You would think that after +16 years on the road, my driving habits would be set in stone. Not so. Ever since I started driving my Toyota Prius hybrid, my driving style has changed dramatically.
Some of it has to do with the hybrid features of the car - For example, I find myself breaking sooner, and more slowly, in order to maximize the benefits of regenerative breaking.
But it's not so much the hybrid nature of the car that is affecting how I drive. Rather, it is the amount of information it makes available to me, in real time, that has completely transformed my driving.
With the Multi-functional display (MFD), the Prius provides me with real-time fuel consumption information. I can now correlate my behavior with the car's fuel consumption. The result?
- I no longer exceed the speed limit,
- I no longer accelerate as fast as I can,
- I hardly touch the gas pedal, unless it is for a short burst of acceleration,
- I try to anticipate and plan ahead. Whereas before I used to keep my speed until just before a red light, now I let the car slow down on its own, even if I'm 300-400 yards away.
- I'm much more relaxed, sticking to the right lane.
Again, this has nothing to do with the car being hybrid - even with a regular vehicle you'll realize significant fuel savings if you apply these methods. But with no real-time indicators, we simply don't see the immediate benefit.
Imagine the gas savings we could realize if all cars would benefit from this immediate bio-feedback mechanism!
--- Oren
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