Development and field trial of a driver assistance system to encourage eco-driving in light commercial vehicle fleets

Reference:

Vagg, C., Brace, C. J., Hari, D., Akehurst, S., Poxon, J. and Ash, L., 2013. Forthcoming. Development and field trial of a driver assistance system to encourage eco-driving in light commercial vehicle fleets. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems

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Official URL:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/TITS.2013.2239642

Abstract

Driver training schemes and eco-driving techniques can reduce fuel consumption by 10% but their effectiveness depends on the willingness of drivers to change their behaviour, and changes may be short lived. On board driver assistance systems have been proposed which encourage driving style improvement. Such systems, when fitted in commercial vehicles, can assume some authority since uneconomical driving styles can be reported to a fleet manager. A driver assistance system has been developed and tried in the field with commercial vehicle drivers. The system aims to reduce fuel consumption by encouraging two behaviours: reduced rates of acceleration, and early upshifting through the gears. Visual feedback is reinforced with audible warnings when the driver makes uneconomical power demands of the engine. Field trials of the system were undertaken in the United Kingdom using 15 light commercial vehicles, driven by their professional drivers from a range of commercial applications. The trials consisted of 2 weeks baseline data collection which drivers were not aware of, followed by 2 weeks of data collection with the system active. During the trials a total of 39 300 km of trip data were collected, which demonstrated fuel savings up to 12% and average fuel savings of 7.6%.

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