Fleet drivers often know how to maneuver their vehicle through situations of all kinds and even dodge less experienced drivers. While this experience helps them to stay safe while driving, it also has a severe effect.
Driving can be tiring, daunting, challenging, and frustrating, and the longer a driver stays on the road, the more these emotions heighten. This may push them to aggressive behaviors such as hard braking and rapid acceleration.
Although these behaviors may seem common and minor, guaranteeing the safety of your fleet vehicles, drivers, and the general public as a fleet manager is a major priority. And sadly, these behaviors tend to put that safety at high risk.
So what is hard braking and acceleration, and why should you monitor it as a fleet manager? Keep reading!
What Is Hard Braking?
Hard braking occurs when more force than usual is applied to the vehicle's brake system. When talking about drivers of big trucks, hard braking is particularly dangerous considering that a well-loaded 18-wheeler could weigh up to 40 tons and can't stop right away.
There are instances when hard braking cannot be avoided, such as stopping to hinder an accident or getting out of the way of an accident. Nevertheless, unnecessary hard braking usually occurs when a driver is not paying good attention to traffic flow. This is a sign of aggressive driving, and if your fleet drivers are doing it, it's risky and a money-drainer.
What Is Hard Acceleration?
Hard acceleration happens when a driver applies more force than usual to the vehicle's accelerator. Hard acceleration is less common and should not be tolerated unless an accident has occurred. Rapid acceleration is most frequent when drivers get to a traffic light – as soon as the light turns green, most drivers slam the accelerator to get moving as fast as possible, which can be dangerous.
Why Monitor Hard Braking and Acceleration?
1. Reduce Accidents
Car accidents can endanger people's lives, and they're also a nightmare to insurance providers. Several things impact the behavior of your drivers on the road. They include distractions, drowsiness, substance abuse, and aggressive driving as the most common causes of accidents. For instance, in 2017, drowsy driving alone resulted in 90,000 accidents.
If your fleet drivers anticipate weather changes, pay close attention to changes in traffic, and drive with caution, hard braking and acceleration incidents and major accidents would be significantly reduced.
2. Save On Fuel Costs
According to the U.S Department of Energy, aggressive driving can decrease your gas mileage by 5% locally around town and 33% at highway speeds. This means that if all your fleet drivers avoid all sorts of reckless driving behaviors, you stand an opportunity to save a lot on fuel. And since fuel costs are typically one of the biggest costs for vehicle fleets, this can make your budgeting easier as well as be very advantageous for your bottom line.
3. Damage to The Brakes
Excessive hard braking could make the brakes of vehicles damage the metal component, reduce their useful lifespan, overheat as well as make them less effective. It can also trigger the Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) in a vehicle unnecessarily, adding more stress to the vehicle's systems.
4. Reduce Environmental Impact
More harmful gases are released from trucks into the atmosphere when drivers perform hard acceleration and braking. If you want to achieve more environmentally-friendly business practices, stopping hard braking and acceleration can help.
Bottom Line
You can totally transform your fleet business into a better one by monitoring hard braking, rapid acceleration, or other similar behaviors.
Trust The Professionals at Wilmar, Inc. Today!
At Wilmar, Inc., we highly value the safety of your fleet vehicles, drivers as well as the general public. We are professionals in fleet management and focus on helping our customers thrive.
Contact us today to get more data about how we can help you monitor hard braking and acceleration.
