"I only go by car if I have to and when I do, I drive as efficiently as possible"

South African-born Daniella considers treating the environment with respect to be very important. After thorough research, she chose a hybrid car. This car is equipped with all kinds of technical features, making it very economical. Even so, Daniella learned how to further reduce her car’s fuel consumption during the ‘Het Nieuwe Rijden’ course (the new way of driving).

Set to the right pressure 

Daniella's car indicates whether its tyres are set to the right pressure. Even so, Andre the instructor checks it manually. ‘I advise everyone to do that four times a year, because sensors sometimes get it wrong.’ When the car is stationary, the tyres are slightly below the recommended pressure, but because it was very hot during the course the tyre pressure was just right. ‘At such high temperatures, you should not push the limits because the tyre pressure increases quickly as you drive. Too much air in the tyres then creates a risk of a tyre blowing out,’ explains Andre. 

The right gear 

Daniella does not have to think about shifting gears, the car does that on its own. ‘That's great,’ explains Andre, ‘because then you can focus all your attention on the traffic around you. Looking ahead and anticipating well means that you brake much less, so you do not have to accelerate afterwards. This reduces fuel consumption. When nearing a roundabout, for example, it is useful to slow down in good time. This means you do not have to brake and can drive around larger roundabouts in third gear. When people cycle, they often do this kind of thing automatically to get around more efficiently.’

Air conditioning set to full blast? 

Daniella is curious as to whether the air conditioning uses much fuel. ‘No,’ is the straightforward answer. ‘Air conditioning represents roughly 2 or 3% of total fuel consumption. That is a good trade-off compared with the mistakes you might make if you don't keep your cool. As a side note, car heating and windscreen wipers consume more fuel than air conditioning.’ Your tyres are of the utmost importance during extreme temperatures. If you use winter tyres during the summer, they will wear down much faster. They also increase your braking distance, which is an even more important argument for ensuring that you have the right tyres on your car. 

Economical

At the end of Daniella's trip around the beautiful hilly landscape of Limburg , the fuel consumption of Daniella's car seems to be relatively low: 4.8 litres per 100 k/m. In addition, Daniella only uses the car when she needs to. Most of the time, she cycles or travels by public transport. Daniella is therefore the perfect example of our ‘Every move counts’ statement to reduce CO₂.