friendlier? Would you buy an electric car? Take the train more? Or maybe even give up cars for good in favour of a bike?

According to a recent survey, a staggering 5 million UK drivers wouldn’t even alter their driving habits to do their bit for the environment.

The poll, by connected car tech company Lightfoot, found willingness to alter driving style is lowest in the North East, where just 1 in 5 drivers are open to change.

Driving habits damaging the environment

Certain driving habits are known to increase car emissions, such as hard acceleration, late braking and even heavy use of air conditioning.

But worryingly 69% of drivers didn’t know these habits increase emissions, with over half of 25 to 34-year-olds unaware that changing driving style can actually make you an eco-friendly motorist.

The survey comes after the launch of Lightfoot’s ‘Breathe Exeter’ initiative, in which it installs “fitbits for cars” in residents’ vehicles.

The scheme, which Lightfoot claim could save an equivalent of 1,000 cars’ worth of emissions, looks to alter driver behaviour by drawing attention to the way we drive.

Energy efficient

Mark Roberts, CEO and Founder of Lightfoot, is urging drivers to think more about their driving style, claiming a good driver can be around 20% more energy efficient than a bad driver.

“In the short term, not driving is not an option for everyone. We need to extend our green thinking to our driving style and make a real impact in reducing our emissions through better driving.”

He added: “We want to show we can significantly cut emissions by making Exeter the first city-scale case study that proves the power of collective action.

“Jointly, we can create a blueprint for other cities to follow, proving that a social movement for change can have a bigger, more immediate impact than slow-moving national policy.”

“Together, we can dramatically cut CO2 and NOx, through one simple action – smoother driving.”

Are you looking to become an eco-friendly driver? Well look no further as we’ve got some top tips that’ll help you achieve green status on the road in no time.