Lighting up green driving

(TMC) announced today that, from October, new Japanese-market vehicle models with automatic transmissions will be equipped with the Eco Drive Indicator. The feature, located on the instrument panel, is deigned encourage environmentally considerate driving by lighting up when the vehicle is being used in a fuel-efficient manner.

The device illuminates based on comprehensive calculations that take into consideration such factors as accelerator use, engine and transmission efficiency and speed and rate of acceleration. This is aimed at raising driver awareness toward environmentally considerate driving and contributing to fuel economy.

Although results may vary depending on the level of traffic and conditions such as the frequency of starts from stop and of acceleration, as well as distance driven, the Eco Drive Indicator can improve fuel efficiency by approximately 4 per cent, as measured by TMC.

TMC said it believes that a three-way approach that regards vehicles, the traffic environment and people as three pillars of an inter-related whole is necessary to truly contribute to the realisation of sustainable mobility. Accordingly, it is actively undertaking driver-awareness initiatives, efforts to develop and market environmental technologies and activities aimed at improving traffic environments using social systems that employ ITS (intelligent transportation systems).