Fleet efficiency is a concern for every fleet manager and every business owner who depends on a fleet of vehicles for company operations. While many variables impact fleet efficiency, few do so more than driver behavior. Your employees’ driving habits affect fuel consumption, vehicle wear, vehicle tear, maintenance needs and overall safety. Left unchecked, poor driving habits can destroy a fleet’s ability to function. Put to good use, and your drivers can add serious numbers to your bottom line.
Rapid acceleration demands more power from the engine, leading to higher fuel consumption and greater strain on engine components.
Understanding Driver Behavior
Driver behavior includes all actions a driver may take while operating a vehicle. Some of these drastically influence fuel efficiency and may increase the amount of wear your fleet vehicles experience. We’re going to explore the five driving habits having the most significant impact on fuel consumption.
Speeding
Driving at excessive speeds is one of the most common driving behaviors negatively affecting fuel efficiency and adds wear to fleet vehicles. Traveling at high speeds increases air resistance, which forces the engine to work harder, leading to more fuel consumption. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, every five miles per hour driven over 50 miles per hour equates to paying an additional $0.18 per gallon for gas.
Accelerating
Aggressive acceleration can significantly reduce fuel efficiency. Smooth and gradual acceleration allows the engine to operate more efficiently. Rapid acceleration demands more power from the engine, leading to higher fuel consumption and greater strain on engine components.
Lane Changes
Frequent and aggressive lane changes also impact fuel efficiency. This is because constantly changing lanes involves acceleration and braking, which are less fuel-efficient than maintaining a steady speed.
Idling
Idling, or keeping an engine running while a vehicle is stationary, wastes significant fuel and increases vehicle wear. Modern engines are designed to use less fuel when restarted compared to idling for extended periods. For example, idling for more than 10 seconds uses more fuel than restarting the engine.
Harsh Braking
When drivers frequently and harshly brake, they tend to slow to lower speeds compared to smooth and gradual braking. The practice of aggressive braking wastes established momentum, leading to more fuel consumption because it takes more fuel to accelerate than to maintain speed. Smooth and gradual braking saves fuel and reduces wear and tear on the braking system, transmission and engine. Predictive driving, which involves anticipating traffic conditions and slowing down gradually, is key to fuel efficiency.
The Impacts of Driver Behavior
It’s pretty easy to see certain driver behaviors impact fleet efficiency, but how significant are the effects?
Fuel Consumption
Improving driver behavior can lead to substantial savings on fuel costs.
Driver behavior directly affects how much fuel a vehicle uses. Efficient driving habits such as maintaining a steady speed, gentle acceleration and minimizing idling significantly reduce fuel consumption. The opposite is also true. Some studies show aggressive driving can increase fuel use by up to 40%. Improving driver behavior can lead to substantial savings on fuel costs.
Engine and Vehicle Wear
Poor driving habits can significantly increase vehicle wear in various ways, leading to a shorter lifespan and increased maintenance and repair costs. Here are a few of the most common impacts:
- Tires: excessive acceleration and braking wear through tread more quickly
- Brakes: like tires, harsh braking causes more wear on brake pads and rotors
- Engines: aggressive acceleration and idling place unnecessary strain and hours of use on an engine
- Transmission: aggressive acceleration and braking result in excessive and unnecessary shifting of gears, leading to a shorter transmission life
Increase in Maintenance and Repairs
With increased wear and tear comes a greater need for maintenance. Adopting smoother driving practices can reduce the frequency of maintenance and help save money.
Shorter Vehicle Lifespan
When you consider all the ways poor driver behavior impacts vehicle wear, it should come as no surprise that when a vehicle is driven hard, it tends not to last as long. If your drivers speed, rapidly accelerate and harshly brake, you may have to replace those vehicles sooner than expected.
Safety
Driver behavior affects much more than fuel economy and the condition of your fleet vehicles; it also significantly impacts road safety. Aggressive driving increases the risk of accidents, which can lead to costly injuries and increased insurance premiums.
Monitoring Driver Behavior
Understanding how driver behavior affects a fleet is one thing; effectively making changes is much more challenging. Fleet managers are tasked with monitoring employees and addressing training needs as they arise. Fortunately, there are two great tools that help with this: fuel cards and telematics.
Fuel Cards
Fuel cards, also known as fleet cards, are a payment method for fueling vehicles and paying for fleet-related expenses. These cards track purchase data in real-time and offer detailed reports, including the amount of fuel bought; the time and location of the purchase; and the vehicle being fueled. These reports can help fleet managers identify patterns of inefficient fuel use, such as frequent refueling, which may indicate poor driving habits.
A fleet fuel card can be used with GPS and telematics systems for greater insight into driver behavior.
Telematics
Like fleet cards or business gas cards, telematics systems provide real-time data. However, this information is all about vehicle and driver performance. These systems use GPS technology and onboard diagnostics to monitor various parameters, including speed, acceleration, braking, idling time and fuel consumption. Telematics data can be used to create driver scorecards, highlighting areas where drivers can improve their behavior.
Benefits of Telematics
- Real-time monitoring: Telematics allow fleet managers to monitor driving behavior in real-time, enabling immediate feedback and corrective actions.
- Data analysis: By analyzing telematics data, managers can identify trends in driver behavior. This information can be used for training and developing strategies to improve fuel efficiency and safety.
- Maintenance alerts: Telematics systems can also provide alerts for maintenance issues, helping to prevent breakdowns and extend vehicle life.
- Driver accountability: Monitoring their driving behavior can encourage employees to adopt safer and more fuel-efficient habits.
Integrating Fuel Cards and Telematics
Combining the data from fuel cards and telematics systems provides a comprehensive view of driver behavior. For example, if a fuel card report shows unusually high fuel consumption for a particular vehicle, telematics data can help identify the specific behaviors contributing to this inefficiency.
Implementing a Monitoring Program
To effectively use fuel cards and telematics to improve driver behavior, there are a few things to consider
- Goal setting: Define your goals for the monitoring program, such as reducing fuel consumption by a certain percentage or improving driver safety scores.
- Driver training: Ensure drivers understand the monitoring program’s benefits and how it works. Provide training on efficient driving practices and the importance of adhering to them.
- Use data for feedback: Regularly review the data collected from fuel cards and telematics. Provide feedback to drivers on their performance and offer suggestions for improvement.
- Reward positive behavior: Implement a reward system to incentivize good driving habits. Recognizing and rewarding drivers for fuel-efficient and safe driving can motivate others to follow suit.
- Continuous improvement: Use the data to continuously refine and improve your monitoring program. Stay updated with the latest technologies and best practices in telematics and fuel management.
Get More from Your Drivers and Get More from Your Fleet
Understanding how driver behavior impacts fuel efficiency is crucial for individual drivers and fleet managers. Speeding, aggressive acceleration, frequent lane changes, idling and harsh braking can all significantly increase fuel consumption and vehicle wear, leading to inefficiencies.
Monitoring and improving driver behavior using fuel cards and telematics can lead to substantial fuel savings, reduced maintenance costs, improved safety and a more efficient fleet.