Denver Drivers Learn How to Boost Fuel Economy

Around 400 Denver residents, including the city's mayor, are part of an ongoing experiment to see if drivers can be trained to drive "greener."

A device in their cars will track whether they are braking suddenly or speeding excessively, or if they have other bad driving habits. The goal of the test is to link aggressive driving with excessive fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions.

David Armitage, CEO of Cartasite, the company that makes the device, says collecting data from several hundred vehicles is key. That's because the program's goal goes beyond just rating individuals. Armitage says the data will help define aggressive driving.

"The goal of the first study is really to enable us to define that shape of that bell curve and understand what normal behavior is. Once we've done that, we will take that information, and we can put it right back into the device."

Zachary Barr reports from Colorado Public Radio.