There are significant benefits to driving in an economical manner – and they have now been quantified by a new study.
SmartDrive Systems’ Commercial Transportation Fuel Efficiency Study shows that commercial fleets can reduce fuel consumption by an average of 22 per cent – potentially saving more than $12,500 per vehicle annually, just by engaging in better eco-driving practices.
As part of the study, 695 tractor-trailers, heavy duty trucks and drivers were evaluated across theUSto assess driving performance and the impact of training; and to offer in-vehicle instant feedback on boosting fuel economy.
The real-time in-vehicle feedback on manoeuvres and idling offered drivers the chance to adjust their driving performance as it happened; while post-training performance was measured showing substantial reductions in the number of hard accelerations, decelerations and hard turns.
According to SmartDrive President Jason Palmer, the study showed that training and in-cab feedback combined to dramatically lower wasteful manoeuvres and within two months the top 25 per cent of drivers improved fuel economy from 5.92mpg to 7.98mpg – a 22 per cent jump in real savings.
