Fleet fuel efficiency: Why your drivers matter most

What you'll learn in this article

• Why driver behavior outweighs vehicle specs when it comes to fleet fuel efficiency
• The four fuel-wasting driving habits that cost fleets the most
• How telematics and fuel card data work together to expose fleet fuel economy gaps
• Coaching and incentive strategies that turn data into lasting habits
• A simple way to start seeing savings within 30 days

“Clients ask us all the time why some of their trucks burn far more fuel than others when they're running similar routes and logging similar mileage,” says Sarah Richey, Manager of Products and Implementation at Mike Albert. “The answer almost always comes down to their drivers.”

Take two vehicles of the same make, model, and year and run them over the same route. Much to the surprise of many fleet managers, driver behavior can swing real-world fuel consumption by as much as 30%. While a new work truck might promise a bump in fuel economy on paper, the person holding the wheel can erase that promised gain during any given week.

Driver behavior is the single biggest controllable factor in fleet fuel efficiency. Sure, fuel prices move with supply, demand, and geopolitics, none of which sit anywhere near your control. Vehicle specs are locked in the day you sign the purchase order. What happens between fill-ups is the part still in play. As Richey puts it, “Thankfully, that driver behavior can be measured, coached, and improved.”

The four fuel-efficient driving habits fleet managers should track

Four behaviors account for most of the preventable fuel waste in the fleet data Mike Albert reviews with clients.

1. Excessive idling

Argonne National Laboratory estimates that idling vehicles waste roughly 6 billion gallons of fuel in the U.S. every year. The DOE notes that a heavy-duty truck can burn up to 0.8 gallons per hour while parked with the engine running. (Drivers should know that idling for more than about 10 seconds consumes more fuel than shutting down and restarting.)

“Fleets running power take-off (PTO) equipment will always log some unavoidable idle time,” says Richey. “So that's worth separating out in your reporting before driver coaching begins.” A driver lingering at a customer site or sitting through a personal errand is a different matter entirely, of course. And those habits can add up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars per truck per year. Richey notes that idling is also the easiest of these four behaviors to measure cleanly, which is part of why it's usually where fleets start.

2. Speeding

Speed is the most expensive habit on the list. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that every 5 mph driven above 50 mph costs an extra $0.18 per gallon at the pump. Bring a truck down from 75 to 65, and the difference shows up on the next fuel report. Spread it across a vehicle covering 100,000 miles a year, and it compounds. Big time.

One thing works in your favor here, Richey says. “In most fleets, a small group of habitual speeders accounts for most of the incidents, which makes coaching a targeted exercise rather than a fleet-wide overhaul.”

3. Harsh acceleration and braking

Aggressive driving carries a steep fuel penalty. An MIT analysis cited by the DOE puts the budget hit at 15% to 30% at highway speeds and 10% to 40% in city traffic. Stomping on the throttle spikes fuel consumption, while slamming the brakes converts fuel into heat and worn pads instead of forward progress.

Drivers who read traffic a few vehicles ahead, coast toward red lights, and roll gently into acceleration burn significantly less fuel than drivers who treat every green light like a drag strip racer.

4. Route choice and distractions

Send two trucks to the same job site, and they'll often arrive with different fuel burn rates. “Some of that variance is, of course, unavoidable,” says Richey. “But when drivers default to familiar routes instead of efficient ones, or backtrack after a missed stop, the cost shows up in your monthly fuel report.”

As for distractions, a driver glancing at a phone is more likely to brake hard, miss a turn, and then accelerate aggressively to make up the lost time. That’s more wasted fuel.

How telematics and fuel card data reveal fleet fuel economy gaps

Data closes the gap between suspecting you have a fuel problem and knowing exactly what its causes are. Properly managed, telematics and fuel card reporting can do most of this work for you.

Spotting anomalies at the pump

A fuel card program gives you visibility that telematics alone can't. Wex's reporting and analytics tools, for example, let fleet managers flag out-of-network purchases, off-hours fill-ups, and fuel consumption that’s at odds with a vehicle's profile. “Those are tough conversations to have with drivers, but they must be had,” says Richey.

Cross-referencing data to find coaching opportunities

The patterns sharpen when you examine drivers’ fuel usage against their on-the-road behavior. “For example,” says Richey, “a driver whose miles per gallon sit well below the fleet average while their harsh-event count sits well above it creates an obvious coaching opportunity.”

A driver working a dense urban route with constant stops isn't comparable to one logging open highway miles, even when their raw numbers look similar. Layering GPS history onto behavior scores helps you separate drivers who need coaching from drivers operating under tougher conditions.

Why the human side of coaching still matters

Numbers alone don't change how anyone drives. Drivers need feedback they can act on and a reason to care.

Real-time alerts that help drivers self-correct

In-cab alerts let a driver fix a behavior the moment it happens, which research consistently shows beats hearing about it in a performance review weeks later. Eco-driving training, reinforced over time, can deliver fuel savings anywhere from 5% to 30%. The DOE's Alternative Fuels Data Center recommends pairing drivers with coaches who can call out specific opportunities, such as coasting at red lights and keeping idle time under 10 seconds.

Incentive programs and friendly competition

“Simple things like a monthly shout-out for the most improved driver or a gift card for the best safety can go a long way,” says Richey. “None of this needs to cost much, but it can shift how drivers think about data. It goes from something being done to them to something being done for them.”

Once drivers see that the fleet monitors fuel performance and rewards progress, the habits tend to hold on their own, Richey adds.

A practical starting point for a fuel-efficient fleet

Richey suggests that fleets start with one metric and one quarter. “Idling is usually the easiest target,” she says. “So pull a baseline from your telematics data, set a clear goal, tell your drivers what it is, and then report progress weekly.” According to Richey, most fleets see meaningful movement within 30 days, and those results typically make the case for deeper investment in coaching, training, and reporting.

For a broader look at trimming fuel spend, see our guide to managing fuel costs and reducing your total cost of ownership.

Want additional help building a more fuel-efficient fleet? The Mike Albert team can assist you with telematics, fuel card programs, driver coaching, and more.

About our expert

Sarah Richey is Manager, Products & Implementation at Mike Albert Fleet Solutions, where she helps clients get the most out of the products and services that keep their fleets running efficiently, safely, and cost-effectively.