When you think of the trucking industry ten years ago, you probably have a specific image in your head: a truck barreling down the highway, guzzling gas and leaving behind a thick trail of exhaust—an environmental disaster. Over the past few decades, between increased environmental regulations and fleet owners looking to cut fuel costs, some revolutionary changes have taken place. Still, there’s always room for improvement, and in light of Earth Day, Omnitracs has shared some tips on how fleet owners can take proactive steps to reduce the environmental impact of their fleets.
- Monitor consistently – Use a tire pressure monitoring system to keep your tires at the proper operating inflation pressure. Not only will this ensure your trucks are properly maintained, it will also optimize your fuel economy.
- Take advantage of an advanced routing system – Advanced routing systems (such as Omnitracs’ Roadnet Anywhere) help minimize the total number of miles traveled, thus reducing the total amount of fuel used. Keep in mind that a few miles can add up quickly. On average, medium- to heavy-duty trucks get 6.5 MPG. If your fleet has 100 routes a day, and you can reduce two miles off each route every day, that’s saving 200 delivery miles, or 30 gal. of fuel every day. Added up over a year, this eliminates more than 219,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide.
- Embrace new and upcoming technology – Have you heard of platooning? If you haven’t yet, chances are that you will soon. This technology synchronizes braking and acceleration between pairs of trucks through the integration of vehicle-to-vehicle communications with state-of-the-art, radar-based collision avoidance systems, enabling the trucks to travel safely at aerodynamic following distances. Peloton and Omnitracs have partnered to bring this technology to the roads this year, generating 4.5% fuel savings for the lead truck and 10% for the follow truck in a two-truck platoon.
These tips were contributed by Cyndi Brant, senior director of product marketing at Omnitracs, and Wes Mays, director of OEM solutions at Omnitracs.
