An overwhelming majority of Italians would like to do their driving tests again in order to learn how to use their gas-guzzlers more cleanly, according to a survey out Friday.
More than 80% of Italians said they were "very" or "quite" interested in learning how to pollute less - and save on petrol costs.
Almost half, more than 47%, said they "very interested".
Women were more interested than men in saving petrol.
The poll was released at the annual conference of Euromobility, an organisation that campaigns to make all kinds of transport more sustainable.
The conference heard that a programme called Eco-drive had just been launched in Italy with high hopes.
Eco-drive has been shown to have "significantly" reduced harmful emissions in nine European Union countries, the conference was told.
A survey of Italy's most polluted cities was also released at the conference, showing that the big cities of the north have the most problems with smog and fine-particle (PM10) pollution.
Verona was the worst offender, followed by Padua, Venice, Turin, Bologna and Milan, which all had unsafe levels virtually every day.
Rome came next, followed by Palermo and Naples.
Two Sicilian cities, Messina and Cagliari, had safe levels throughout January and February.
Italy's northern regions have joined forces to combat smog and held their first one-day traffic ban throughout their territories on February 25
The initiative, organised independently of the central government in Rome, involves Lombardy, Piedmont, Veneto and Emilia Romagna and the provinces of Trento and Bolzano.
Plans involve a complete ban on the most polluting vehicles by 2010.
GOVT TO TACKLE POLLUTION 'EMERGENCY'.
Environment Minister Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio said in January that addressing the "emergency" depicted by recent pollution reports should be the government's top priority.
In 2006 PM10 levels repeatedly exceeded limits that experts consider dangerous for health, according to environmental group Legambiente.
About 70% of PM10 pollution in cities such as Milan and Rome is allegedly caused by traffic pollution.
In recent years several cities have held occasional 'no-car' days in a bid to bring PM10 levels down. Others have introduced rules that limit circulation on Thursdays.
Rome city hall, along with administrators in several northern cities, has just scheduled a series of traffic bans and restrictions for the spring as part of an anti-smog campaign.
But critics say such one-off measures fail to tackle the real problem, which they say is structural and should be addressed with measures to reduce the number of cars in circulation permanently.
According to figures released recently by the World Health Organisation, between 2002 and 2004 PM10 caused an average of 8,220 deaths a year in Italy. It was responsible for 742 cases of lung cancer, 2,562 heart attacks and 329 strokes.
