February 2014 Question of the Month

Question of the Month: What driver behaviors can help reduce petroleum consumption?

Answer: There are many simple changes fleet managers and individual drivers can adopt to improve vehicle efficiency, decrease fuel consumption, save money, and reduce emissions. In fact, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory found that improved driving behavior can reduce fuel consumption by an average of 10% and up to 20% for aggressive drivers; see the final report. Below are strategies fleet managers and individuals may consider to improve fuel efficiency.

Fuel Conservation Techniques for Drivers

Both fleets and individual drivers can save fuel by implementing the following practices:

• Reducing Speeding: Though different vehicles reach optimal fuel economy at different speeds, fuel efficiency generally decreases significantly at speeds above 50 miles per hour. This is because at high speeds, more fuel is needed to overcome resistance from aerodynamics and tire rolling. The fuel economy benefit of reducing your speed is 7% to 14%. The FuelEconomy.gov “What is the speed penalty for my vehicle?” tool allows drivers to calculate the fuel economy reduction for their specific vehicle and typical driving behavior.

• Conservative Driving: Gradual braking and accelerating can improve a vehicle’s fuel economy by 33% on highways and by 5% on city roads. Driving conservatively not only helps conserve fuel and save money, but it is also a safe practice for drivers.

• Combining Trips: Using one trip for multiple purposes, rather than making multiple trips, can save fuel, time, and money by reducing driving distance and avoiding unnecessary cold starts. When the engine is cold, starting a vehicle can use twice as much fuel.

• Reducing Load: By offloading unneeded items from the vehicle, drivers can reduce the amount of fuel consumed by up to 2% for each 100 pounds.

• Vehicle Maintenance: Proper and regular vehicle maintenance can improve fuel economy by 40%. This includes keeping the engine properly tuned, maintaining proper tire inflation, and using the recommended grade of oil. For more information on vehicle maintenance techniques used to conserve fuel, see the Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC) Vehicle Maintenance to Conserve Fuel page. 

Fuel Conservation Strategies for Fleet Managers

Fleet managers can adopt the following fuel conservation strategies to maximize their fleet’s fuel efficiency:

• Train Drivers: Driver training courses can teach new and veteran fleet drivers basic fuel conservation techniques (see the above Fuel Conservation Techniques for Drivers section) that they can use to improve their individual fuel economy. These courses teach ways to minimize the negative impacts of idling, speeding, aggressive or frequent accelerating or breaking, improper shifting, and taking unnecessarily long routes. National Clean Fleets Partner Coca-Cola has a successful “eco-driver” training program.  

• Employ Advanced Technologies: Technologies, such as telematics systems, can greatly increase efficiency and fuel savings in fleets. These tools allow fleet managers to:       

• Give Feedback: Fleet managers can use fuel-tracking devices or GPS-based telematics systems to track fuel economy, idle time, vehicle routes, and driver performance to provide drivers with feedback on how to improve. Some systems even provide drivers with instantaneous alerts when they are exhibiting inefficient driving behaviors, such as speeding. Some fleets pair drivers with coaches to critique driver behaviors. Driver feedback may improve fuel economy by 3% to 10%.

• Optimize Routes: Route optimization technologies help drivers plan routes that can reduce mileage, stops, acceleration events, number of vehicles needed, and time spent in traffic. Fleet managers can view data for individual drivers or for the entire fleet to view their progress and target areas of improvement.

• Provide Incentives: Incentives, including driver recognition, special privileges, and monetary rewards, encourage drivers to use efficient driving behaviors. Polk County, Florida, provides an excellent case study of a fleet that developed a successful incentive program for its employees. 

• Implement Policies: Corporate policies that require drivers to participate in training courses, meet fuel-efficiency targets, comply with a maximum speed limit, and set goals can reduce emissions and improve driving efficiency. 

• Use Fleet Fueling Cards: Fleets that use fueling cards can monitor, control, track, and manage fuel and maintenance costs based on card transactions. One example is the WEX (formerly Wright Express) card.    

More information on adjusting driver behavior to improve fuel efficiency can be found on the AFDC Efficient Driving Behaviors to Conserve Fuel page and on FuelEconomy.gov.



Clean Cities Technical Response Service Team
technicalresponse@icfi.com
800-254-6735

April 2013 Question of the Month

Question of the Month: What are the federal emissions and fuel economy standards for current and future on-road vehicles? Have any related emissions and fuel regulations been passed recently?

Source: http://www.uaw.org/story/uaw-helps-shape-cafe-standards-light-duty-vehicles

Answer: Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards and the associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards set requirements for new light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicle models with the goal of improving the overall fuel efficiency and environmental impact. Fuel economy standards for light-duty vehicles were introduced in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) of 1975; regulations were established for on-road vehicles beginning with Model Year (MY) 1978. EPCA grants the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) the authority to regulate CAFE standards, with the requirement that new standards may not be proposed more than five model years at a time.

In 2010, NHTSA partnered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue the first joint program that includes both fuel economy requirements under NHTSA’s CAFE program and emissions standards under EPA’s GHG emissions program. Starting with MY 2012 vehicles, manufacturers are required to improve fleet-wide fuel economy and reduce fleet-wide GHG emissions by approximately 5% each year. By 2016, vehicles must meet an estimated combined average emissions level of no more than 250 grams of carbon dioxide per mile. If the industry met this carbon dioxide standard solely through fuel economy improvements, vehicles would have an average fuel economy of 35.5 miles per gallon (mpg). For more information, see the EPA fact sheet: 

NHTSA and EPA established the CAFE and GHG emissions standards for MY 2017 through MY 2025 passenger cars and light-duty trucks in 2012 in two phases, which are broken down as follows:

	Model Years	Average Fleet-Wide Fuel Economy
Phase 1	MY 2017-MY 2021	40.3-41.0 mpg (by MY 2021)
Phase 2*	MY 2022-MY 2025	48.7-49.7 mpg (by MY 2025)

*Proposed, pending final rule

For more information, refer to the EPA fact sheet.

In 2011, NHTSA and EPA set the first-ever standards to reduce GHG emissions and improve fuel efficiency of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 10,000 pounds). The standards cover MY 2014 through MY 2018 on-road vehicles and are tailored to each of three main regulatory subcategories:

·        Combination tractors (also known as semi trucks);

·        Heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans; and

·        Vocational vehicles (such as delivery, refuse, and tow trucks; transit, shuttle, and school buses; and emergency vehicles).

The requirements provide flexibility through an emissions and fuel consumption credit system to help reduce the overall costs of the program and to allow manufacturers time to make necessary technological improvements.

For more information on fuel economy and GHG emissions standards, refer to the NHTSA CAFE – Fuel Economy, EPA Transportation and Climate, andFuelEconomy.gov websites.

On March 29, 2013, EPA announced their Tier 3 Vehicle Emission and Fuel Standards Program, which includes more stringent tailpipe emissions standards for non-methane organic gas (NMOG), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and particulate matter (PM); more stringent evaporative vehicle emissions; and lower sulfur content of gasoline. This proposal aligns vehicle standards with the GHG emissions standards outlined above, as well as the California Low Emission Vehicle Program, allowing automakers to sell the same vehicle models in every state. The standards would apply to light-duty trucks, medium-duty passenger vehicles, and some heavy-duty vehicles and include different phase-in schedules based on vehicle class from MY 2017 to MY 2025. The proposed gasoline sulfur standard would make emission control systems more effective for both existing and new vehicles. For more information, refer to the proposed rule and the EPA Tier 3 Vehicle Emission and Fuel Standards Program website. 

For more up-to-date information about federal and state vehicle standards, refer to the Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC) Federal Incentives and Laws website.  

Clean Cities Technical Response Service Team

technicalresponse@icfi.com

800-254-6735