An effective way to reduce fuel consumption in the short run is to induce a
change in driver behaviour. If drivers are prepared to change their drivin
g habits they can complete the same journeys within similar travel times, b
ut using significantly less fuel. In this paper, a prototype fuel-efficienc
y support tool is presented which helps drivers make the necessary behaviou
ral adjustments.
The support tool includes a normative model that back-calculates the minima
l fuel consumption for manoeuvres carried out. If actual fuel consumption d
eviates from this optimum, the support tool presents advice to the driver o
n how to change his or her behaviour. To take account of the temporal natur
e of the driving task, advice is generated at two levels: tactical and stra
tegic.
Evaluation of the new support tool by means of a driving simulator experime
nt revealed that drivers were able to reduce overall fuel consumption by 16
% compared with 'normal driving'. The same drivers were only able to achiev
e a reduction of 9% when asked to drive fuel efficiently without support; t
hus, the tool gave an additional reduction of 7%, Within a simulated urban
environment, the additional reduction yielded by the support tool rose to 1
4%, The new support tool was also evaluated with regard to secondary effect
s. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.