IAM RoadSmart flags up £700 annual savings for van drivers

At the same time, drivers are pumping out unnecessary CO2 emissions.

The research from the road safety charity was collated through data from 4,500 participants in its ‘Driving for Work’ training courses.

Behaviour such as excessive speed, accelerating sharply and braking suddenly puts extra strain on the engine, tyres and brake pads, as well as leading to more fuel consumption.

By using eco-driving, the average van driver would save £539 a year in fuel alone and spend up to £144 less on new tyres. Drivers could also cut their CO2 emissions by up to 14%. If a fleet of 100 adopted ‘eco driving’, 69 tonnes of CO2 emissions would be cut, the equivalent produced driving a car round the world 14 times.

Separate research from IAM RoadSmart revealed that drivers of unbranded white vans – the so-called ‘white van men’ – are seen as most likely to show aggressive behaviour such as tailgating, undertaking and gesticulating.

Nicholas Lyes, IAM RoadSmart director of policy and standards, said: “While it’s understandable that some traders or couriers will spend lengthy periods of the day on the road, leading to inevitable frustrations, this can lead to unsafe driving and increased costs.

“When the statistics show that work journeys account for nearly one in three deaths on UK roads, it is unsurprising that driving for work is one of the most dangerous activities workers can do.

“Driving aggressively is one of the most pointless things someone can do. It’s dangerous, stresses out the person doing it, angers other road users, costs you more money and will not get you where you want to be any more quickly. In a nutshell, you are burning money, creating more emissions and risking a crash for absolutely no benefit.”

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