So says Vertivia Mileage Management, which is working with the Energy Saving Trust as its field trials, which involve two fleets with a combined total of around 500 company cars and vans, reach an intermediate stage.

The full results of the study, which is being funded by the Department for Transport and is the first of its kind ever undertaken in the UK, will be made widely available this summer.

Drivers on both participating fleets are given Smarter Driving training with Energy Saving Trust trainers to show them how much fuel can be saved by driving more efficiently. They are then re-evaluated at a later period to see how much of their training they have remembered and whether it is still having an impact on their fuel economy.

Their results are measured against a control group that has no training of any kind and another group that has the initial training but no reminders or refresher training to see how the results compare.

Vertivia’s mileage management software is being used to provide accurate fuel and mileage data for each driver taking part so that individual fuel consumption figures can be measured and the results evaluated.

Vertivia sales director Paul Chater said: ‘Mileage capture has been proven to deliver significant savings for fleets by reducing unnecessary mileage and false claims, and we are very excited to see what additional fuel cost savings can be achieved by training drivers in fuel efficient techniques in this way.’

Tim Anderson, senior knowledge manager at Energy Saving Trust, added: ‘I am pleased to announce that our eco-driver training field trials with Vertivia are progressing very well.

‘Research elsewhere in Europe has shown that training drivers to drive more efficiently can result in long-term fuel savings of around 3-4%, but this is the first time such a study has been carried out in the UK.

‘We are confident that identifying changes in driver behaviour with regard to fuel efficiency can provide useful insight for Government to use when creating policy.’