Eco-Driving Tech: Smart Mobility for Emission Reduction Opportunities
The post highlights the significant environmental benefits of 'eco-driving' and smart traffic management technologies for reducing CO2 emissions. This presents a strong opportunity for companies in smart city infrastructure, automotive software development (for integrated eco-driving modes), and sustainability consulting. Marketing could target municipalities, fleet operators, and environmentally conscious consumers, emphasizing both cost savings (fuel efficiency) and environmental impact. Solutions could include AI-powered traffic lights, in-car eco-driving assistants, or smart navigation apps.
Origin Reddit Post
r/science
Eco-driving could massively cut emissions. Slowing vehicles to ease intersection traffic can reduce CO₂ by 11–22%, and if just 10% of cars used this technology, it could still deliver 25–50%
Posted by u/-Mystica-•08/08/2025
Top Comments
u/Raiderboy105
Timers in red lights do need to happen, but starting and stopping the engine so frequently has other negative outcomes on wear and tear that make it a less ideal solution
u/LostAbbott
Or cutting back on corporate pollution. From shipping to power generation, trying to do weird slowing of traffic and going after individuals to carry the burden just seems like more bs.
u/redyellowblue5031
Hypermilers have been using tricks like this for decades.
You don’t need to take it quite so far, but it basically boils down to what you said:
* Avoid heavy braking and acceleration while
u/Bradddtheimpaler
At the moment, I’ve got an incredibly short commute to the office. There was a time though that I was commuting an hour to work, then coming home and commuting to school an hour and fifteen
u/-Mystica-
The problem is that the cruise, meat, and aviation industries also rely on the average individual ... the same one who drives a car every day.
u/RVNAWAYFIVE
Now make Colorado stop lights not force tons of cars to wait at empty intersections constantly, wasting gas
u/GOD-PORING
I used to drive a little more than you do. I changed positions for better or worse closer to home and if I had to drive every M-F including Christmas, the total is now less than 1300km.
u/Jaded-Technician-774
How much would it save if we ban private jets?
u/WhenUniversesCollide
We would probably put a stop sign at each entrance just to make it painful.
u/serious_sarcasm
Hybrid vehicles with independent drive axels are the most efficient, because every engine has an ideal working rpm.
u/ThMogget
Regen braking. Do your fossil vehicles not have that? Going battery-electric is the key to cutting transport emissions, not weird driving tweaks.
u/Han_O-neem
You also save break pad, thus less highly toxic break dust in the air.
u/Captn_Clutch
Damn that sucks. Atleast doing nothing is not as wasteful as slow light rails that nobody will use because they still gotta do yard work, cook, clean their house, and sleep for 8 hours a nigh
u/JiveTrain
How about instead, follow the rest of the world and create intersections with no stop lights that you generally don't need to stop in, aka roundabouts?
u/BlademasterFlash
We can do both, they are really 2 unrelated things. We can encourage drivers to be more efficient while also investing in public transit to reduce the amount of people driving
u/[deleted]
[deleted]
u/hgq567
It’s definitely valid information but the deployment feels like the anti plastic campaign run by the plastics industry…blame the end user instead of addressing the root cause of the issue and
u/LeastDoctor
Why not do all of these?
People being people, though, individual action should be by design, not by choice.
u/Jaded-Technician-774
How much would it save if we ban private jets?
u/Troll_Enthusiast
Unfortunately the federal government doesn't want high speed rail, they recently stopped HSR from DC to NYC and DC to Baltimore.
u/egyszeruen_1xu
Good.
How about the 55 cruiseships that emitt more CO2 than all transportation in whole Europe?
u/BlademasterFlash
We can do both, they are really 2 unrelated things. We can encourage drivers to be more efficient while also investing in public transit to reduce the amount of people driving
u/Troll_Enthusiast
Unfortunately the federal government doesn't want high speed rail, they recently stopped HSR from DC to NYC and DC to Baltimore.
u/canisdirusarctos
Most traffic lights have a combination of sensors and a schedule. If properly configured, the schedule should ensure that a vehicle traveling slightly under the posted speed limit will not ne
u/serious_sarcasm
Frozen vegetables are almost always better than fresh from major grocery stores. And half the farm stands you see are week old shit from 500 miles away anyways.
u/TheNewsDeskFive
.....
Speed is a byproduct. It is a result of a number of different factors.
Gearing matters here. So does compression. And displacement. And a lot of other things
Simply reducing speed w
u/invariantspeed
> If you wanted to address everything then you'd need better regulations on powertrains that cater specifically to powertrain and vehicle type
I disagree.
1. Most conventional engine opt
u/Captn_Clutch
Right on. Give me high speed rail. You want to make people stop commuting in their individual cars? Give them a better way. 2 hours of light rails and busses is not an acceptable replacement
u/ILikeDragonTurtles
Right? I once got passed by a guy driving erratically on the freeway, speeding and weaving between traffic like he was doing a Fast and Furious cosplay.
I ended up next to him at an offramp
u/upvoatsforall
A cruise ship has the emissions of something like a million vehicles. Why is climate change and pollution always blamed on individuals when industry and the biggest players in capitalism woul
u/Spready_Unsettling
>Public transit works best in high density urban cores. It doesn’t work well for traveling absolutely everywhere.
It also works really well in mid density urban peripheries. And in well p
u/DZello
If the largest state of the American continent was as civilized, there would be far fewer problems on earth.
u/B_Roland
Busses also use traffic lights/stops etc.. And not everybody wants to use public transport/public transport will never be accessible enough everywhere, so the reality is that personal cars (o
u/downrightmike
Too bad one trip by elon ruins all those reductions
u/ChronicPronatorbator
cut out the growing produce in north America, shipping to china for processing, then shipping back for sale.
The world's issue is corporate greed.
u/Kootenay4
I mean, this wouldn’t be a problem if we zoned like any other sane country and didn’t have everyone living 20 miles away from where they work and 20 miles in the opposite direction from where
u/PancAshAsh
This would work great if jobs were not so precarious. Just because you live close to your work today doesn't mean that will hold true in a year.
u/Captn_Clutch
Damn that sucks. Atleast doing nothing is not as wasteful as slow light rails that nobody will use because they still gotta do yard work, cook, clean their house, and sleep for 8 hours a nigh
u/GOD-PORING
I used to drive a little more than you do. I changed positions for better or worse closer to home and if I had to drive every M-F including Christmas, the total is now less than 1300km.
u/GOD-PORING
I'd walk or bike but the bike trail gets interrupted by a major road and someone was mowed over by a red light runner at the crosswalk.
u/DominarDio
In the Netherlands this is part of the official exam to get your driving license, has been since 2006.
u/DZello
If the largest state of the American continent was as civilized, there would be far fewer problems on earth.
u/PancAshAsh
It does though, every hybrid I have driven prioritizes electric at low speeds, and generally uses the engine at higher speeds. It's the reason they have better city gas mileage than highway m
u/Placedapatow
Add in timers on red lights.
Turn your engine off
u/Raiderboy105
Going slowly but not stopping is more fuel efficient, since any amount of time spent sitting at a red light is time your engine spends burning fuel to maintain your idle RPM, not even moving
u/calgarywalker
During the pandemic I computed that I ‘saved’ just under 4000Kg (almost 10,000 lbs) of CO2 per year just by not driving to work.
u/ILikeDragonTurtles
Right? I once got passed by a guy driving erratically on the freeway, speeding and weaving between traffic like he was doing a Fast and Furious cosplay.
I ended up next to him at an offramp
u/upvoatsforall
A cruise ship has the emissions of something like a million vehicles. Why is climate change and pollution always blamed on individuals when industry and the biggest players in capitalism woul
u/[deleted]
[deleted]
u/calgarywalker
This really is an urban planning thing. Traffic light intersections take slightly less land than traffic circles and developers get to sell that little slice of land and everyone driving get
u/Spready_Unsettling
>Public transit works best in high density urban cores. It doesn’t work well for traveling absolutely everywhere.
It also works really well in mid density urban peripheries. And in well p
u/extra_hyperbole
I did a report on hybrid working and carbon emissions during Covid for a class. Ultimately it does save some emissions, but it heavily depends on commute range, because working from home also
u/No_Salad_68
I absolutely would not buy a car whose could be controlled by some external system.
u/Jaded-Technician-774
How much would it save if we ban private jets?
u/Raiderboy105
Going slowly but not stopping is more fuel efficient, since any amount of time spent sitting at a red light is time your engine spends burning fuel to maintain your idle RPM, not even moving
u/xchoo
Here's a thought... If we speed up the transition to EVs, the CO2 emission drop will be even lesser, since EVs use minimal energy when stopped at intersections.
u/ricky_clarkson
When turning left on a bike (US) if I know the light doesn't detect bikes I will just roll on through when there's a gap. That wouldn't work for slower cyclists or busier roads..
u/ricky_clarkson
Does that work well when many traffic lights have sensors? As far as I know most won't detect you until you're very close to the line.
Or when I'm biking, they just don't detect me at all. N
u/LostAbbott
Or cutting back on corporate pollution. From shipping to power generation, trying to do weird slowing of traffic and going after individuals to carry the burden just seems like more bs.
u/StonePrism
Ah yes just what the world wants is slower transport in the future. What a terrible idea. You simply can't implement something that no one wants, it doesn't matter what the environmental bene
u/ILikeDragonTurtles
I hope this catches on. I have to do this because my wife has severe spinal instability. If I accelerate or decelerate too fast, it hurts her. But I just get passed and honked at repeatedly,
u/LostAbbott
Or cutting back on corporate pollution. From shipping to power generation, trying to do weird slowing of traffic and going after individuals to carry the burden just seems like more bs.
u/Krisevol
I'll just stick with my ev
u/Han_O-neem
You also save break pad, thus less highly toxic break dust in the air.
u/maddruid
I wonder how much RTO is costing us.
u/[deleted]
[deleted]
u/poorly_timed_leg0las
Imagine how much would be saved if they kept everyone moving.
u/xchoo
Here's a thought... If we speed up the transition to EVs, the CO2 emission drop will be even lesser, since EVs use minimal energy when stopped at intersections.
u/[deleted]
[deleted]
u/BlademasterFlash
Look at the crosswalk timer for an idea of when the light will change
u/WhenUniversesCollide
We would probably put a stop sign at each entrance just to make it painful.
u/B_Roland
Busses also use traffic lights/stops etc.. And not everybody wants to use public transport/public transport will never be accessible enough everywhere, so the reality is that personal cars (o
u/Nellasofdoriath
This has been talked about since the 70s. There was some hope that robot cars would force the issue but that's gone now
u/Kootenay4
I mean, this wouldn’t be a problem if we zoned like any other sane country and didn’t have everyone living 20 miles away from where they work and 20 miles in the opposite direction from where
u/Nellasofdoriath
You don't have to shrink the cities, just bring people's necessities closer to them.
[This](https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/634-food-deserts/) is an article abour ehy ehen we have ha
u/invariantspeed
Micromobility and mass transit aren’t covering your 30 mile commute distance (the average in the US). And even in fairly dense cities, micromobility and mass transit struggle to get people ac
u/invariantspeed
> If you wanted to address everything then you'd need better regulations on powertrains that cater specifically to powertrain and vehicle type
I disagree.
1. Most conventional engine opt
u/onwee
I enjoy driving in order to get the highest eco-score I could. It’s like a video game. I’m routinely in the 80’s and 90’s in my hybrid Sienna.
Though to be fair I think it makes for some uns
u/0L1V14H1CKSP4NT13S
But I was told that if I wasn't constantly buying fuel and brake pads the economy would crash!
u/B_Roland
Busses also use traffic lights/stops etc.. And not everybody wants to use public transport/public transport will never be accessible enough everywhere, so the reality is that personal cars (o
u/calgarywalker
During the pandemic I computed that I ‘saved’ just under 4000Kg (almost 10,000 lbs) of CO2 per year just by not driving to work.
u/LifeIsABowlOfJerrys
Finally someone who knows cars. Some of the comments here are truly nuts.
u/Spready_Unsettling
>Public transit works best in high density urban cores. It doesn’t work well for traveling absolutely everywhere.
It also works really well in mid density urban peripheries. And in well p
u/nitePhyyre
BP invented the concept of "Carbon Footprint" to distract the population from the real problem: them.
u/herotonero
I started this for the fuel and brake pad / rotor savings
I continue doing this cause it's fun to optimize and judge those who gas it to the red then slam on the brakes
Also cause one of my
u/xchoo
Here's a thought... If we speed up the transition to EVs, the CO2 emission drop will be even lesser, since EVs use minimal energy when stopped at intersections.
u/downrightmike
Too bad one trip by elon ruins all those reductions
u/BlademasterFlash
We can do both, they are really 2 unrelated things. We can encourage drivers to be more efficient while also investing in public transit to reduce the amount of people driving
u/Captn_Clutch
Damn that sucks. Atleast doing nothing is not as wasteful as slow light rails that nobody will use because they still gotta do yard work, cook, clean their house, and sleep for 8 hours a nigh
u/newphew92
What in the greenwashing? This is so painfully American of an article, there are at least 10 other options that are far superior in helping drive down emissions. Active mobility, micro mobili
u/TheNewsDeskFive
I dispute "most" edit: and I already addressed that
Number 2 has nothing to do with anything. That's not speed dependent. The hybrid doesn't kick on based upon wheel speed. That's not how th
u/Bradddtheimpaler
At the moment, I’ve got an incredibly short commute to the office. There was a time though that I was commuting an hour to work, then coming home and commuting to school an hour and fifteen
u/invariantspeed
Public transit works best in high density urban cores. It doesn’t work well for traveling absolutely everywhere.
If we want to fix our problems, we need to not get dogmatic. Invest in public
u/xchoo
Here's a thought... If we speed up the transition to EVs, the CO2 emission drop will be even lesser, since EVs use minimal energy when stopped at intersections.
u/TransylvaniaRR
here's an idea: slowing down *permanently* (e.g. using public transport) can cut emissions by 100%
u/Kootenay4
I mean, this wouldn’t be a problem if we zoned like any other sane country and didn’t have everyone living 20 miles away from where they work and 20 miles in the opposite direction from where
u/BlademasterFlash
Look at the crosswalk timer for an idea of when the light will change
u/BlademasterFlash
Look at the crosswalk timer for an idea of when the light will change
u/invariantspeed
> If you wanted to address everything then you'd need better regulations on powertrains that cater specifically to powertrain and vehicle type
I disagree.
1. Most conventional engine opt
u/Kootenay4
I mean, this wouldn’t be a problem if we zoned like any other sane country and didn’t have everyone living 20 miles away from where they work and 20 miles in the opposite direction from where
u/canisdirusarctos
You can do this at home: As you approach a light, slow down unless it’s green. If it changes, speed up and congratulations - you just saved some fuel. Just keeping your vehicle in motion more
u/taosaur
In stop-and-go they're hugely efficient, because the gas engine is rarely even running and the electric motor is much less stressed by the fluctuating torque demands. And, of course, you get
u/Raiderboy105
Timers in red lights do need to happen, but starting and stopping the engine so frequently has other negative outcomes on wear and tear that make it a less ideal solution
u/The_BigDill
The solutions to climate change are always pushed on the individual. Drive slower (spend more time in your car), consume less, recycle, buy an electric car.
But the real culprits are the me
u/PancAshAsh
This would work great if jobs were not so precarious. Just because you live close to your work today doesn't mean that will hold true in a year.
u/Extreme-Rub-1379
There needs to be a slow lane where you won't get a ticket for doing 25 mph.
u/LifeIsABowlOfJerrys
Finally someone who knows cars. Some of the comments here are truly nuts.
u/TheNewsDeskFive
Eh, it's my job. I have to spend a lot of my time each week explaining really simply things just for people to argue them with me. I'm very used to this.
u/poorly_timed_leg0las
Imagine how much would be saved if they kept everyone moving.
u/canisdirusarctos
Most traffic lights have a combination of sensors and a schedule. If properly configured, the schedule should ensure that a vehicle traveling slightly under the posted speed limit will not ne
u/Mongoose49
Work from home…
u/gatosaurio
Forget about public transport, if they just stopped using those damn trucks that burn double the fuel they need for a normal commute, they could considerably reduce their energy bill
u/calgarywalker
This really is an urban planning thing. Traffic light intersections take slightly less land than traffic circles and developers get to sell that little slice of land and everyone driving get
u/Eternal_Being
Sorry, best I can do is ripping out bike lanes, reinvesting in coal, and putting a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs.
u/newphew92
What in the greenwashing? This is so painfully American of an article, there are at least 10 other options that are far superior in helping drive down emissions. Active mobility, micro mobili
u/maddruid
I wonder how much RTO is costing us.
u/maddruid
I wonder how much RTO is costing us.
u/Krow101
Get an electric car. Cut emissions to zero.
u/Jaded-Technician-774
How much would it save if we ban private jets?
u/kickerofelves86
I choose both
u/LostAbbott
Or cutting back on corporate pollution. From shipping to power generation, trying to do weird slowing of traffic and going after individuals to carry the burden just seems like more bs.
u/WhenUniversesCollide
Valid point, I don't think selling the bonus land is the only reason we use traffic lights but I'm sure it's a contributor.
u/BlademasterFlash
We can do both, they are really 2 unrelated things. We can encourage drivers to be more efficient while also investing in public transit to reduce the amount of people driving
u/taosaur
In stop-and-go they're hugely efficient, because the gas engine is rarely even running and the electric motor is much less stressed by the fluctuating torque demands. And, of course, you get
u/ILikeDragonTurtles
I hope this catches on. I have to do this because my wife has severe spinal instability. If I accelerate or decelerate too fast, it hurts her. But I just get passed and honked at repeatedly,
u/TheNewsDeskFive
Eh, it's my job. I have to spend a lot of my time each week explaining really simply things just for people to argue them with me. I'm very used to this.
u/valgrind_
This sounds ridiculous when we could just be investing in public transport.
u/egyszeruen_1xu
Good.
How about the 55 cruiseships that emitt more CO2 than all transportation in whole Europe?
u/gatosaurio
Forget about public transport, if they just stopped using those damn trucks that burn double the fuel they need for a normal commute, they could considerably reduce their energy bill
u/serious_sarcasm
Hybrid vehicles with independent drive axels are the most efficient, because every engine has an ideal working rpm.
u/Bradddtheimpaler
At the moment, I’ve got an incredibly short commute to the office. There was a time though that I was commuting an hour to work, then coming home and commuting to school an hour and fifteen
u/d-cent
Just so we are clear they are talking about autonomous style vehicles basically working as a collective. Not your standard vehicles so this is a long way out.
This would definitely work. T
u/TheNewsDeskFive
.....
Speed is a byproduct. It is a result of a number of different factors.
Gearing matters here. So does compression. And displacement. And a lot of other things
Simply reducing speed w
u/onwee
I enjoy driving in order to get the highest eco-score I could. It’s like a video game. I’m routinely in the 80’s and 90’s in my hybrid Sienna.
Though to be fair I think it makes for some uns
u/WhenUniversesCollide
Valid point, I don't think selling the bonus land is the only reason we use traffic lights but I'm sure it's a contributor.
u/[deleted]
[deleted]
u/Eternal_Being
Sorry, best I can do is ripping out bike lanes, reinvesting in coal, and putting a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs.
u/Bradddtheimpaler
At the moment, I’ve got an incredibly short commute to the office. There was a time though that I was commuting an hour to work, then coming home and commuting to school an hour and fifteen
u/nitePhyyre
BP invented the concept of "Carbon Footprint" to distract the population from the real problem: them.
u/xchoo
Here's a thought... If we speed up the transition to EVs, the CO2 emission drop will be even lesser, since EVs use minimal energy when stopped at intersections.
u/_Administrator
In some EU countries public transport is free. It takes me 1.5h to get to work using that. Or 20min by car.
But a lot of people use it, and there are separate lanes etc
u/Doppelkammertoaster
Less cars would save us even more.
u/gatosaurio
Forget about public transport, if they just stopped using those damn trucks that burn double the fuel they need for a normal commute, they could considerably reduce their energy bill
u/Eternal_Being
Sorry, best I can do is ripping out bike lanes, reinvesting in coal, and putting a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs.
u/LifeIsABowlOfJerrys
Finally someone who knows cars. Some of the comments here are truly nuts.
u/PancAshAsh
This would work great if jobs were not so precarious. Just because you live close to your work today doesn't mean that will hold true in a year.
u/DominarDio
In the Netherlands this is part of the official exam to get your driving license, has been since 2006.
u/Lawls91
This would've been great 25-30 years ago
u/TransylvaniaRR
here's an idea: slowing down *permanently* (e.g. using public transport) can cut emissions by 100%
u/TransylvaniaRR
here's an idea: slowing down *permanently* (e.g. using public transport) can cut emissions by 100%
u/safetaco
If only the traffic lights in my city weren’t red every time.
u/Doppelkammertoaster
Less cars would save us even more.
u/WhenUniversesCollide
Valid point, I don't think selling the bonus land is the only reason we use traffic lights but I'm sure it's a contributor.
u/downrightmike
Too bad one trip by elon ruins all those reductions
u/redyellowblue5031
Hypermilers have been using tricks like this for decades.
You don’t need to take it quite so far, but it basically boils down to what you said:
* Avoid heavy braking and acceleration while
u/herotonero
I started this for the fuel and brake pad / rotor savings
I continue doing this cause it's fun to optimize and judge those who gas it to the red then slam on the brakes
Also cause one of my
u/The_BigDill
The solutions to climate change are always pushed on the individual. Drive slower (spend more time in your car), consume less, recycle, buy an electric car.
But the real culprits are the me
u/Extreme-Rub-1379
There needs to be a slow lane where you won't get a ticket for doing 25 mph.
u/poorly_timed_leg0las
Imagine how much would be saved if they kept everyone moving.
u/Raiderboy105
Going slowly but not stopping is more fuel efficient, since any amount of time spent sitting at a red light is time your engine spends burning fuel to maintain your idle RPM, not even moving
u/hgq567
It’s definitely valid information but the deployment feels like the anti plastic campaign run by the plastics industry…blame the end user instead of addressing the root cause of the issue and
u/valgrind_
This sounds ridiculous when we could just be investing in public transport.
u/Placedapatow
Add in timers on red lights.
Turn your engine off
u/taosaur
In stop-and-go they're hugely efficient, because the gas engine is rarely even running and the electric motor is much less stressed by the fluctuating torque demands. And, of course, you get
u/hgq567
It’s definitely valid information but the deployment feels like the anti plastic campaign run by the plastics industry…blame the end user instead of addressing the root cause of the issue and
u/invariantspeed
Public transit works best in high density urban cores. It doesn’t work well for traveling absolutely everywhere.
If we want to fix our problems, we need to not get dogmatic. Invest in public
u/Placedapatow
Add in timers on red lights.
Turn your engine off
u/ThMogget
Regen braking. Do your fossil vehicles not have that? Going battery-electric is the key to cutting transport emissions, not weird driving tweaks.
u/calgarywalker
During the pandemic I computed that I ‘saved’ just under 4000Kg (almost 10,000 lbs) of CO2 per year just by not driving to work.
u/Troll_Enthusiast
Unfortunately the federal government doesn't want high speed rail, they recently stopped HSR from DC to NYC and DC to Baltimore.
u/KingMtnDew
Or just only make electric vehicles and phase out ICEs all together
u/invariantspeed
Zoning would mostly help with mixed use situations. It wouldn’t force people across the country into just a few urban centers.
As far as shrinking individual cities. That’s a hard sell at th
u/d-cent
Just so we are clear they are talking about autonomous style vehicles basically working as a collective. Not your standard vehicles so this is a long way out.
This would definitely work. T
u/Krow101
Get an electric car. Cut emissions to zero.
u/B_Roland
Busses also use traffic lights/stops etc.. And not everybody wants to use public transport/public transport will never be accessible enough everywhere, so the reality is that personal cars (o
u/MeltBanana
Things that kill fuel economy: accelerating, braking, turning, driving above 70mph, and bogging your engine in too low of gear.
I recently bought a brand new '25 Tacoma with a manual transmi
u/valgrind_
>This research was partially supported by the Utah Department of Transportation, United States (Project F-ST99(783)), the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award (#2239566), and an
u/JiveTrain
How about instead, follow the rest of the world and create intersections with no stop lights that you generally don't need to stop in, aka roundabouts?
u/ILikeDragonTurtles
I hope this catches on. I have to do this because my wife has severe spinal instability. If I accelerate or decelerate too fast, it hurts her. But I just get passed and honked at repeatedly,
u/ILikeDragonTurtles
Right? I once got passed by a guy driving erratically on the freeway, speeding and weaving between traffic like he was doing a Fast and Furious cosplay.
I ended up next to him at an offramp
u/valgrind_
This sounds ridiculous when we could just be investing in public transport.
u/spaceporter
I do 12,480 km of driving per year for my office days, my spouse works from home so does 0 km for work, and we do about 4,000 km in the rest of our lives.
We only had a car because we have
u/TheNewsDeskFive
I dispute "most" edit: and I already addressed that
Number 2 has nothing to do with anything. That's not speed dependent. The hybrid doesn't kick on based upon wheel speed. That's not how th
u/JiveTrain
How about instead, follow the rest of the world and create intersections with no stop lights that you generally don't need to stop in, aka roundabouts?
u/invariantspeed
> If you wanted to address everything then you'd need better regulations on powertrains that cater specifically to powertrain and vehicle type
I disagree.
1. Most conventional engine opt
u/calgarywalker
During the pandemic I computed that I ‘saved’ just under 4000Kg (almost 10,000 lbs) of CO2 per year just by not driving to work.
u/Bradddtheimpaler
I love it when people lay on their horns and zoom around me just for me to wind up directly behind them at the next red light.
u/redyellowblue5031
Hypermilers have been using tricks like this for decades.
You don’t need to take it quite so far, but it basically boils down to what you said:
* Avoid heavy braking and acceleration while
u/Doppelkammertoaster
Less cars would save us even more.
u/taosaur
In stop-and-go they're hugely efficient, because the gas engine is rarely even running and the electric motor is much less stressed by the fluctuating torque demands. And, of course, you get
u/Mongoose49
Work from home…
u/WhenUniversesCollide
We would probably put a stop sign at each entrance just to make it painful.
u/Mongoose49
Work from home…
u/Captn_Clutch
Damn that sucks. Atleast doing nothing is not as wasteful as slow light rails that nobody will use because they still gotta do yard work, cook, clean their house, and sleep for 8 hours a nigh
u/PancAshAsh
This would work great if jobs were not so precarious. Just because you live close to your work today doesn't mean that will hold true in a year.
u/invariantspeed
Zoning would mostly help with mixed use situations. It wouldn’t force people across the country into just a few urban centers.
As far as shrinking individual cities. That’s a hard sell at th
u/canisdirusarctos
Most traffic lights have a combination of sensors and a schedule. If properly configured, the schedule should ensure that a vehicle traveling slightly under the posted speed limit will not ne
u/serious_sarcasm
Frozen vegetables are almost always better than fresh from major grocery stores. And half the farm stands you see are week old shit from 500 miles away anyways.
u/invariantspeed
Zoning would mostly help with mixed use situations. It wouldn’t force people across the country into just a few urban centers.
As far as shrinking individual cities. That’s a hard sell at th
u/RVNAWAYFIVE
Now make Colorado stop lights not force tons of cars to wait at empty intersections constantly, wasting gas
u/Nellasofdoriath
This has been talked about since the 70s. There was some hope that robot cars would force the issue but that's gone now
u/canisdirusarctos
It’s a saying.
u/_Administrator
In some EU countries public transport is free. It takes me 1.5h to get to work using that. Or 20min by car.
But a lot of people use it, and there are separate lanes etc
u/-Mystica-
The problem is that the cruise, meat, and aviation industries also rely on the average individual ... the same one who drives a car every day.
u/V12TT
Public transportation only works in dense cities. I live in mid size city and my commute to work is 3-4 times faster with a car.
u/safetaco
If only the traffic lights in my city weren’t red every time.
u/invariantspeed
> It also works really well in mid density urban peripheries. And in well planned low density rural areas.
You are contradicting me by creating a specific, non-general scenario. What you
u/LeastDoctor
Why not do all of these?
People being people, though, individual action should be by design, not by choice.
u/_Administrator
In some EU countries public transport is free. It takes me 1.5h to get to work using that. Or 20min by car.
But a lot of people use it, and there are separate lanes etc
u/canisdirusarctos
You can do this at home: As you approach a light, slow down unless it’s green. If it changes, speed up and congratulations - you just saved some fuel. Just keeping your vehicle in motion more
u/valgrind_
This sounds ridiculous when we could just be investing in public transport.
u/Captn_Clutch
Right on. Give me high speed rail. You want to make people stop commuting in their individual cars? Give them a better way. 2 hours of light rails and busses is not an acceptable replacement
u/redyellowblue5031
Hypermilers have been using tricks like this for decades.
You don’t need to take it quite so far, but it basically boils down to what you said:
* Avoid heavy braking and acceleration while
u/ThMogget
Regen braking. Do your fossil vehicles not have that? Going battery-electric is the key to cutting transport emissions, not weird driving tweaks.
u/Jetberry
I used to use car2go that would monitor this kind of thing! It felt like a game and really trained how I drive!
u/StonePrism
Ah yes just what the world wants is slower transport in the future. What a terrible idea. You simply can't implement something that no one wants, it doesn't matter what the environmental bene
u/Raiderboy105
Going slowly but not stopping is more fuel efficient, since any amount of time spent sitting at a red light is time your engine spends burning fuel to maintain your idle RPM, not even moving
u/GOD-PORING
I'd walk or bike but the bike trail gets interrupted by a major road and someone was mowed over by a red light runner at the crosswalk.
u/poorly_timed_leg0las
Imagine how much would be saved if they kept everyone moving.
u/TheNewsDeskFive
.....
Speed is a byproduct. It is a result of a number of different factors.
Gearing matters here. So does compression. And displacement. And a lot of other things
Simply reducing speed w
u/MeltBanana
Things that kill fuel economy: accelerating, braking, turning, driving above 70mph, and bogging your engine in too low of gear.
I recently bought a brand new '25 Tacoma with a manual transmi
u/Raiderboy105
Timers in red lights do need to happen, but starting and stopping the engine so frequently has other negative outcomes on wear and tear that make it a less ideal solution
u/ChronicPronatorbator
cut out the growing produce in north America, shipping to china for processing, then shipping back for sale.
The world's issue is corporate greed.
u/grapescherries
Public transport is so unpleasant though. Is there a way to have it and be eco friendly where I’m not avoiding staring into someone the whole time. Where we can have our own compartment or so
u/invariantspeed
Public transit works best in high density urban cores. It doesn’t work well for traveling absolutely everywhere.
If we want to fix our problems, we need to not get dogmatic. Invest in public
u/invariantspeed
Micromobility and mass transit aren’t covering your 30 mile commute distance (the average in the US). And even in fairly dense cities, micromobility and mass transit struggle to get people ac
u/calgarywalker
This really is an urban planning thing. Traffic light intersections take slightly less land than traffic circles and developers get to sell that little slice of land and everyone driving get
u/Bradddtheimpaler
I love it when people lay on their horns and zoom around me just for me to wind up directly behind them at the next red light.
u/onwee
I enjoy driving in order to get the highest eco-score I could. It’s like a video game. I’m routinely in the 80’s and 90’s in my hybrid Sienna.
Though to be fair I think it makes for some uns
u/Nellasofdoriath
You don't have to shrink the cities, just bring people's necessities closer to them.
[This](https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/634-food-deserts/) is an article abour ehy ehen we have ha
u/No_Salad_68
I absolutely would not buy a car whose could be controlled by some external system.
u/RVNAWAYFIVE
Now make Colorado stop lights not force tons of cars to wait at empty intersections constantly, wasting gas
u/canisdirusarctos
You can do this at home: As you approach a light, slow down unless it’s green. If it changes, speed up and congratulations - you just saved some fuel. Just keeping your vehicle in motion more
u/ChronicPronatorbator
cut out the growing produce in north America, shipping to china for processing, then shipping back for sale.
The world's issue is corporate greed.
u/d-cent
Just so we are clear they are talking about autonomous style vehicles basically working as a collective. Not your standard vehicles so this is a long way out.
This would definitely work. T
u/maddruid
I wonder how much RTO is costing us.
u/Eternal_Being
Sorry, best I can do is ripping out bike lanes, reinvesting in coal, and putting a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs.
u/GOD-PORING
I'd walk or bike but the bike trail gets interrupted by a major road and someone was mowed over by a red light runner at the crosswalk.
u/newphew92
What in the greenwashing? This is so painfully American of an article, there are at least 10 other options that are far superior in helping drive down emissions. Active mobility, micro mobili
u/gatosaurio
Forget about public transport, if they just stopped using those damn trucks that burn double the fuel they need for a normal commute, they could considerably reduce their energy bill
u/spaceporter
This reply is another example that summarizes to: Individual action cannot be the solution. A lot of the costs at home are predicated on the office buildings still burning energy to remain ho
u/ricky_clarkson
Does that work well when many traffic lights have sensors? As far as I know most won't detect you until you're very close to the line.
Or when I'm biking, they just don't detect me at all. N
u/valgrind_
>This research was partially supported by the Utah Department of Transportation, United States (Project F-ST99(783)), the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award (#2239566), and an
u/serious_sarcasm
Hybrid vehicles with independent drive axels are the most efficient, because every engine has an ideal working rpm.
u/Placedapatow
Add in timers on red lights.
Turn your engine off
u/downrightmike
Too bad one trip by elon ruins all those reductions
u/DominarDio
In the Netherlands this is part of the official exam to get your driving license, has been since 2006.
u/LeastDoctor
Why not do all of these?
People being people, though, individual action should be by design, not by choice.
u/grapescherries
Public transport is so unpleasant though. Is there a way to have it and be eco friendly where I’m not avoiding staring into someone the whole time. Where we can have our own compartment or so
u/KingMtnDew
Or just only make electric vehicles and phase out ICEs all together
u/ricky_clarkson
When turning left on a bike (US) if I know the light doesn't detect bikes I will just roll on through when there's a gap. That wouldn't work for slower cyclists or busier roads..
u/MeltBanana
Things that kill fuel economy: accelerating, braking, turning, driving above 70mph, and bogging your engine in too low of gear.
I recently bought a brand new '25 Tacoma with a manual transmi
u/Extreme-Rub-1379
There needs to be a slow lane where you won't get a ticket for doing 25 mph.
u/TransylvaniaRR
here's an idea: slowing down *permanently* (e.g. using public transport) can cut emissions by 100%
u/Han_O-neem
You also save break pad, thus less highly toxic break dust in the air.
u/No_Salad_68
I absolutely would not buy a car whose could be controlled by some external system.
u/_Administrator
In some EU countries public transport is free. It takes me 1.5h to get to work using that. Or 20min by car.
But a lot of people use it, and there are separate lanes etc
u/Nellasofdoriath
You don't have to shrink the cities, just bring people's necessities closer to them.
[This](https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/634-food-deserts/) is an article abour ehy ehen we have ha
u/Jetberry
I used to use car2go that would monitor this kind of thing! It felt like a game and really trained how I drive!
u/upvoatsforall
What I’m saying is, by creating a single cruise ship with zero emissions you offset the emissions of a million cars.
The responsibility is always pushed on the 1 million vehicle owners and
u/Nellasofdoriath
This has been talked about since the 70s. There was some hope that robot cars would force the issue but that's gone now
u/0L1V14H1CKSP4NT13S
But I was told that if I wasn't constantly buying fuel and brake pads the economy would crash!
u/serious_sarcasm
Frozen vegetables are almost always better than fresh from major grocery stores. And half the farm stands you see are week old shit from 500 miles away anyways.
u/ricky_clarkson
Does that work well when many traffic lights have sensors? As far as I know most won't detect you until you're very close to the line.
Or when I'm biking, they just don't detect me at all. N
u/StonePrism
Ah yes just what the world wants is slower transport in the future. What a terrible idea. You simply can't implement something that no one wants, it doesn't matter what the environmental bene
u/invariantspeed
Zoning would mostly help with mixed use situations. It wouldn’t force people across the country into just a few urban centers.
As far as shrinking individual cities. That’s a hard sell at th
u/canisdirusarctos
You can do this at home: As you approach a light, slow down unless it’s green. If it changes, speed up and congratulations - you just saved some fuel. Just keeping your vehicle in motion more
u/maddruid
I wonder how much RTO is costing us.
u/extra_hyperbole
I did a report on hybrid working and carbon emissions during Covid for a class. Ultimately it does save some emissions, but it heavily depends on commute range, because working from home also
u/invariantspeed
Public transit works best in high density urban cores. It doesn’t work well for traveling absolutely everywhere.
If we want to fix our problems, we need to not get dogmatic. Invest in public
u/DZello
If the largest state of the American continent was as civilized, there would be far fewer problems on earth.
u/Nellasofdoriath
You don't have to shrink the cities, just bring people's necessities closer to them.
[This](https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/634-food-deserts/) is an article abour ehy ehen we have ha
u/d-cent
Just so we are clear they are talking about autonomous style vehicles basically working as a collective. Not your standard vehicles so this is a long way out.
This would definitely work. T
u/kickerofelves86
I choose both
u/ILikeDragonTurtles
I hope this catches on. I have to do this because my wife has severe spinal instability. If I accelerate or decelerate too fast, it hurts her. But I just get passed and honked at repeatedly,
u/serious_sarcasm
Frozen vegetables are almost always better than fresh from major grocery stores. And half the farm stands you see are week old shit from 500 miles away anyways.
u/ChronicPronatorbator
cut out the growing produce in north America, shipping to china for processing, then shipping back for sale.
The world's issue is corporate greed.
u/TheNewsDeskFive
Eh, it's my job. I have to spend a lot of my time each week explaining really simply things just for people to argue them with me. I'm very used to this.
u/GOD-PORING
I used to drive a little more than you do. I changed positions for better or worse closer to home and if I had to drive every M-F including Christmas, the total is now less than 1300km.
u/Krow101
Get an electric car. Cut emissions to zero.
u/ricky_clarkson
Does that work well when many traffic lights have sensors? As far as I know most won't detect you until you're very close to the line.
Or when I'm biking, they just don't detect me at all. N
u/ricky_clarkson
When turning left on a bike (US) if I know the light doesn't detect bikes I will just roll on through when there's a gap. That wouldn't work for slower cyclists or busier roads..
u/nitePhyyre
BP invented the concept of "Carbon Footprint" to distract the population from the real problem: them.
u/downrightmike
Too bad one trip by elon ruins all those reductions
u/Doppelkammertoaster
Less cars would save us even more.
u/WhenUniversesCollide
We would probably put a stop sign at each entrance just to make it painful.
u/-Mystica-
The problem is that the cruise, meat, and aviation industries also rely on the average individual ... the same one who drives a car every day.
u/Raiderboy105
Timers in red lights do need to happen, but starting and stopping the engine so frequently has other negative outcomes on wear and tear that make it a less ideal solution
u/valgrind_
This sounds ridiculous when we could just be investing in public transport.
u/invariantspeed
Micromobility and mass transit aren’t covering your 30 mile commute distance (the average in the US). And even in fairly dense cities, micromobility and mass transit struggle to get people ac
u/GOD-PORING
I used to drive a little more than you do. I changed positions for better or worse closer to home and if I had to drive every M-F including Christmas, the total is now less than 1300km.
u/upvoatsforall
A cruise ship has the emissions of something like a million vehicles. Why is climate change and pollution always blamed on individuals when industry and the biggest players in capitalism woul
u/invariantspeed
Micromobility and mass transit aren’t covering your 30 mile commute distance (the average in the US). And even in fairly dense cities, micromobility and mass transit struggle to get people ac
u/TheNewsDeskFive
Eh, it's my job. I have to spend a lot of my time each week explaining really simply things just for people to argue them with me. I'm very used to this.
u/JiveTrain
How about instead, follow the rest of the world and create intersections with no stop lights that you generally don't need to stop in, aka roundabouts?
u/egyszeruen_1xu
Good.
How about the 55 cruiseships that emitt more CO2 than all transportation in whole Europe?
u/Han_O-neem
You also save break pad, thus less highly toxic break dust in the air.
u/Bradddtheimpaler
I love it when people lay on their horns and zoom around me just for me to wind up directly behind them at the next red light.
u/Nellasofdoriath
This has been talked about since the 70s. There was some hope that robot cars would force the issue but that's gone now
u/0L1V14H1CKSP4NT13S
But I was told that if I wasn't constantly buying fuel and brake pads the economy would crash!
u/extra_hyperbole
I did a report on hybrid working and carbon emissions during Covid for a class. Ultimately it does save some emissions, but it heavily depends on commute range, because working from home also
u/onwee
I enjoy driving in order to get the highest eco-score I could. It’s like a video game. I’m routinely in the 80’s and 90’s in my hybrid Sienna.
Though to be fair I think it makes for some uns
u/ThMogget
Regen braking. Do your fossil vehicles not have that? Going battery-electric is the key to cutting transport emissions, not weird driving tweaks.
u/extra_hyperbole
I did a report on hybrid working and carbon emissions during Covid for a class. Ultimately it does save some emissions, but it heavily depends on commute range, because working from home also
u/valgrind_
>This research was partially supported by the Utah Department of Transportation, United States (Project F-ST99(783)), the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award (#2239566), and an
u/Troll_Enthusiast
Unfortunately the federal government doesn't want high speed rail, they recently stopped HSR from DC to NYC and DC to Baltimore.
u/canisdirusarctos
Most traffic lights have a combination of sensors and a schedule. If properly configured, the schedule should ensure that a vehicle traveling slightly under the posted speed limit will not ne
u/Jetberry
I used to use car2go that would monitor this kind of thing! It felt like a game and really trained how I drive!
u/KingMtnDew
Or just only make electric vehicles and phase out ICEs all together
u/No_Salad_68
I absolutely would not buy a car whose could be controlled by some external system.
u/Captn_Clutch
Right on. Give me high speed rail. You want to make people stop commuting in their individual cars? Give them a better way. 2 hours of light rails and busses is not an acceptable replacement
u/BlademasterFlash
Look at the crosswalk timer for an idea of when the light will change
u/TheNewsDeskFive
I dispute "most" edit: and I already addressed that
Number 2 has nothing to do with anything. That's not speed dependent. The hybrid doesn't kick on based upon wheel speed. That's not how th
u/The_BigDill
The solutions to climate change are always pushed on the individual. Drive slower (spend more time in your car), consume less, recycle, buy an electric car.
But the real culprits are the me
u/TheNewsDeskFive
I dispute "most" edit: and I already addressed that
Number 2 has nothing to do with anything. That's not speed dependent. The hybrid doesn't kick on based upon wheel speed. That's not how th
u/Lawls91
This would've been great 25-30 years ago
u/newphew92
What in the greenwashing? This is so painfully American of an article, there are at least 10 other options that are far superior in helping drive down emissions. Active mobility, micro mobili
u/hgq567
It’s definitely valid information but the deployment feels like the anti plastic campaign run by the plastics industry…blame the end user instead of addressing the root cause of the issue and
u/Krow101
Get an electric car. Cut emissions to zero.
u/MeltBanana
Things that kill fuel economy: accelerating, braking, turning, driving above 70mph, and bogging your engine in too low of gear.
I recently bought a brand new '25 Tacoma with a manual transmi
u/herotonero
I started this for the fuel and brake pad / rotor savings
I continue doing this cause it's fun to optimize and judge those who gas it to the red then slam on the brakes
Also cause one of my
u/unematti
Unfortunate choice of words unless you have a traffic light enabled intersection in your living room
u/WhenUniversesCollide
Valid point, I don't think selling the bonus land is the only reason we use traffic lights but I'm sure it's a contributor.
u/ricky_clarkson
When turning left on a bike (US) if I know the light doesn't detect bikes I will just roll on through when there's a gap. That wouldn't work for slower cyclists or busier roads..
u/RVNAWAYFIVE
Now make Colorado stop lights not force tons of cars to wait at empty intersections constantly, wasting gas
u/KingMtnDew
Or just only make electric vehicles and phase out ICEs all together
u/Extreme-Rub-1379
There needs to be a slow lane where you won't get a ticket for doing 25 mph.
u/TheNewsDeskFive
.....
Speed is a byproduct. It is a result of a number of different factors.
Gearing matters here. So does compression. And displacement. And a lot of other things
Simply reducing speed w
u/calgarywalker
This really is an urban planning thing. Traffic light intersections take slightly less land than traffic circles and developers get to sell that little slice of land and everyone driving get
u/kickerofelves86
I choose both
u/Captn_Clutch
Right on. Give me high speed rail. You want to make people stop commuting in their individual cars? Give them a better way. 2 hours of light rails and busses is not an acceptable replacement
u/egyszeruen_1xu
Good.
How about the 55 cruiseships that emitt more CO2 than all transportation in whole Europe?
u/serious_sarcasm
Hybrid vehicles with independent drive axels are the most efficient, because every engine has an ideal working rpm.
u/Bradddtheimpaler
I love it when people lay on their horns and zoom around me just for me to wind up directly behind them at the next red light.
u/Jetberry
I used to use car2go that would monitor this kind of thing! It felt like a game and really trained how I drive!
u/nitePhyyre
BP invented the concept of "Carbon Footprint" to distract the population from the real problem: them.
u/LeastDoctor
Why not do all of these?
People being people, though, individual action should be by design, not by choice.
u/valgrind_
>This research was partially supported by the Utah Department of Transportation, United States (Project F-ST99(783)), the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award (#2239566), and an
u/KingMtnDew
Or just only make electric vehicles and phase out ICEs all together
u/DominarDio
In the Netherlands this is part of the official exam to get your driving license, has been since 2006.
u/LifeIsABowlOfJerrys
Finally someone who knows cars. Some of the comments here are truly nuts.
u/[deleted]
[deleted]
u/0L1V14H1CKSP4NT13S
But I was told that if I wasn't constantly buying fuel and brake pads the economy would crash!
u/upvoatsforall
If you got rid of the 300 odd cruise ships operating in the world right now it would be a larger drop in emissions than removing every single passenger vehicle in Europe.
u/StonePrism
Ah yes just what the world wants is slower transport in the future. What a terrible idea. You simply can't implement something that no one wants, it doesn't matter what the environmental bene