Gender-linked disparity in vehicle exhaust emissions? Results from an activity-based survey

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between the vehicle exhaust emissions caused by a trip and the characteristics of the driver involved. The hypothesis formulated is that certain ‘groups’ of individuals produce more emissions (per kilometre) than others and therefore should be treated differently when aiming vehicle emission reduction. To support this hypothesis an activity-based survey collected speed profiles and driver characteristics of different car drivers. The speed profiles of the individual trips served as input for the emission model VeTESS (Vehicle Transient Emissions Simulation Software), to calculate the instantaneous emissions made by a single vehicle. This paper reports on the differences in vehicle exhaust emissions between trips made by men and women.