Pinoy drivers are top fuel savers in Asia, says Shell survey

Given rising fuel costs and near-daily heavy traffic on the road, Filipino drivers are among the most street smart motorists in the world when it comes to saving fuel, findings of an international study on driving habits has shown.   Initially-released results of the latest  FuelSave Index survey commissioned by Shell indicate that among the Asian countyries surveyed, Filipino drivers ranked first in three out of the top 5 ways they can save on fuel:  

• Avoiding over-revving (79 percent);
• Reducing speed (56 percent); and
• Driving smoothly (53 percent).

The number of Filipino respondents who said they did not know how to save fuel dropped to 12 percent from 41 percent in 2010.   Covering 11 countries in Europe and Asia, the FuelSave Index surveys were also done in 2007, 2009, and 2010. Sample size per country was at 300 motorists.   Filipino drivers emerged as the most interested in advice on how to save fuel—with 97 percent answering “Yes” compared to the 52 percent response rate of the Dutch. In the 2010 results, the Philippines was 16 percentage points behind Thailand in the number of respondents who said they are “fuel savers” (64 percent) and “more conscious” about fuel efficiency (78 percent). Thailand results were 80 percent and 89 percent, respectively on these two aspects.   “Asian drivers are split on the level of cost-saving benefits possible through fuel efficiency; with motorists in Malaysia and Thailand believing they could save a substantial amount on money, but those in the Philippines, Singapore and Hong Kong estimating just a modest amount,” the 2010 FuelSave fact sheet said.   The European countries covered by the survey are Turkey, the United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, and Norway.   The 2010 survey said “73 percent of Asian drivers say they are more conscious of their fuel efficiency…compared to just 51 percent in Europe.” — ELR, GMA News