I had my first tussle with our new office cars today. We have got a fleet of Smart cars which we keep at the Chamber and use to drive to meetings. This saves us all bringing our own cars into work and reduces our carbon footprint.

The first challenge was finding where to put the key - I finally discovered that it goes in between the seats instead of by the steering wheel.  My next problem came when I tried to change gear by pressing down on the clutch pedal. There is no clutch pedal!  So I came to a very sudden halt.  After a short break to read the user manual, I eventually managed to start the car, move off, and even change gears.  Not too pleased when it started hailing and I had to locate and use the windscreen wipers and lights whilst travelling.  My colleague Iain has just told me there is a button you can press which makes the gears change automatically - I'll get him to show me that later.

So far, driving a Smart car has not been easy for me. But we should all think about making changes to benefit the environment. It is not a peripheral issue for businesses but an absolutely vital consideration for us all.  If we don't make major - and difficult - changes, we can only expect more floods of the kind we experienced in 2007, along with other weather extremes which will disrupt the economy. Have a look at our new Quarterly Transport Update for ideas on smarter driving.

Sheffield Chamber's Transport Forum is planning a conference on Sustainable Transport.  If you have any thoughts on what you would like to be included in such an event, please contact Iain.Smith@scci.org.uk