Fuel Efficient. Cost Effective.
Last year, truckers hauled 70 percent of all freight moved in the U.S., or 10 billion tons, with volumes expected to increase by 17 percent over the next decade. It takes a lot of fuel to move all that freight.1
As every fleet manager knows, fuel is a major expense—on average, approximately 60 percent of a fleet's total operating costs2—as well as one of the most toxic sources of pollution. Unfortunately, trucks aren't the most fuel-efficient vehicles. The average fleet has a median fuel economy of 6.5 miles per gallon, while the average passenger vehicle in the U.S. gets roughly 25 miles per gallon. 1
That's why every fleet closely examines all possible ways to increase fuel efficiency. And that's why the National American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) has launched Run on Less, a first-of-its-kind cross-country roadshow to showcase advances in fuel efficiency. During the three-week program, which runs Sept. 6-24, drivers from seven participating fleets will demonstrate the different technologies Class 8 trucks can use to optimize fuel efficiency. SmartDrive is proud to be the video-based safety sponsor of Run on Less, enabling the drivers to capture footage from the road and share their progress in completing their assigned routes with video clips posted to the Run on Less website and the SmartDrive blog.
While most fleets adopt the SmartDrive® video-based platform for its measurable safety benefits—the ability to easily identify and correct areas of risk to prevent collisions—the platform also provides a clear pathway to improve fuel efficiency. Bad driving habits such as speeding and hard braking are not only dangerous, they also waste fuel. Furthermore, according to SmartDrive data, drivers who have been involved in one or more collisions achieve on average 7.5 percent lower MPG than drivers who haven't been involved in a collision. By identifying drivers involved in collisions and those who are speeding and hard braking, SmartDrive fleet customers can tailor coaching to improve driving skills, and reduce fuel consumption by 2 percent on average3. A key element of this identification is the ability to collect the rich information that links safety and accurate fuel measurement.
As a whole, the trucking industry consumed 54 billion gallons of fuel last year, including 39 billion gallons of diesel. 1 And with diesel prices recently topping the $2.60 per gallon mark for the first time in more than two years4, the industry can't afford to become complacent or ease up on applying proven and innovative fuel reduction strategies.
No matter the price of a gallon of fuel, it's important to continue monitoring your fuel usage and finding ways to reduce it. As NACFE states, "Success for us is getting the $70 billion back into the pockets of fleets and operators, and cutting fleet fuel bills significantly."
Check our blog frequently during Run on Less for Stories from the Road and see what drivers see as they travel our great country!
View more Run on Less Videos Here:
Video #1 Clark Reed, Nussbaum Transportation
Video #2 Henry Albert with Albert Transportation Inc
1Trucks.com, October 17, 2016
2Automotive Fleet, May 30, 2017
3Collision Graphic: SmartDrive SmartIQ® Beat Snapshot for Trucking
4Commercial Carrier Journal, August 29, 2017
Tags: Fuel Efficient, NACFE, National American Council for Freight Efficiency, Run on Less, transportation, video safety
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