Automotive Fleet, July 2018

Sitting in tra c its the headache of every driver and every eet manager Unfortunately tra c is not expected to get better in fact its already getting worse For example tech capital San Francisco has experienced an 80 increase in tra c since 2010 But its not just popular urban centers where tra c is becoming a problem Mid size cities are also seeing a spike in tra c Minnesotas Twin Cities Minneapolis and St Paul are expected to experience tra c jams 30 of the time in just 10 years While tra c jams are time consuming and frustrating they are also a staggering drain on U S businesses in terms of productivity operational costs and pro tability According to the American Transportation Research Institute ATRI tra c congestion cost the trucking industry 634 billion in losses in 2015 translating into an average cost of 22676 for a truck traveling an average of 100000 miles And it doesnt take much time for tra c delays to add up In the ATRI report the president of a leading freight company noted that just a ve minute daily delay of all of its vehicles would cost the business 105 million per year Adding to this costly dilemma is the prediction by the U S Department of Transportation that freight movement by truck is expected to increase by over 40 by 2045 Impacting Fleet OperationsA number of these tra c related business costs directly a ect eet operations and include Loss of revenue due to missed deliveries and customer dis satisfaction THERE IS RELIEF FOR TRAFFIC JAM HEADACHES Cost of fuel due to excessive idling Increased maintenance costs due to increased wear and tearHowever there are ways eets can minimize the impact of tra c on day to day operations Telematics in the form of advanced routing optimization can help eets nd the best routes for vehicles both in real time e g to avoid a tra c slowdown or accident and through tra c modeling to predict peak tra c times based on Time of day Day of the week Location within the city metro area Direction of tra c movementEven with advanced route optimization the reality for eets operating in urban centers is that their drivers will likely nd them selves sitting in tra c from time to time wasting fuel and in icting unnecessary wear and tear on the companys vehicles Telematics can help eets minimize fuel use and wear and tear by providing opportunities to coach drivers in fuel saving driving behaviors e g harsh acceleration or braking Sitting in tra c o en results in idling burning fuel adding unproductive hours on the engine and excessive CO emissions into the atmosphere Fleet managers can use telematics to monitor idling and set automatic cuto times for vehicles that arent equipped with stop start technology Looking AheadBuilding more freeways and public transportation networks arent a panacea to solve tra c congestion so technology will become even more crucial for eets And in addition to traditional vehicle telematics the technological solution will likely be the smart or connected city A smart city will consist of vehicle to infrastructure V2I interfaces that will moni tor tra c ow tra c control systems detours and even pedestrian tra c relaying this information to vehicle and eet management systems in real time to keep drivers productive Tra c probably wont get better but there is technological relief that eets can use today and look forward to tomorrow to beat their congestion headaches About the Author Melanie Serr is senior content editor for Geotab Get the latest insights on eet and data driven management by visiting and subscribing to the Geotab Blog www geotab com blogTRACKING TODAYBY MELANIE SERRPHOTO ISTOCKPHOTO COM MCCAIGsponsored byAF0718geotab