Smart Driving–Every Mile Counts© is a Green Driving America project for Vermont Town Energy Committees that will show drivers the benefits of SMART DRIVING:
reduce emissions and fossil fuel use, improve air quality, and save money.
THIS IS A DEVELOPING PROJECT WITH A PLANNED ROLLOUT FOR SPRING 2026
Wayne Michaud, Green Driving America executive director, will seek funding
for a project that will work with Vermont TECs to give 10 to 15 webinar or in-person presentations in 2026 that will primarily show Vermont drivers smart driving tips for light-duty internal combustion engine vehicles*. Among these will be ACCELERATE AND BRAKING SMOOTHLY, WATCH SPEED, and AVOID UNNECESSARY IDLING. We will even show how smart driving goes hand-in-hand with plug-in vehicle range optimization.
This project is expected to consult or partner with one or more Vermont organizations whose advocacy includes an interest in / connections with the state's Town Energy Committees, and that address the issues of climate change, energy waste, fossil fuel use, and air pollution, including in part how these issues have an impact on the transportation sector.
*Despite cleaner vehicle inroads made in Vermont, as of 2023, more than 90% of light-duty vehicle fuel types on the road in Vermont were gasoline and diesel, as opposed to vehicles that release less tailpipe emissions or none at all: hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and all-electrics
THE PROBLEM: Most of us are not aware of it, but here's a few inefficient, highly impactful driving scenarios played out thousands of times daily by Vermont drivers:
• continuing to accelerate after a traffic light ahead turns red, ending in a hard stop
• speeding and tailgating
• idling continuously while parked, browsing on a smartphone
• driving a gas guzzling vehicle (but even with such vehicles, employing our smart driving tips will improve fuel economy and lessen tailpipe toxins)
HOW A DIFFERENCE CAN BE MADE: With our Smart Driving–Every Mile Counts presentations, drivers are primarily shown the benefits of smart driving practices. Also shown is an introduction of low- to zero-emission vehicles. Plus, a brief segment on alternatives to driving.
The BIG WIN-WIN benefits:
• saving $200+ a year in fuel use, maintenance, and repair costs
• reductions in CO2 emissions, energy waste, and pollution
• and how a smart driver equates to being a safer driver
Credit: VECAN
Smart Driving-Every Mile Counts
Presentation Details
The Smart Driving-Every Mile Counts project for Vermont Town Energy Committees features a webinar or an in-person presentation that can be standalone or part of a workshop. It is intended to be about 45-minutes: a 30-minute slideshow, including two videos, and a discussion period. It can be given by a knowledgeable guest speaker, such as a member of a Vermont organization that is partnering with Green Driving America, and/or by a TEC member. If conducted as a webinar, Green Driving America executive director Wayne Michaud can give an introduction remotely.
SMART DRIVING TIPS SLIDESHOW CONTENT:
• Accelerate and brake smoothly: reduce fuel use and brake wear, and maintain some vehicle momentum by coasting (in gear) to traffic lights that have changed to red 1/8 to 1/4 mile down the road
• Watch speed: reduce fuel use by staying within or close to the posted speed limit
• Avoid unnecessary idling: reduce fuel use and toxic emissions by limiting warm-up idling, even in cold weather (driving is the best way to warm up), and while parked
• Extra weight: when possible, avoid extra weight in the trunk/hatch which causes the engine to work harder, increasing fuel use; likewise for weight on a roof rack, plus an aerodynamic drag affect
• Proper tire inflation: avoid under-inflated tires, causing increased rolling resistance with a corresponding increase in fuel use
• Perform tune-ups/maintenance: proactive vehicle maintenance, particularly through regular tune-ups, is key to ensuring that your car continues to perform effectively and safely
• Use air conditioning selectively: in general, with AC, the best way to save fuel is to use it at high speeds and open windows at low speeds...this method helps cut fuel costs while reducing your carbon footprint
• Two videos: the health impact of tailpipe toxins, and an overall recap on the benefits of smart driving practices
ENGAGEMENT: with additional time following the presentation, a presenter, with knowledge of the issue of climate change, energy savings and transportation efficiency, will lead a Q and A / discussion session.
A PDF HANDOUT supplementing presentation content is available for distribution.
These presentations will be funded and given at no cost to Vermont TEC audiences.
Our Continuing Experience in Vermont
Green Driving America's predecessor, Idle-Free VT, was founded in Vermont in 2006. Following achievement of nonprofit status in 2013, the organization implemented 120 green driving presentations in the classroom and 11 idle-free schools student-led, measured studies/campaigns, with funding by the former High Meadows Fund and the Vermont Community Foundation. After relocation to California in 2016, this work has continued in Vermont to this day: The Clean Transportation Path project (60 STEM and driver education classroom presentations) from 2022 to 2024, with funding by the Climate Catalysts Innovation Fund of the Vermont Council on Rural Development and an Upper Valley foundation that wishes to remain anonymous. The latter funding source is now supporting our Schools Are Not Drive-Thrus project for fall 2025: idle-free studies/campaigns at U-32 Middle & High School and Windsor High School.
Presentation PowerPoint Preview and Videos
FOR TOWN ENERGY COMMITTEES:
Below is a preview of our Smart Driving-Every Mile Counts PowerPoint presentation: a YouTube video of images (three minutes in length, each slide advancing in 14 seconds), not narrated, from the full, animated slide presentation shown; the presenter provides elaboration on the slides. NOTE: this video PowerPoint may not be the current version shown.
Also below are YouTube videos of the two videos included in the presentation.
NOTE: The Smart Driving-Every Mile Counts© presentation is copyrighted and the property of Green Driving America Inc. It may not be used or recorded without permission. The other videos below are open source and may be freely used.