The basic principle of Newtonian Physics is the relationship between speed, acceleration, force and energy indicated in the equation above. Details can be found in many references, here I have used the ISO-23795-1 definitions and mathematical description as it was checked and approved by world-wide standardization experts within ISO. For a vehicle in motion, Newton's laws seem to be complex given the amount of parameters involved above. Nevertheless, the beauty of Newton's laws lies in their simplicity with regards to key performance indicators. Forces and parameters involved as energy contributors can be grouped into behavior, vehicle and road specific forces involved during a trip of any object in motion. One can find that, compared to speed and acceleration, there are quite constant parameters such as gravitation, air resistance or friction or road surfaces. Engine efficiency and mass are fluctuating heavily with payload in temperature, but altogether fuel and energy demand approach an average of these vehicle centric parameters leading to the fact that the operation mode of speed and acceleration is the part where drivers influence energy demand the most.
ISO-23795-1 specifies how driver behavior can be analyzed in a reliable and scientific way to use this analysis for carbon footprint monitoring and for strategies to reduce fuel and energy consumption, which is fully in line with carbon emission reduction. For this, automotive researchers introduced a new measurement value which is [%] of WLTP. WLTP stands for Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure and is shown above for all speed ranges of common road networks: 1. Urban or WLTP_LOW, 2. Sub-Urban or WLTP_Middle, 3. Extra-Urban or WLTP_High and 4. Highway or WLTP_Extra-High. All vehicles drive several hundreds of time on the test labs of traffic authorities these driving cycles before they are approved to Go-to-Market! Customers have for all specific car brands the upfront information about the fuel or electric energy demand of their vehicles of choice, thus knowing costs and emissions linked to the specific mode of operation. With ISO-23795-1, the real-speed profile while driving is compared to the driving cycle identified by average speed which occurred in the time window of choice.
As eco-drive just is Physics of Driving towards an energy demand minimized by Best Practice of Driving, the [%] deviation relative to the well-known WLTP cycle turned out to be an excellent parameter to understand drivers' behavior, but also to validate road networks and tour planning for large logistics fleets including carbon footprint. Try it yourself, the LCMM APP allows you to find out better routes, at the same time optimizing your driving style.