Report: Driver Behaviour Affecting Fuel Consumption, April 1998

The Office of Energy Efficiency (OEE) of Natural Resources Canada is committed to helping Canadian drivers use fuel more efficiently when they are driving, maintaining and purchasing vehicles. Why? Because our goal is to reduce fuel consumption enough to slow the rate of climate change. How? By undertaking a number of initiatives, including the Auto$mart program, which help increase awareness of fuel-efficient behaviour and encourage drivers to make their vehicles as fuel efficient as possible.

The OEE is constantly exploring ways to improve fuel efficiency and consequently reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide. One place to start is to encourage Canadian drivers to minimize their engine-idling time and to check their vehicle's tire pressure regularly.

First, however, we needed to find out what Canadian drivers thought about engine idling and tire pressure checks, and to determine how often, when and why they idled their engines and checked their vehicle's tire pressure. This information was needed to help us develop effective programs and communications tools to improve fuel efficiency on Canadian roads.

What We Did

In early 1998, we commissioned a nationwide study on engine idling and tire pressure checks by Canadian drivers. We wanted to understand their driving behaviour in general and their engine-idling behaviour in particular. Preparatory work included

• developing rough estimates of "preventable" idling;
• learning what motivated Canadian drivers to idle their engines;
• developing a profile of those drivers; and
• examining the perceptions, beliefs, assumptions and attitudes that influenced their engine-idling behaviour.

We also explored behaviour related to checking tire pressure and factors that influence the frequency of tire pressure checks.

This research was used, in part, to assess the potential for fuel efficiency improvements. We also wanted to develop ideas for a communications strategy that would convey to Canadian drivers the relationship between fuel efficiency, engine idling, tire pressure and the environment.

Who We Talked To

The study had two phases: a telephone survey followed by meetings with eight discussion groups.

The Telephone Survey

The telephone survey was conducted in February 1998 in English and in French. We asked 1503 drivers from across Canada a range of questions about their behaviour and attitudes toward their vehicles, and their opinions and attitudes on fuel efficiency. Topics included

• how often and how far they drove;
• factors they considered when purchasing a vehicle;
• how much they knew or what they thought about fuel-efficient driving and vehicle maintenance; and
• information on respondents such as their age, household make-up, occupation, education, income, language and location.

This information was used to organize the data into demographic and behavioural subgroups. In this way, we hoped to produce an accurate, representative picture of Canadians on the road. This was a follow-up to a benchmark study conducted between November 23 and December 30, 1994, when we spoke to a random sample of more than 1200 Canadian households on the same topics.

As in 1994, we spoke with approximately 300 drivers from each of five Canadian regions: the Maritimes, Quebec, Ontario, the Prairies and British Columbia. Selected at random, each region's respondents featured 100 households from a rural area (population of less than 1000), and 200 households from an urban centre (population of 1000 or more). Unlike the 1994 benchmark study, we added 300 interviews from the West so that we could compare data for British Columbia and the Prairies separately. We also added questions to learn about attitudes and behaviour on engine idling and tire pressure checks. The research outlined in this document is regarding vehicle idling and tire pressure only. A separate report presents the results of all topics covered in the survey and compares these results with those of the 1994 benchmark survey.

The Focus Groups

The second phase of our research involved speaking to 79 Canadian drivers in group settings across Canada. We conducted eight focus groups (three in rural locations and five in urban centres) in Wolfville, Halifax, Sherbrooke, Montréal, Toronto, Calgary, Red Deer and Vancouver. With eight to 10 participants per group, we used these sessions to

• track driver behaviour related to engine idling;
• identify any perceptions, beliefs and attitudes that may impede progress in this area;
• gain a better understanding of behaviour and attitudes related to tire pressure checks; and
• glean information to help develop a communications strategy and plan.

Everyone included in the survey held a valid provincial driver's licence and lived in a household that owned or leased a car, light truck or van (including minivans and fourwheel drive vehicles such as Jeeps). Respondents who held a valid driver's licence but who did not drive at the time of the survey were excluded. Drivers with learner's permits, temporary licences, expired and suspended licences, and those who used their vehicles only for business, or drove only motorcycles and recreational vehicles were also dropped. In addition, all participants in the second phase of the study typically drove four or more days per week, were "very" or "somewhat involved" in the maintenance of the car they drove most frequently, and had idled their vehicle engines in a minimum of two different situations (e.g., running an errand or warming up a vehicle) in the year preceding their participation in the group. Half the participants had checked their tire pressure 12 or fewer times, while the other half had checked theirs six or fewer times in the 12 months preceding the study.

All participants in the focus groups were between the ages of 20 and 54, with an emphasis on those between the ages of 25 and 44. They represented a range of household compositions with an emphasis on households with children. There were an equal number of male and female participants.

What We Found Out

Here are some of our key findings.

A Snapshot

There was general agreement among focus group participants that drivers could reduce engine-idling time and encourage regular and frequent tire pressure checks through more awareness and education. At the time of the study, however, there was little awareness of the impact of idling and improperly inflated tires on fuel consumption. Indeed, it was obvious from respondents’ responses and comments during the sessions that there was little awareness of several facts related to idling and tire pressure, including the length of time required to warm up a car, and the effects of engine idling and poorly inflated tires on the environment.

Participants also stressed that the OEE's commitment to encouraging fuel-efficient behaviour on Canadian roads had to be sustained over the long term and that "a one-time splash will have little or no impact." They expressed strong support for developing partnerships with organizations such as gas stations, garages and tire manufacturers, driving schools and licence bureaus to promote the OEE's message about idling and tire pressure.

What We Learned About Engine Idling Behaviour

• The most common idling situations included
  
  - warming up a vehicle;
  - stopping in a fast-food drive-through lane;
  - waiting for or picking up someone; and
  - stopping to talk and running an errand.

Considering the percentage of drivers involved and the average time spent per idling situation, the research indicates that the total time spent idling is highest for warming up a vehicle, running an errand and waiting in the drive-through lane of a fast-food restaurant.

• The main reasons drivers idled their engines included
  
  - personal comfort (e.g., staying warm in the winter);
  - a short wait (i.e., the idling time was not long enough to make it worthwhile to turn the engine off);
  - safety (e.g., to defrost or defog car windows);
  - the need to travel as part a line or queue (e.g., in a drive-through lane or carwash);
  - simply idling the engine without thinking about it;
  - idling was perceived to be better for the engine; and
  - stopping temporarily in an illegal parking space and wanting to be ready to move.

Most participants did not give concern for their vehicle's starter as a primary reason for idling their engine.

• We found that there was little knowledge of how long it actually takes to warm up a car. There was also general agreement that there is a point at which it is more fuel efficient to leave a car running than to turn it off and on again. However, few drivers knew that the threshold is as low as 30 seconds and were visibly surprised to learn this during the sessions.
• Participants generally agreed that they idled their vehicles significantly less in the summer months.
• Reasons for engine idling change with the situation, and some situations, primarily those that drivers can control (e.g., in a line-up for a carwash), would be easier to influence. Participants said that they would be most likely to change their engineidling behaviour when
  
  - picking up or dropping off someone;
  - running errands;
  - stopping at fast-food drive-through lanes; or
  - warming up the car.
  

• The 1998 survey suggested that engine idlers who showed the greatest environmental sensitivity were more likely to
  
  - be women;
  - be members of the professional or business occupational group;
  - be between the ages of 45 and 54;
  - have higher levels of education;
  - have annual household incomes of more than $65,000; and
  - live in British Columbia.

Suggestions for a Campaign to Discourage Engine Idling

Participants said that savings due to reduced idling were not adequate to motivate them to change their idling behaviour. Given the relatively low annual savings, the chief motivator should be the environment, they suggested.

It was also agreed that an effective campaign would target drivers while they were actually in a situation where they were likely to idle their engine. This would ensure that the message was relevant and powerful. Highway service centres were repeatedly suggested as an appropriate communications channel. Other suggestions included placing signs at waiting areas near government or public buildings such as schools and hospitals, and in other spaces where drivers were likely to leave their engines running while waiting.

Tire Pressure Checks

In our 1994 and 1998 surveys, we found that the number of respondents who had checked the tire pressure of their most frequently used vehicle in the month preceding the survey had dropped 6 percent in 1998. In that year, we also learned that 67 percent of respondents checked their tire pressure six (or fewer) times each year. Of these, 35 percent checked tire pressure three (or fewer) times, and less than a third (30 percent) of the respondents checked their tire pressure 10 (or more) times in the year preceding the survey.

• We learned that most respondents did not know the correct tire pressure for their vehicle tires and that they did not perceive tire checks as part of routine vehicle maintenance. Instead, the most frequently cited reason for tire checks was discovering a soft tire.
• The typical driver who was likely to check tire pressure 10 or more times per year tended to be male, aged between 45 and 50, belonging to a household comprising four or more persons, working as a technician or a tradesperson, and be driving a car that is not under warranty.
• The main motivators for performing tire pressure checks were to
  
  - reduce wear and tear on the tires;
  - enhance tire performance, and thus driving and travel comfort; and
  - ensure safety.

Only a few participants checked tire pressure in order to achieve better gas mileage.

Suggestions for a Campaign to Encourage Tire Pressure Checks

Participants recommended that the OEE work with sales staff at appropriate places, such as gas stations and garages, to promote awareness of proper tire pressure and tire pressure checks. Participants also recommended that promotional messages

• be direct and brief;
• emphasize immediate and personal benefits to the driver;
• highlight the effect of properly inflated tires on safety;
• highlight the costs due to wear and tear on tires and fuel consumption; and
• emphasize the low cost and minimal inconvenience involved in a tire pressure check.

Participants also suggested that messages related to the environment and health may be used as background context but should not dilute the core messages.