The True Cost of Engine Idling in Fleet Management Rastrac Team | May 2, 2018 12:19:13 PM

One of the goals of utilizing an effective GPS fleet management system is to optimize your operations and make everything more efficient. Part of this is done by keeping drivers on task and by reducing engine idle times. The reason for this is that excessive idling wastes not only a driver’s time (time is money, after all), but it also increases their gas usage and the wear and tear their fleet vehicle endures each day.

But, surely, engine idling can’t be all that bad. It’s got to be better than constantly turning your engine on and off throughout a trip whenever you have to stop and wait for a bit, right?

Let’s find out if that’s really the case.

The Cost of Idling to Your Wallet

According to the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), “An idling car uses between 1/5 to 7/10 of a gallon of fuel an hour. An idling diesel truck burns approximately one gallon of fuel an hour.” Considering that AAA reports the national average cost of regular gas in the U.S. is $2.81 per gallon ($3.067 for diesel) as of May 1, that means you’re potentially wasting more than $2 or $3 for each hour of idle time.

According to research cited by the U.S. Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, the idle fuel consumption rate for vehicles not carrying loads or using accessories (such as air conditioners) can vary greatly depending on the size of their engine. For example:

“Both compact sedans with 2.0 liter engines each consume about the same amount of fuel at idle (0.16 and 0.17 gallons per hour respectively), despite differing fuel types. By comparison, the large sedan with a 4.6 liter engine consumes just over twice as much fuel at idle… The transit bus consumed the most fuel while idling at nearly 1 gallon per hour (gal/hr). The gasoline medium heavy truck category with a gross vehicle weight (GVW) of 19,700-26,000 lbs. consumed more fuel at idle than the diesel medium heavy truck category at 23,000-33,000 lbs. GVW.”

Now, imagine that the vehicles in this example are carrying loads, people, and running the air conditioner. Next, multiply these calculations in terms of how many vehicles are in your entire fleet. If each driver is in the habit of leaving their engines idling for extended periods of time, this adds up to significant money that they’re essentially leaking out their exhaust pipes.

The Environmental Cost of Idling

In addition to saving your business or organization money, another benefit of reducing or eliminating engine idling is that it helps you cut down on the greenhouse gas emissions that your vehicle fleet would unnecessarily create. By reducing idle time, it means that your fleet is able to get to a destination quickly and more efficiently, where the engine can then be turned off.

According to the EDF, “for every 10 minutes your engine is off, you’ll prevent one pound of carbon dioxide from being released.”

By reducing the amount of time that your vehicles are idling, you’re helping to decrease pollution that can lead to serious health conditions, such as respiratory conditions, heart disease, cancer, and more.

Reduce Unnecessary Idling with Fleet Management

While some idling is inevitable due to circumstances such as traffic lights, it’s important to avoid this excessive or unnecessary practice whenever possible — not just to save money but also to reduce your business’s environmental footprint. The good news is that an effective fleet management system can help you take on this seemingly gargantuan task.

Using GPS tracking devices and software to manage, track, and monitor your vehicles, you can simplify (and even automate) several of the required functions. In addition to many other capabilities, you can effectively:

• Track driver activities, behaviors, and hours of service (HOS);
• Ensure each vehicle within your fleet is regularly maintained to avoid costly repairs; and
• Monitor each vehicle’s engine performance, activity, and idle times.

With GPS fleet management software, you can easily identify and address inefficiencies within your fleet. These capabilities, along with route optimization, can help you to significantly reduce excessive idling.

However, not all engine idling situations result from poor driving habits. We all know how bad traffic can be at certain times of the day or on certain roads. And, that’s not necessarily even counting in instances of bad traffic that can result from automobile accidents. With stop-and-go traffic, it’s not always possible to shut off your vehicle for an extended period to reduce idling.

Another way that a reliable fleet management system can help to reduce engine idle time is to provide real-time data about changing road conditions and alternate routes that circumvent the heavy traffic.

A fleet management system can give you the ability to reroute your drivers away from backed up highways and roadways that will help them keep moving toward their destination.

When you are able to improve the efficiency and productivity of your vehicle fleet through the integration of a high-quality fleet management system, you may be surprised how quickly you can see a return on your investment. To learn more about how you can make your operations more efficient, check out our free resource guide by clicking on the link below.