Thought this might be of interest to a few members here as i often refer to it and have found these bits:

Eco Driving Film

http://www.safed.org.uk/masterArt/SAFED_v6_final_9may03.pdf

http://www.safed.org.uk/documents/071217SAFEDGuidanceNote.pdf

SAFED - Entry

http://www.safed.org.uk/documents/071217%20SAFEDGuidanceNoteFinal.doc

http://www.safed.org.uk/SAFED%20Scotland/pdfs/FourV5_03.pdf

http://www.safed.org.uk/masterArt/SAFED_v6_final_9may03.pdf

http://www.safed.org.uk/documents/071217SAFEDGuidanceNote.pdf

With a brief outline to anyone wondering what the heck, SAFED (Safe and Fuel Efficient Driving) is backed by the government as a way of reducing carbon emissions and fuel. It teaches you to drive more efficiently and is also a good step towards the advance driving course. It can reduce your fuel consumption around 10% and often as much as 25% and reduces gear wear by a third.

i have done this course it a lot like IAM

yes its like IAM but there are quite a few differences, quite a few IAM people dont like it claiming their way is better, but i beleive everyone could get bits out of it even if they dont agree with all of it.

i beleive everyone could get bits out of it even if they dont agree with all of it.

Certainly with regards anticipation (which as a matter of course involves better observation) and creating space around the car.

Not sure about the use of gears in SAFED...seems like they tend to favour the highest gear for economy rather than a gear which gives you the most control over your speed...I'd tend to favour the latter even if it meant a slight decrease in economy...

Thanks for the links anyway, v. interesting.

Rob.

The first 20 minute video is good. My advanced driving day started at the same Devon driver centre. I knew most of the roads being travelled on too.

i know what you saying rob, but ive found a lot of people use parts of it and not other parts. i guess its all down to each and everyones taste.

Thanks for posting that, Paul. I've had a read through it and there are a few things that I don't agree with but things they've included like dealing with hazards, forward planning, etc seem to be sound. I see that they do make reference to "Roadcraft" too for the morning drive - is that referring to the Police Driver's bible or is that just their word for assessing on the road?

My other concern is that it's just a day's course and I wonder how many people actually take away what they've learnt and put it into practice....

Chris

Did it through work, was also concerned about there gear issues, said to keep in a high gear going up hill and let the engine labour as it uses less fuel than changing down.

Also on our "test" we did our economy run round the towns at school time. Then after training on our second run, was light traffic, needless to say they were very pleased because everyone's fuel runs were better after trainning!!

My other concern is that it's just a day's course and I wonder how many people actually take away what they've learnt and put it into practice....

I think a lot of it comes down to company training policies - maybe our resident hauliers will correct me, but as far as I'm aware some logistics companies operate "economy incentives" so that using less fuel is rewarded. They then send employees on the SAFED course to equip them with the knowledge of how to fulfil these incentives...

Rob.

when i did mine it was an hour drive out. unload talk about what ive done and what i could do and then an hours drive back the same way. the company i work for want us to save fuel but pay us mileage bonus, something like 1p per km over 150km. when really it should be saying if you use less than 20l per 100km (how the lorrys display it) we will pay you half of what we save.

Ah that would explain the move towards eco-driving then. Just a shame they don't put quite such a high priority on safety!!!

Chris

My other concern is that it's just a day's course and I wonder how many people actually take away what they've learnt and put it into practice....

Chris

I did a half-day Defensive Driving course nearly 20 years ago, and much of the content stayed with me to this day, merely being reinforced when I started RoSPA. They gave me a copy of Roadcraft, as well

So my view would be - a day is enough to get you started, and will provide some useful habits to work on, but for the full treatment, join IAM or RoADAR afterwards.

yes i agree if you want to get something out of it then you will, if you dont want to then least you tried it.

Ah that would explain the move towards eco-driving then. Just a shame they don't put quite such a high priority on safety!!!

Chris

SAFED stands for:

Safe and Fuel Efficient Driving.

Safety should never be compromised to save fuel.

The DSA now have eco safe driving as part of the standard driving test. I've been teaching it for years, they used to mark my pupils down for eco safe driving, now they hand them a leaflet telling them to be eco safe drivers.

SAFED stands for:

Safe and Fuel Efficient Driving.

Safety should never be compromised to save fuel.

Indeed, which is why I have a problem with their use of gears which, imho, does compromise safety for economy

Chris

Come on! This is stupidity! Safe driving as an extra course? COME ON! We have to learn safe and eco driving to pass the exam in the first place. I'm not sure, what driving schools in UK teach you, but here you need to be able to drive like a professional.

This "eco-driving" is pure idiocy! Yes, of course, it makes you use less fuel and reduces your "carbon footprint" but killing the engine to save 4p on fuel is PURE IDIOCY! I mean, going uphill with high gear and low rpm!!! IT USES MORE FUEL THAN SHIFTING DOWN AND REVVING A BIT! Not to mention it's a torture on engine, clutch and gearbox. Jesus...

Lol... I tried to drive my Skoda uber-eco, change gears early and no revving. That made engine lasy and powerless. Now I'm giving the engine a little more workspace, occasional 3k while accelerating, downshifts if I need to accelerate and so on. Engine works a whole lot better and also the fuel consumption HAS GONE DOWN!!! I'm getting more MPG from brisk driving than from stupid "eco" driving.

I don't know, maybe it's my problem: afterall, I have a small and relatively weak engine and maybe bigger engines would work better under "eco" conditions. Nevertheless, governments don't know a thing about driving

And Merry Christmas to all Briskodians

Hmmm, such an emphasis from people towards staying in a lower gear to give more flexibility with acceleration. At 40mph my car is quite flexible in 5th, yet I'm certain any advanced instructor would encourage me to be in 4th. Likewise at 30, its fine in 4th, yet I'd be encouraged to to be in 3rd. With a lovely torquey engine thats more than good enough for a nice little surge of acceleration.

However, what scenarios would you need a good blast of acceleration?? Does puzzle me a bit.

The thing with this SAFED malarky is the emphasis on saving fuel and little mention of mechanical sympathy. They say labouring the engine is more efficient than letting the engine be in its comfort zone, but what about increased wear on dmfs etc. It doesn't stack up to me.

Regardless of the above, I am a student of driving and will listen to what anyone has to say on the subject and I'll give anything a go!

This "eco-driving" is pure idiocy! Yes, of course, it makes you use less fuel and reduces your "carbon footprint" but killing the engine to save 4p on fuel is PURE IDIOCY! I mean, going uphill with high gear and low rpm!!! IT USES MORE FUEL THAN SHIFTING DOWN AND REVVING A BIT! Not to mention it's a torture on engine, clutch and gearbox. Jesus...

Lol... I tried to drive my Skoda uber-eco, change gears early and no revving. That made engine lasy and powerless. Now I'm giving the engine a little more workspace, occasional 3k while accelerating, downshifts if I need to accelerate and so on. Engine works a whole lot better and also the fuel consumption HAS GONE DOWN!!! I'm getting more MPG from brisk driving than from stupid "eco" driving.

I don't know, maybe it's my problem: afterall, I have a small and relatively weak engine and maybe bigger engines would work better under "eco" conditions. Nevertheless, governments don't know a thing about driving

And Merry Christmas to all Briskodians

If you take hills in the correct gear and not decide to take the steep hill in 6th then yes you will save fuel, planning ahead, feathering the accelorator are all part of what is taught in safed and can achieve iirc 25% saving in fuel costs.

I can drive back from work late at night and get 40-50mpg by driving using a mixture of SAFED and IAM taking bits from both and intergrating them. Yet i can drive the same route back from work driving like a **** and would be lucky to hit 30mpg. if traffic is heavy going to or from work then i will still be looking at 35-40mpg on an 8 mile journey.

Obviously its not for everyone, some people will never be converted, but if you try the course with open eyes and try something like IAM or ROSPA advance driving you will eventually come up with a style of driving that actually saves you money on fuel and still gets you to your destination in the same time.

Following people in towns because ive planned a head and let off accelerator early approching a roundabout, the car in front has jammed his brakes on and because ive planned for it and have selected the correct gear i can be across the roundabout and on to the next road before the car i was following has got onto the roundabout and at the same time my fuel economy will be better to his as ive kept the wheels moving.

Indeed, which is why I have a problem with their use of gears which, imho, does compromise safety for economy

Chris

But if you are doing what you are taught and looking ahead and planning then it wont compromised safety.

Our drive outs normally hit my mpg by about 5mpg to my normal driving, then if i add a bit of SAFED to it its another 5 mpg saved too.

Indeed, which is why I have a problem with their use of gears which, imho, does compromise safety for economy

Chris

Which use of gears compromises safety?

X-massy long quote!

Okay... I might have not expressed myself correctly(again).

I never said I don't drive economically. I do and I usually get more MPG from my car than any of my friends. Some of them use "thrash 'n smash" driving techinques and some of them go extra-eco. We don't have the same cars ofcourse and we can't compare with 100% accuracy but there is some truth in my driving style.

What bothers me that there are SO many different cars with different characteristics, so how can few "smart" guys tell me how do I need to drive MY car. Basically, everything comes with experience...

And other concern: what are your driving schools like? In Estonia we have to go through extensive training where we need to obtain economical and predicting safe driving manners. Examiners watch us closely( heck, they even record our driving with cameras ) and the exam is pretty hard. And in 2 years after completeing the exam we need to pass "advanced driving" which gives us experience in driving on very slippery roads and controling car under extreme circumstances ( too bad it's not in the original training :( ).

Which use of gears compromises safety?

Keeping the car in the highest gear available and allowing the engine to labour, rather than using a lower gear which gives greater flexibility and control over the speed of the vehicle and the amount of acceleration/braking available if an unexpected situation arises.

Chris

But if you are doing what you are taught and looking ahead and planning then it wont compromised safety.

So by looking and planning ahead you'll favour a flexible gear over the highest gear available?

Our drive outs normally hit my mpg by about 5mpg to my normal driving, then if i add a bit of SAFED to it its another 5 mpg saved too.

I could improve my normal mpg by at least 5mpg by slipstreaming lorries on the motorways. Doesn't mean it's a good idea

Chris

And other concern: what are your driving schools like? In Estonia we have to go through extensive training where we need to obtain economical and predicting safe driving manners. Examiners watch us closely( heck, they even record our driving with cameras ) and the exam is pretty hard. And in 2 years after completeing the exam we need to pass "advanced driving" which gives us experience in driving on very slippery roads and controling car under extreme circumstances ( too bad it's not in the original training :( ).

The driving test here comprises a theory test and a practical test (around 35 minutes minimum of driving) and you can afford to get lots (18?) of minors or several major faults before you are failed. There is a 2 year probationary period during which you must not receive more than 6 points or you lose the license and need to resit your test. There is no compulsory further training/testing after the driving test unless you want to add other vehicle categories to your licence.

There is some room for improvement!

Chris

Keeping the car in the highest gear available and allowing the engine to labour, rather than using a lower gear which gives greater flexibility and control over the speed of the vehicle and the amount of acceleration/braking available if an unexpected situation arises.

Chris

You miss the point, you are not supposed to keep the car in the highest gear available.

Simply consider the highest gear which is appropriate to the road and traffic conditions.

I don't teach people to drive around in 6th gear all day.

1st gear for moving off from rest.

2nd and 3rd are working gears for building up speed and dealing with hazards.

4th, 5th and 6th gears are "cruising" gears for maintaining a constant speed.

I would not drive down a street lined with parked cars at 30mph in 6th gear. I would be looking to use 3rd or 4th.

With regard to the UK category B car test,

The theory test now includes 50 questions and 14 Hazard perception clips with 15 hazards. This must be passed before booking a practical test, this is only valid for 2 years.

The practical test is a statutory minimum of 30 minutes on the road, (typically 40 minutes overall), you are allowed 15 driver faults, any serious or dangerous faults results in an immediate fail. Every test must include 2 reverse exercises, every 3rd test must include a controlled stop exercise. The test also includes 2 safety questions which can require opening the bonnet of the car.

The national pass rate for the practical test is about 42%, the marking is much stricter than it was previously.

Upon passing this test you are restricted to driving a vehicle upto 3.5 tonnes with upto 8 passenger seats and towing a trailer upto 750KG.

The DSA are concluding a consultation at the moment which is likely to see a review of the current driving test procedure which could result in having to take a number of practical driving tests before being issued with a driving licence.

It is just a shame that full licence holders are not retested on a regular basis as many are driving around on pre1997 licences in 12 tonne combinations having scraped through the car test with the sloppy marking used in the past.

You miss the point, you are not supposed to keep the car in the highest gear available.

Exactly - and this is what SAFED *does* advise which, imho, compromises safety.

Chris