Extra £1.2million to help white van man go green

An extra £1.2 million has been set aside by the government to train van drivers in greener, safer driving techniques.

Aimed at encouraging driving techniques that save fuel – and therefore cut costs and CO2 emissions - the Safe and Fuel Efficient Drivers (SAFED) scheme has already trained nearly 7,800 drivers.

Altogether the Department for Transport has invested around £2.2million in the scheme and drivers who completed the training found they achieved an average 16% improvement in miles per gallon.

This has resulted in potential annual fuel savings of £3.3million and a reduction of 9,350 tonnes in CO2 emissions. On average this is the equivalent of £425 for each van driver and a reduction for CO2 emissions of around 1.2 tonnes.

The new money will part-fund training for new instructors, new assessors and up to 6,500 drivers over the next three years.

Ruth Kelly, secretary of state for transport, says that by learning safe, fuel efficient driving techniques, van drivers are playing a vital role in cutting CO2 emissions.

She explained that they are helping tackle climate change, saving money and improving safety without impacting on customer delivery times.

SAFED is a one-day training course - involving a mix of classroom and on-the-road tuition - teaching drivers how techniques such as better use of gears and brakes and better road awareness can improve both fuel efficiency and safety.