Truckers Slowing Down to Save Fuel

I disagree. I've slowed down from 78 to 58 and my NET income has INCREASED considerably. Been doing this for over 6 months now...never, and I mean never, driving over 58 mph. My net annual income (that's take home pay, folks) is on track for being OVER $30,000 more dollars than when I was driving 78 MPH...all because I slowed down.

The only person that benefits from a higher speed is a company driver who works for cpm. And that's only in the short term. Companies who allow their drivers to drive 65+ and let their drivers idle 24/7 won't survive much longer with fuel at 4 to 5 or even 6 bucks/gallon.

Sure, there are exceptions, like JIT freight, but at these fuel prices, the shippers of JIT freight are either going to feel the pinch in the pocket book with higher freight prices, or start being more lenient on their delivery times and allowing trucking companies more time to get the freight from point A to point B.

When you consider a coast to coast trip, you can't average 70 - 75 MPH anyhow with the speed limits East of the Mississippi River. Then when you average in big cities, conjestion, etc, the guy doing 60 MPG everywhere and the guy who's always in the left lane get to the same destination not very far apart. But the guy who drives slow has MUCH more net income to show for it. Then there's the "left-door" factor. I can't tell you how many times a day I get passed by the same speed demon. I keep my left door shut.

Think about it. It's a proven fact that for every MPH above 55 you drive, your fuel mileage drops .1 MPG. When you drop from 78 MPH to 58 MPH, if you are on a 3000 mile trip, if you drive 78 and you are getting 5 MPG, if fuel is $4.15/gal, you are going to spend $2490.00 for fuel. If you drive 58 MPH and get 7 MPG, you are going to spend $1778.00 for fuel. That's $712 MORE you will spend on the same trip by driving fast. Now, if you also are an idler, if you idle 11 hrs/night and 34 hours during your reset, you are also going to spend an additional 100 hours (100 gals.) x 4.15 = $415.00. If you don't idle that trip, and drive 58 MPH, your savings, on one trip, over the guy who drove 78 MPH and never shut off his truck, is $1127.00. Lets be conservative and say that you can save $1000/week by doing the above. How many people could use an extra grand a week? There's people who dont even net that much, and you can give yourself a RAISE of a cool grand/week by doing the above.

I don't think, when it's all factored in, that an owner/operator can justify driving fast any more. The few extra miles a week that you are going to gain is going to be FAR less net revenue to you than if you drive slow and never idle.

The proof is in the pudding. The problem is that this is going to get some people's knickers all up in a twist because they can't wrap their head around the idea of driving slow. Their going to challenge my numbers and try to show how driving fast gets you more miles, etc. But most of it comes from making business decisions based on emotion rather than by the numbers. You can't run a business on emotion.

Whatever. Keep driving fast. When you (not you, Ducks...I mean "you" in general) get your truck repo'd because fuel hits $5/gal and you are still getting 5.5 MPG, don't say you weren't warned.

Don't get me wrong. It took me quite awhile to get used to being passed by Swift, lol. I used to spend most of my time in the left lane too. Now that I'm used to it, it's no big deal, but MAN it was hard to get used to. The only saving grace was knowing what it was doing for my bottom line. Now I just kick back, set the cruise at 58, watch the turbo only pull about 5-6 lbs of manifold pressure, and smile all the way to the bank.

But you know what? I still feel like a scared rabbit, wondering how the economy and fuel prices are going to pan out. Scared to death, actually. But all I can do is make sure that I'm running as efficiently as humanly possible, watch my expenses, try and get the best freight rates I can muster up, and try to survive this little speed bump we're all hitting.

We can survive this, my friends. Let's do it together, but let's do it smart.

 

There were many quotes from the Driver but the reported price ($1.97 per gal.in '97) was from the AP reporter (not Driver),and people should believe what the AP reports,It was reported,and believed that fuel cost have doubled.When actually Fuel Cost per gal. have QUADRUPLED!,since '97.!!

 

so it was OK to waste fuel when it was less expensive, but you shouldn't waste fuel now? only a trucker could come up with logic like that.

 

I only request what I am reported to by the AP to be True..

 

Sixbrix, that was an awesome post. I'm gonna do what I can to
make you famous in a couple of other places!

-f

 

This I can write under...showed this to many Semi hotheads several times...
Plus I feel a lot better.
I used to run for companies that requested you to drive until you´ll eyes bled and then some and always steepd on it. Funny is that when I slowed down the same bosses thanked me for saving fuel and still being within schedules.

 

Thanks, Brickman. Not being in the trucking industry, sometimes it takes me a while to get things straight in my mind. I appreciate your explanation.

I assume that an O/O gets paid per load and not cpm. The flip side makes me wonder about transit times. If a driver slows down from 75 mph to 65 mph, a 600 mile delivery will take an extra hour-and-a-quarter in transit. How many 600 mile loads does a driver haul in a month? (I have no clue and am grabbing numbers out of the air, so this could be a worthless post... but I gotta ask 'cause I don't know!)

By lengthening the transit time on loads, doesn't it follow that the driver can take less loads over a period of time... which would cut into his/her income?

Again, I'm not trying to be argumentative. I just don't know enough to fully understand all the factors here... and I think I'm missing something 'cause the O/O's are in agreement here. And you guys aren't dummies. (That's MY job! LOL)

 

$1.489/ gallon. Erie, Colorado. 10/09/03 (I'm looking at a receipt)
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