‘Getting the best out of your vehicle’ is something that means different things to different people – but according to new research by the RAC, what it doesn’t usually mean is saving fuel.

Amazingly – given that we have some of the highest petrol and diesel prices in Europe – large numbers of UK drivers don’t seem to know or care how to get the best fuel economy from their vehicles.

According to the RAC, £2.2bn worth of fuel is wasted every year by drivers who ignore basic green driving techniques. That’s 267 Olympic-sized swimming pools full of fuel…

Contrary to popular belief, eco-friendly driving doesn’t mean dawdling along at 50mph on motorways and never accelerating hard. Instead, it’s simply a question of understanding your vehicles a little better and applying some common sense.

Here’s a selection of the RAC’s tips for green driving – tailored to the needs of hire van drivers:

1. Don’t bother ‘warming up’ the engine before you set off. Modern engines don’t need to be warmed up – infact, they warm up better if you ease off slowly as soon as you’ve started up.
2. Switch off instead of idling. If you’re going to be stationary for more than a few minutes, idling just burns fuel pointlessly. Switch off and startup again when you’re ready to move.
3. Don’t thrash it! Modern turbo-diesels of the kind found in vans pull very well from relatively low revs. Make good use of this and keep the revs well below the red band, changing evenly through the gears.
4. Look further ahead – breaking and accelerating unnecessarily wastes a lot of fuel. Your goal should be a steady, consistent speed. If you can ease off the accelerator slightly well in advance of an obstacle, you’ll use much less fuel than if you brake hard at the last minute and then have to change through the gears again.
5. Don’t lug around anything you don’t need – extra weight equals increased fuel consumption. It’s all to easy to keep everything plus the kitchen sink in a van – don’t if you don’t need to.
6. Tyre pressures. Even if you’ve only hiring a van for a few days, keep an eye on them. Low tyre pressures mean higher fuel consumption and an increased likelihood of punctures.

Following this advice ain’t difficult – it’s mostly just good, safe driving. But it’s amazing how many van drivers don’t do it. Are you one of them?