15 June 2001: Danish postmen stand accused of undermining their employer's environmental policies by driving too fast in delivery cars and vans. The Danish post office's fuel consumption has risen for the first time in five years despite heavy investment in training and the purchase of more efficient new vehicles.
"With such a young fleet, fuel consumption should have fallen markedly", post office environmental head Søren Boas told Jyllands-Posten newspaper. "But to our astonishment this has not happened, and the likely explanation is that too many are treading too hard on the accelerator. Even though we hold courses on eco-friendly driving, it's only a couple of weeks before people revert to their old bad habits."
Measures under consideration include the installation of warning lights that flash when the driver exceeds certain limits, and bonuses for eco-friendly drivers, Mr Boas said. Speed-limiters have been ruled out for the time being on safety grounds.
The post office's 4,716 vehicles burned 17.2m litres of fuel last year, as against 16.9m in 1999.
