News Release

Depot staff learn how to drive wise

Sixteen of Maidstone Borough Council’s depot staff have been specially hand picked to take part in a smarter driving course.

The smarter driving training for employees will be taking place next Wednesday and Thursday (February 10 and 11) and aims to teach staff how to drive more efficiently.

Each lesson will last 50 minutes and the instructor, from the Energy Saving Trust, who are organising the courses, will take out four drivers in the morning and four in the afternoon over the two days.

Cabinet member for Regeneration, Cllr Malcolm Greer, said: “This is a very worthwhile initiative and Maidstone council is grateful to the Energy Saving Trust for offering the two-day course for free.

“The staff we have taking part in the course have been selected specifically because they drive vehicles on a daily basis and will benefit most from this opportunity.

“The potential CO2 savings are huge and the financial savings are also equally as big, saving employees money on their private mileage and saving the council money on company vehicles.”

With the smarter driver course, on average, drivers are able to reduce their fuel consumption by approximately 15% after tuition. For a typical car in the UK this equates to annual savings of more than £250 and more than half a tonne of CO2.

Here are some other tips to help for smarter driving:

· Check your revs - when accelerating change gear between 2000rpm and 2500rpm

· Slow down - driving within the speed limit is safer and cuts fuel consumption

· Drive smoothly - avoid unnecessary acceleration and breaking

· Switch if off - if you’re going to be stationary for more than a minute or two turn your engine off

· Check your tyre pressure – under inflated tyres are dangerous and increase fuel consumption