Men think they save more fuel than women drivers - proved wrong by scientists. All British drivers urged to adopt 10 tips to save up to 10% on car fuel costs.
44% of men said they were better than their female partners at eco-driving whilst 28% of women believed they were better than their male partners.
20% of men but only 8% of women thought they 'were very good at saving fuel.'
These are the results of the WeLoveAnyCar.com eco-survey conducted on 19th November from surveys sent to 10,000 men and 10,000 women drivers.
Women Best Eco-Drivers
In scientific studies the world over it is actually women who are the planet's eco-drivers.
The 9th Intelligent Transport Systems Congress held in Dublin in June 2013 found 'men on average have higher acceleration patterns with higher fuel use and emission as compared to women'.
A study at the University of Berkeley, published on 15th November, 2011 by Shaheen et al, found that that women were much more likely to follow eco-driving tips. When given advice, 65% of women adopted new eco-driving tips compared to just 35% of men.
So, men think they are more likely to be good eco-drivers but, as in many things in this world, women are actually getting on with it and are more willing to learn.
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Top Ten Ways To Waste Fuel
Men Say They Save More Fuel - But Women Do |
The University of Michigan published a study in August 2011 by academics Silvak & Schoettle, listing the top ten ways to waste fuel whilst driving.
- 1 Aggressive driving - up to 25% drop in fuel efficiency
- 2 Driving at high speeds - 6% drop
- 3 Choosing the wrong route (road type, grade, & congestion) - 6% drop
- 4 Out of tune engine - 4% drop
- 5 Poor tyres - 4% drop
- 6 Using air conditioner - 4% drop
- 7 Excessive idling - 2% drop
- 8 Extra weight - 1.5% drop
- 9 Wrong engine oil - 1.5%
- 10 Under-inflated tyres - 1.5% drop
Save 10% On Your Fuel Costs
Experts, including those mentioned above, say that up to 10% of fuel costs can be saved by following these eco-driving tips. A WeLoveAnycar.com spokesman said of the eco-study, "The WeLoveAnyCar.com eco-survey found that over 95% of all respondents think fuel prices will increase in 2014. If the annual average cost of fuel is £1,300 that's £130 which could be saved by bill laden men AND women just by following these eco-saving tips each year."
Notes:
WeLoveAnyCar.com has 81,534 full car reviews on 2,072 models from 73 manufacturers as at 20th November 2013. All reviews were gathered in the last 11 months. 231,369 car owners either agreed or disagreed with a review made by a car owner of the same vehicle. The car review database is free for all to use and it is the largest collection of car owner reviews in the UK.
Respondents to the eco-survey were specifically asked their opinions and if they regularly drove with someone else and they were then asked what gender they were and the gender of the other driver. Only these answers were included to produce the results published regarding the gender split. Other figures are available. The results of opinions were different for those drivers travelling with the same gender. Approximately 10% of male drivers regularly travelled with another male and 14% of women travelled with other women. These were excluded in the results on the differences quoted above.
The report; 'Eco-driving: Factors that determine take-up of post-test training research published May 2011 by Vicky Campbell-Hall et al For The Department of Transport stated that 52 per cent of men compared with 36 per cent of women said they had 'actively' tried to drive more efficiently, supporting the WeLoveAnyCar.com eco-survey claims by men.
The average £ amount spent by car owners on fuel per year varies between studies. RAC and AA report higher figures that that quoted hence the savings are a conservative amount.