My heart is in my mouth as my car heads down the hill at just under 40mph and I resist the instinct to slam on the brakes as the leafy country lane curves to the left. It feels like the driving equivalent of skiing down a black run.
My male passenger tells me: "Keep going! Don't brake and don't slow down." My initial fear turns to adrenalin and a newfound confidence as I realise I can do it – and that I am firmly in control.
Five minutes later I'm at it again, ignoring the urge to "hug" the left-hand verge and gradually moving over to the right of the road, opening up the view ahead where I am relieved to find there are no cars heading into my path.
For me, a reluctant and unenthusiastic driver, this apparent kamikaze mission seems an odd thing to be doing on a rainy Saturday morning. But it is for two excellent causes: the environment and my bank balance.
Next to me is driving instructor Mark Robins – only the second in my life since I learned to drive nearly 35 years ago. He is here to show me how to improve my driving and, importantly, how to drive more efficiently in order to conserve fuel and slash my mounting fuel bills.
With energy costs soaring, fuel conservation is a huge consideration for all drivers and a huge drain on the household budget. Robins is employed by the Institute of Advanced Motorists' (IAM) commercial subsidiary, Drive & Survive, which regularly provides coaching sessions for the fleet drivers of large corporate clients and individuals.
Staggeringly, the average driver can shave at least £300 off the annual fuel bill simply by changing their driving habits. A survey by Continental Tyres found that poor driving costs more than £1bn a year – or £18,000 over the driving lifetime of the average motorist (at today's fuel prices). It revealed that nine in 10 people are worried about the rising cost of fuel, yet 40% admit to being completely clueless (like me) when it comes to eco-driving.
Combined with regular, basic checks such as tyre pressure and getting rid of unnecessary loads such as roof racks and empty roof boxes (they are huge gas-guzzlers because they increase drag), motorists can save as much as 20%. Robins says that by the end of the hour-and-a-half coaching session with me – through his organisation's so-called "Ecolution" programme of eco-driving – he hopes to have improved the efficiency of my driving (measured in miles per gallon) by at least 10% and ideally by 20%.
Before we set off we have a quick briefing session and I explain that I'm about as opposite to a petrolhead as it's possible to be. I've driven since I passed my test shortly after my 17th birthday. But in that time I have never owned a car, instead progressively ruining the clutches of the vehicles belonging to my nearest and dearest – starting with my mum's Renault 6 which was never quite the same again. Later, living and working in London, I relied on public transport. But now I live in a rural area in East Suffolk – and with a teenage daughter whose diary is more complicated than mine – I've had to bite the bullet and accept I need to drive.
I usually share my husband's automatic saloon but have been lent a sporty little (diesel) Peugeot 308 – with manual gears – for this exercise, which I've been driving for a week beforehand. It has an on-board computer to monitor my driving, although the more serious analysis will take place during the lesson.
I also confess that I rarely plan a journey in advance, and often don't leave enough time to get from A to B. Sometimes I even wonder if I would pass today's more rigorous driving test.
Robins has devised a local route about 10 miles long, incorporating a variety of gradients, junctions and crossroads and switching from the main A12 dual carriageway to windy one-way tracks. I am going to drive it three times, with Robins monitoring my performance and then giving tips for sustained improvement.
He says it won't be as challenging as driving in London or another City centre, but that it will throw up hazards of its own; in this part of East Anglia, you are more likely to encounter a farm vehicle suddenly emerging from a field than a bus, for example.
We set off on what seems to be the familiar school run before turning down an unfamiliar lane. But already several clear themes are emerging. Robins stresses: "The main thing is to keep your wheels moving at all times – try not to stop unless you absolutely have to. And to do that you need to look ahead and try and anticipate what is coming up."
Throughout, he emphasises that safety must never be compromised. And the importance of keeping the wheels rolling is reflected in the fact that 30% of all accidents are "rear-end shunts", when a vehicle ploughs into the back of a stationary one.
The lesson feels light years away from the days of the basic "mirror, signal, manoeuvre" instruction, and I sense that as well as shaking off bad habits I am being teased well out of my comfort zone. At junctions and roundabouts, for example, I am urged to think positively in terms of the spaces I can move into, rather than vehicles that are preventing me from moving forward.
Robins also advises me to always drive in the highest possible gear for the speed I am doing, but without letting the engine labour – and for the longest time possible without braking. And in no situation (as if!) must I do "racing starts" at traffic lights, instead accelerating gradually and moving up the gears quickly.
He recommends that, where gradients allow, I consider missing out gears when accelerating and slowing to save wear and tear – going straight down from third to first when approaching a junction, for example.
And it is about time I pay attention to the revolutions-per-minute dial on the control panel and change gear early – at 2,000rpm – for diesel, and at around 2,500rpm for a vehicle with petrol.
Consistency is crucial to conserving fuel and I am advised to drive within the speed limit but avoiding excessive braking and acceleration. The faster you go, the more fuel you use.
So driving at 70mph, for example, uses up to 9% more fuel than at 60mph and up to 15% more than at 50mph. To optimise fuel savings he advises that I keep below about 65mph on dual carriageways and motorways.
Robins explains: "Driving with anticipation can really pay off. Look ahead beyond your normal range of vision and imagine your eyes are on stalks. Look out for clues that might indicate a junction coming up – such as street lights – or white posts for a river."
On the wiggly back roads, he encourages me to move over to the other (wrong) side of the road on a bend, which to my great surprise opens up visibility ahead to an enormous extent. If I spot an oncoming vehicle I see it sooner, rather than later, and am seen (hopefully) as proactive, rather than aggressive, by the other driver.
In the second outing he runs through his suggested tips for improvement. And in the third and final session, he just gives me the occasional prompt. I don't feel under pressure but I feel challenged.
Back at my house, we look at the readings that he has taken. On the first run I have achieved 53.2mpg, for 33 minutes, at an average speed of 21mph; in the second 57.3mpg, taking less time at 28 minutes and with a higher average speed of 24mph. And I am chuffed at the results for the third journey – a vastly improved 62.7mpg, taking 27 minutes and with an average speed of 25mph. The overall percentage gain is 18% which means Mark has met his target.
