Ninety drivers drove a city route under closely controlled conditions. Driver behaviors were scored and the vehicle was instrumented to record variables relevant to fuel economy. Fuel economy was related largely to average speed and number of variations in speed. Of the driver performance variables, only following distance related to fuel economy. Leaving adequate headway is a strategy that should result in both a saving in fuel and greater safety.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
ApplebyM. R.BintzL. J.TappendenT. A.“Fuel Economy of 1976 and 1977 California Automobiles”, Automobile Club of Southern California, December 1977.
2.
ApplebyM. R.JonesM. H.TappendenT. A.BellerR., “Automobile Fuel Economy Variability Due to Driving Behavior”, Automobile Club of Southern California, June 1978.
3.
JonesE. E.KanouseD. E.KelleyH. H.NisbettR. E.ValinsS.WeinerB., “Attribution: Perceiving The Causes of Behavior”, Morristown, N. J.; General Learning Press, 1971.
4.
JonesM. H., “Driver Performance Measures for the Safety Performance Curriculum, Final Report”, Contract DOT-HS-01263. Los Angeles: University of Southern California, Traffic Safety Center, 1978.
5.
HermanR., “The Influence of Vehicle Characteristics, Driver Behavior and Ambient Temperature in Gasoline Consumption in Urban Traffic”, GM Publication #GMR-1950, January 1976.
6.
U. S. Department of Energy, “Driver Aid and Education Test Project”, unpublished data, Nevada Operations, 1977.