Automotive Fleet, April 2018

AUTOMOTIVE FLEET I APRIL 2018 16 T he largest increase observed this year was in the idling category Cars SUVs and light duty trucks all saw significant growth in idling while medium duty trucks heavy duty trucks and vans saw a reduction in idling The big increases in idling were on the lighter duty vehicles those that might be driven for personal use The rise could be attributable to drivers not being engaged by their companies in an effort to reduce idling said Woods Half of the vehicle segments tracked in this report posted a reduction in idling while the other half posted growth the percentage of idling growth within the light duty segments outpaced the reduction experienced by the heavier duty vehicles Idling was considered minor if it occurred for 5 10 minutes moderate if it occurred for 10 20 minutes and excessive if it occurred for 20 or more minutes Tallying up minor moderate and excessive idling numbers for cars finds that roughly 101 of all cars tracked in this years report committed idling infractions nearly double the amount in last years report Tallying up those same categories for SUVs finds that nearly 106 of all SUVs tracked in this report committed idling infractions also double the amount of last years report Light duty trucks had nearly three times as many idling infractions this year with 6 of trucks tracked this year committing idling infractions Heavy duty trucks remained essentially the same from last year in terms of idling Vans saw an overall 3 reduction in idling The biggest reduction in idling however came to the medium duty segment Idling data found that this year 18 of medium duty trucks committed some sort of idling Last year that number was 87 marking a 69 reduction in overall idling for medium duty trucks this year Medium duty heavy duty and vans are better regulated vehicle seg ments Companies place a heavy emphasis on the way these vehicles are utilized and so they drive change within the organization which is resulting in these numbers said Woods For fleets looking to reduce the amount their drivers are idling Woods recommends more engagement with drivers in order to change behavior Whether it is through an incentive program or education keep a sharper eye on idling from your assets to better manage them Manage by exception take your worst offenders and bring them toward the middle of your curve Then readjust your curve and see who are your outliers and manage them toward the middle again until youre happy with your performance said Woods He noted that often times 10 of a fleet commits 70 of infractions so better management for those outliers can have a big effect IDLING INFRACTIONS UP THIS YEAR O verall instances of fast acceleration harsh braking and speeding were down this year As was the case in the idling category lighter vehicles posted a higher percentage of infractions while larger vehicles remained flat or improved from last year Unlike the idling category however the reductions observed by the larger segments offset the growth observed by the lighter segments producing an overall reduction within the harsh braking fast acceleration and speeding categories In the harsh braking category vehicles in the car segment saw a 7 rise in the number of harsh braking infractions SUVs saw a 5 rise light duty trucks saw a 14 rise medium duty trucks saw a 18 drop heavy duty trucks saw a 02 drop and vans saw a 17 drop It is important to note that cars and SUVs which were up are often provided to drivers for both personal and business use Medium duty and heavy duty trucks along with vans are really only used for work purposes and those segments are a little more mature in their use of telematics programs the way their drivers are managed and how safety is addressed said Woods To provide some reasoning as to why harsh braking was up among lighter vehicles Woods used a typical pharma FAST ACCELERATION HARSH BRAKING AND SPEEDING DOWN DRIVER SCORECARD BENCHMARK DATA VEHICLE TYPE 2017 IDLING MINOR IDLING MODERATE IDLING EXCESSIVE IDLING TOTAL Car 15 17 19 51 SUV 14 17 19 5 Light Duty Truck 06 07 07 2 Medium Duty Truck 25 29 33 87 Heavy Duty Truck 05 06 07 18 Van 12 14 16 42 DRIVER SCORECARD BENCHMARK DATA VEHICLE TYPE 2018 IDLING MINOR IDLING MODERATE IDLING EXCESSIVE IDLING TOTAL Car 29 34 38 101 SUV 33 36 37 106 Light Duty Truck 18 20 22 6 Medium Duty Truck 01 02 02 05 Heavy Duty Truck 06 06 07 19 Van 03 04 04 11