On the grounds that David Pink, managing director of the Dodd's Group www.dodds.co.uk, is a reader of Biglorryblog, I'd be up for bother if I didn't mention the fact that Gary Martin, driver with Kent-based 21st Century Logistics (which is part of the aforementioned Dodd's Group) has won national recognition for his smooth, fuel-efficient driving. (And that's Gary pictured smiling above...) Indeed he's beaten off stiff competition from around the UK to be named "Driver of the Year" by FleetBoard, www.fleetboard.co.uk the Internet-based telematics arm of Daimler AG.
Gary is out on the road five nights a week in his Euro-5 Actros MegaSpace, trunking paper from a mill at Sittingbourne to the West Midlands headquarters of leading customer Premier Papers. For the 226km haul north he always grosses at a full 44-tonnes. The return journey is some 60km longer because it involves a transfer of stock to another Premier facility at Erith, in south-east London; he is usually three-quarters full for this stint, then makes the final hour's run back to base empty. The average gross weight of Gary's 460hp Euro 5 Mercedes Actros and curtainside trailer (that's it below) over this round trip is 37 tonnes, yet he still averages a highly impressive 8.5mpg overall. Not bad going says BLB--I usually put an uncooked egg between my right foot and the throttle on roadtest--I find it concentrates the mind wonderfully.
Gary drove nearly 46,000 miles over the first seven months of 2008. Data from FleetBoard's Driver & Vehicle Management System shows that during this time he used the foot brake for just two miles! By contrast, he employed his exhaust brake for 3,773 miles but spent most of the time - 76% to be precise - with the vehicle on cruise control. He also managed to coast for more than 14,000 of his first 46,000 miles. Well clearly he didn't deliver into central London! I also wonder what his figures would be like driving during the day...but that's just me being an old grumpy. So well done Gary---truly an impressive performance. Apparently FleetBoard analyses driver performance on a scale of one to ten, taking into account a host of factors including the 'degree of difficulty', gross vehicle weight, over-revving, braking behaviour, stops and, of course, fuel consumption. Gary won his award with a grading of 9.43. Not bad--in fact they should make him a driver trainer! Now click through here for some interesting thoughts from Gary on dinosaurs....
I'm told that Gary is a big fan of his Actros, and particularly its PowerShift auto. "It's brilliant, absolutely fabulous," he enthuses. "In fact, the two-pedal set-up makes life so easy that the truck virtually drives itself - all I need to do is set the cruise control and steer; everything else is done for me." Anticipation, says Gary, is the key to fuel-efficient driving. "It's all about reading the road and being aware of all that's going on around you," he reveals. "Maintaining momentum is crucial because every time you stop the vehicle you have to overcome an enormous amount of inertia to get it rolling again, which inevitably means increasing your consumption of diesel."
And he has no time for those die-hard drivers who refuse to embrace the challenge of change. "I've been driving since 1976 and am now 52 years of age, so if I can kick bad habits and adopt new techniques then anyone can," he insists. "We don't have to live in a world of dinosaurs." Well said Gary, You CAN teach an old dog news tricks---just look at 54-year-old Biglorryblog. Now if you'll excuse me I'm now going to fall into a tar-pit and leave my well-preserved bones for posterity...
Comments (3)
Vic H has sent me this interesting alternative view on economy driving which could well start up a bit of a string. Given that I drive in the UK and not down-under I can't knock Gary's driving style--because that's exactly what a manufacturer's driver trainer would teach you...BLB
"Hi brian, I'm not trying for any one-upmanship here, but I'm 69, have been driving trucks legally since I was 18 and illegally for another 10 years before that, and still drive 120,000km (approx 75,000 miles) a year. Maybe I'm a dinosaur, but I don't think so.
Congratulations, Gary, on your award, and I agree that 8.5 mpg is impressive; at least I think it is, we use km/litre here and I have managed to adapt to that!
I would like to point out though, that driving like that may well be possible in certain trucks on certain roads in certain countries, but....
Coasting for 14,000 out of 46,000 miles? Obviously saves fuel, and is possible in an Actros, I know. However if you tried that here in NZ you would
a/ Not pass the driving test
b/ Not pass any advanced driving test
c/ Get the sack from the boss
d/ Ruin a Roadranger gearbox within the first mile
Using the exhaust brake about 1800 times as much as the footbrake? Why? Surely you can brake just as gently with the footbrake as with an exhaust brake, and that is what determines the fuel consumption. My truck has a Jake brake (engine brake), which gets used a lot, but it is NOT intended to be the primary method of slowing down or stopping; it's main raison d'etre is for holding the vehicle on long and steep downhills, of which we have plenty here, so that the service brakes do not overheat and become useless. It is also forbidden approaching and within any built up areas now. My truck and trailers have now done over 600,000km and are still on the original linings (pads for the trailers), but the brakes get used.
I won't go on, and I hope this will stir up some other people to comment one way or another, and maybe call me a dinosaur!
As a footnote, I had dinner at a truckstop last night with 2 other drivers, one of whom was 75 and the other was 76; they have both been driving trucks since they were 18 and both still drive over 100,000km a year. I wouldn't call them dinosaurs, either.
Cheers, Vic"
So what do others think...BLB?
Posted by Vic Hungerford | September 13, 2008 6:57 PM
Posted on September 13, 2008 18:57
Gday All.
The 8.5MPG is impressive but is under ideal conditions ie a decent truck running at 90km/h on motorways at night.
I dont see how you can coast for 14000 out of 45,000 miles. When I drove semis, even on motorways, they always needed maybe 70% throttle to keep them moving, even at 90Ks. Some of the old bangers needed 100% throttle for hours on end, especially with a head wind. Tautliners are worst, always manage to catch the wind. Maybe the coasting figure results from the way the cruise control operates. I reckon cruise control is great but the ones I have used seem to apply full throttle to bring the vehicle up to speed and then drop back to a lesser setting. When driving a powerful or empty truck (dreaming again) I try to avoid using that last bit of throttle. The older trucks used to smoke noticeably at this point ie unburnt fuel. I know that Brian and the fellas from Commercial Motor get very scientific about their fuel economy figures and probably have compared cruise control with normal driving..
The only time I would coast was coming up to traffic lights or down a hill and I would never coast in neutral. Always like to use the service brakes occasionally so that they are ready to go if you need them. I would use a Jake or engine brake in hilly country ie anywhere you would have to ride the service brakes to keep your speed down. Conventional exhaust brakes seemed to be pretty useless on a semi, OK on an 8 or 12 tonner but little value at 40 tons.
Just my two bobs worth. I don’t consider myself a good driver and congratulate Gary on his award.
Posted by Peter Lynch | September 13, 2008 11:34 PM
Posted on September 13, 2008 23:34
dear sir its all good and well cruising up and down a motorway at night, but whenever you have to stop here there and everywhere pick up loads here tip them there and the state of the roads are tantamount to dual cabbageway. then whenever you have to sit in an interview and get comparisons threw at you about some fanatical firms man cruising up and down a autoroute,{whoopi-doo}. I have been driving class one for over 30 years,all over europe both east and west plus north africa, what do these companies want us to do? [put the fuel in the truck our selfs]? at what price do hauliers put onto the expertise of a well seasoned driver.Or would they rather spend thousands upon thousands on bloody computers, after all it i;snt a ps2 or a xbox 360 trundling up and down the road at 56 mph grossing 44 tonnes. Call me a dinosour if you want but is this the state of the industry has lowered its self too, where a company like scania invest billions of euros on driving systems and some whizz kid in a out side company can come along and dictate how it should be done. yours truly P.L.
Posted by Peter Lorimer. | November 18, 2008 6:39 PM
Posted on November 18, 2008 18:39