The AA has launched an Eco Driving App, which could help motorists improve their driving techniques and save an average of 10-20% on fuel bills.

Rising fuel costs are making many motorists look at their driving habits, and according to a recent AA/Populus poll, 76% of motorists are both cutting down on the number of car journeys and cutting back on other expenditure such as eating out or the weekly shop due to rising fuel costs. The AA Eco Driving App has been designed to help motorists monitor their driving style to reduce fuel consumption.

The driver starts by selecting the vehicle, or mode of transport, that best matches their own ranging from van, super mini, saloon, bicycle to even a pair of trainers if walking or running, each of which is represented by a quirky cartoon style image. The app is activated at the beginning of the journey and will monitor the motorist’s driving and display to passengers how economically they are driving.

At the end of the journey an eco rating will be awarded for the journey depending on how economically the driver has driven. This score is saved and can be used to compare subsequent journeys to assess improvment over time.

To encourage motorists to continually improve their driving techniques, it is possible to win awards for a variety of skills or landmarks passed. The awards include the Continuum Award for completing a journey of at least 10 miles without stopping; the Novice Award for using the app on five journeys up to the Hero Award for using the app on 1,000 journeys; county awards for each county visited; and awards for passing key landmarks such as the Mersey Tunnel, Clifton Suspension Bridge or even the AA’s own Head Office in Basingstoke. For the lazy motorist there is even a ’Shanks’s Pony’ award, for journeys using a car when you could have walked.

The results can be shared through a link to Facebook where motorists can also challenge others to see if they can do better.

AA President Edmund King said: “With diesel prices just 1p below the record we are encouraging drivers to have fun and save money. With this new app users will be able to learn new techniques to help improve their eco driving skills.”

The new AA Eco Driving App is available for free from iTunes and the Android store.

Topics