The Freight Transport Association has rejected Department for Transport proposals to make eco-driving training a mandatory part of Driver CPC training.
James Firth, head of road freight and enforcement policy, said: “Eco-driver training can yield results, yes, but it is by no means a ‘silver bullet’ solution; its effects diminish steeply unless undertaken alongside proper fleet and driver management.
“Further, making it mandatory could easily reduce it to a box-ticking exercise, replacing the far more effective way it is currently employed as an integral part of ongoing fleet fuel management.
The association is critical of the integrity of the cost benefit analysis used by the DfT and said the consultation also failed to account for those experienced drivers that have already received eco-training.
“This proposal has been built on pretty shaky grounds and it seems to ignore the fact that industry has made huge in-roads into mitigating its carbon footprint already,” said Firth.
