Arming your drivers with smart driving techniques will empower them improve their vehicles fuel efficiency and coupled with an incentive – will really help improve your statistics quickly and easily.
These are our 6 tips to ensure their journey is as fuel efficient as possible:
TIP 1:
Anticipating other drivers
Make your drivers smart, with the ability to anticipate potential hazards to avoid the stop-go driving pattern of sharp braking and frequent acceleration, which leads to higher fuel consumption. Drivers that spot hazards earlier and allowing enough time for stopping improve a vehicles fuel efficiency.
TIP 2:
Using momentum
When driving down hill, the modern technology in today’s vehicles will recognise the momentum and a fuel-cut off switch will usually kick in when the driver takes their foot off the accelerator. This automatically stops the flow of fuel to the injectors in the engine, making the vehicle immediately more fuel efficient. When drivers drive in the correct gear and take their foot off the accelerator when the vehicle has momentum going down hill or they’re slowing down, rather than coasting in neutral – they will assist every single time in your fuel efficient quest.
When drivers are stuck in traffic or are in low rev’s it is more fuel efficient to dip the clutch or put the car into neutral.
TIP 3:
Speeding up
Drag – or air resistance – increases naturally when the speed of the vehicle increases, particularly on a motorway, where the majority of fuel is burned to overcome drag. Therefore, quick acceleration and high cruising speeds will lead to more drag and fuel consumption. You could consider fitting wind deflectors to your vehicle which can help to reduce drag and encourage drivers to keep the rev counter in the green band.
TIP 4:
Tyre check
We know we keep saying this – but it’s so important to have correctly inflated tyres for the load you’re drivers are carrying. If tyres are under inflated then the engine has to work harder to overcome the resistance under inflated tyres cause. We suggest a tyre check is included in the daily vehicle walk round check – and the pressure changed accordingly.
TIP 5:
Using air conditioning
When air conditioning is turned on it’s powered from the engine, which increases your fuel consumption. When the internal temperature is reduced, the system doesn’t have to work quite as hard to maintain the temperature. Drivers should be encouraged to use the air conditioning sparingly and consider having a minimum temperature on climate control options. A single degree can make a huge difference over time on your fuel consumption. The biggest ‘no no’ is to have a window open while the air conditioning is running – so drivers should also be made aware of this.
TIP 6:
Turn the engine off
If a car doesn’t have start stop technology then it’s good practice to encourage your drivers to turn off their engines when stationary in traffic if it’s safe to do so. As a general rule, if a vehicle is stationary for more than 20 seconds, we would assume it’s safe to turn the engine off – however, safety should always come first.
For additional guidance and to discuss your fleet insurance solutions, call us today.
