Effects of an On-Board Safety Device on the Emissions and Fuel Consumption of a Light Duty Vehicle

Vehicle emissions and fuel consumption are significantly affected by driving behavior. Many studies of eco-driving technology such as eco-driving training, driving simulators and on-board eco-driving devices have reported potential reductions in emissions and fuel consumption. Use of on-board safety devices is mainly for safety, but also affects vehicle emissions and fuel consumption. In this study, an on-board safety device was installed to alert the driver and provide several types of warning to the driver (e.g. headway monitoring warning, lane collision warning, speed limit warning, etc.) to improve driving behavior. A portable emissions measurement system (PEMS) was used to measure vehicle exhaust concentrations, including hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO₂) and nitrogen oxides (NO_x). The driving parameters including vehicle speed, acceleration and position were also recorded. A specific test route was designed for the experiment to investigate both urban and highway conditions. The driving parameters and emissions data were compared before and after the installation of the on-board safety device with the same driver. The Vehicle Specific Power (VSP) methodology was applied to evaluate the effects of the on-board safety device on driving behavior. The results indicated that the device had a positive effect on the driver's driving behavior. The percentage of time spent on excessive speeding and strong acceleration decreased from 22.2% to 14.7%. As a result, an average reduction of 25% in fuel consumption was observed. In addition, HC, CO₂ and NO_x emissions showed a reduction of 57%, 25% and 9% respectively. However, CO emission was increased and the time spent on idling showed no change with the installation of the device.