The author analyses the fuel efficiency of private cars in relation to both technical characteristics and the socio-economic characteristics of the drivers for a sample of Dutch drivers. The age and profession of the driver, and fuel prices, have more significant effects than the gender and income of the driver, or the annual or commuting mileage.
This paper develops simple models of drivers’ speed selection behaviour both with and without the influence of speed limits using data from a section of rural road in Norway. The results indicate the importance of a number of personal characteristics on drivers’ speed selection behaviour, including age, driving experience, attitudes towards travel time savings, and perceptions of enforcement and penalties. Moral hazard effects may also be present.
A household makes a joint choice of type of vehicle(s) and rate of use. The authors’ model covers households with one, two, three, and four or more vehicles. It examines elasticities of fuel and other costs that vary with distance travelled, and the possibility of transfer to use of another vehicle within the household.
