What South Africa's best truck drivers can teach you about saving fuel

The cost of fuel in South Africa is rising steadily. After the latest increases, implemented at midnight on October 3, inland motorists are now paying R25.68 for a litre of 95 octane petrol, with the wholesale price of low-sulphur diesel jumping R1.94 to R25.22/l. 

These hikes are the most significant since July 2022, while the spikes in diesel prices are unprecedented, says the Automobile Association of South Africa (AA). Consequently, driving efficiently and maximising fuel savings have become more crucial than ever. 

For transport and logistics businesses, fuel-conscious strategies are crucial.

“Our vehicles travel over four-million kilometres per month,” says Ryan Gaines, CEO at City Logistics.

“This means the R1.94 hike equates to over R4m in extra expense each month. It is clear that, given these enormous extra costs, transport businesses need to employ and train drivers in fuel-conscious strategies.”

City Logistics is South Africa’s largest privately owned logistics transport business, has a fleet of more than 1,200 vehicles and has long undertaken intensive driver training. The results are paying dividends. According to data from Daimler’s Fleetboard telematics system, the drivers at City Logistics are rated 9/10 (the industry average is 7/10).

Just how are these truck drivers keeping fuel consumption down? 

One of their keys to success lies in the effective utilisation of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). These primarily revolve around collision avoidance technologies, such as lane departure warning and blind-spot applications, along with driver aids like night vision, driver alertness and adaptive cruise control.

Moreover, these ADAS technologies positively impact fuel consumption and emissions by enhancing driver performance, as well as minimising unnecessary acceleration and braking, two driving behaviours that contribute to additional fuel consumption.

Consider adaptive cruise control, for instance, which adjusts the vehicle's speed and distance based on traffic flow, thereby preventing abrupt acceleration and braking that tends to lead to increased fuel consumption. In the Actros, a prominent truck within the City Logistics fleet, this technology is known as Predictive Powertrain Control. It reduces fuel consumption by up to 5% by adapting driving styles to the road's topography.

Another noteworthy ADAS on this specific truck is MirrorCam, replacing traditional rear-view mirrors and contributing up to 1.5% in overall fuel savings for the Actros.

How do these technologies apply to regular car drivers?

“Many of the driver assistance features found in today’s modern cars were first tested in trucks. Motorists simply need to reach for their manuals to identify which features to utilise,” advises Gaines. 

For example, in the Mercedes-Benz stable, the popular C-Class comes with Pre-Safe Impulse Side (which reduces the consequences of a side impact), Active Lane Keeping Assist (keeps the car in its lane) and Active Distance Assist Distronic (which maintains a set speed on free-flowing roads). Distronic is especially useful if motorists want to drive economically; it even offers a fuel-saving driving programme.

Features like these, which have much in common with the driver assistance systems employed by truck drivers, don’t just save lives, they save rands at the pumps too.