There has been some resistance to the Australian government’s push of the Intelligent Access Program (IAP),  for trucks using Higher Mass Limits which plans to enable better road usage for trucks adopting the program.

“The program gives heavy vehicles access to 14,000 kilometres of the state road network,” says Michael Daley, NSW Roads Minister

“There are also significant economic benefits by allowing transport operators to safely carry heavier loads on approved routes.”

Companies have until June 30 (or six weeks after for Queensland) to install GPS monitoring technology in heavy vehicle cabs or risk losing access to more than 10,000 kilometres of road across NSW.

Despite the obvious reluctance of many companies to take on the new tracking systems, the benefits of a good implemented system will far outway the costs.

Integrated Solutions Magazine in the U.S. recently published an article on how a GPS tracking system by Telogis is helping save Namasco Corp $500,000 per year in fuel costs alone (read full article). This is but one of many success stories of a well integrated system and how it’s helping to see companies through the current financial instability.

Read more on the IAP here.

Iowa – Oct 5th, 2006. A truck company representative who declined to give his or the driver’s names said, the driver “didn’t see the low-bridge signs.” (Photo courtesy: Matt Ryerson/The Daily Iowan)

Davenport, Iowa – Nov 18th, 2008. This truck had it’s top literally ‘peeled off’ after making it completely through a railroad overpass before realizing that the truck was too tall. (Photo courtesy: Larry Fisher/Quad-City Times)

Greensboro, Carolina – Oct 1st, 2007. The driver of a tractor trailer used her best judgment to drive under this railway bridge but misjudged by 18 inches. (Photo courtesy: Amy Dominello / News & Record)

Kansas – Feb 15th, 2006. On Interstate 70 just west of Hays, a semi-tractor trailer, hauling a track hoe excavator, hit a bridge causing the boom to crash right through the bridge. (Photo courtesy: Steven Hausler/AP Photo)

The amazing part about these accidents is that it’s really not uncommon. You only have to misjudge a bridge height by an inch and you’ll peel the top like a sardine tin. These days though, truck drivers don’t have much excuse because industry leading Fleet and Truck GPS systems now include truck attributes for every road.

Truck Attributes?

There are all sorts of road restrictions throughout the US (and they vary in every state), specifying what types of vehicles are allowed in certain streets, bridges and tunnels and so on. The obvious ones are the ones that clearly (as seen above) just don’t fit. The not so obvious ones may be whether the size of your trailer length can handle a turn from this street to that street without knocking down people’s fences. Or whether the load you are moving is legally allowed on this road at this time of day and/or season.

It’s a good thing that there is now software to handle and process this information for you. To utilise this data a truck driver simply needs to enter the weight, height, width and some other attributes about their load into the system and the software will route to your destination on the safest and most fuel efficient route.

Although new hybrid cars and bio-fuels seem like great alternatives for reducing your fuel consumption, most people either can’t afford to upgrade or simply don’t have access to these new alternatives.

AA Insurance, New Zealand recently held a rally which aimed to show motorists how they can slash their fuel bills by choosing a fuel-efficient car and driving it in a fuel efficient manner.

A record 59 vehicles entered this year’s four-day rally around the North Island. They were put to the test with a combination of driving on motorways, unsealed roads, rural state highways, and in peak-hour city congestion. The AA ENERGYWISE Rally is held every two years and is jointly organised by the AA, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), and Gull Petroleum New Zealand.

The Driver Award, for the team that beat the manufacturer-stated fuel use of their vehicle by the highest percentage, went to the Trade Me team which drove the Holden HSV Maloo. They reduced their fuel consumption by 39.5%, achieving 9.497 litres per 100km instead of the manufacturer-stated fuel use of 15.7 litres per 100km.

What does it take to drive economically?

When the winner of the driver award was asked what tips they could give drivers in order to drive more efficiently they responded “Plan ahead, keep momentum and use the accelerator like it’s a piece of horse poo with a hard crust”. Perhaps a crude analogy but a great tips none-the-less!

Planning ahead is easy when you have the time to plan your trip and know where you are going, but what about when you don’t? This is where in-vehicle GPS systems come in.

A good GPS system will plan ahead for you and make sure that you take the quickest and most fuel efficient route to your destination. Limiting the amount of stops and time witing at lights in order to keep that momentum. If you are part of a fleet of vehicles then there’s also GPS systems to handle that too!

Fleet GPS systems will organise your routes according to your next job or location taking the hassle out of planning your day and a great system will also take into account peak traffic times, speed limits and roads restricted by the size of your vehicle.

Read more about the AA Energywise Rally.

Photo Coutesy: AA EnergyWise Rally