Jim Winsor
Executive Editor
Idle Thoughts On Engine Idling
The worst idling offenders in my little world are leased refrigerated straight trucks.
Heaven knows how much has been written about fuel wasted by excessive engine idling. The first time I wrote about it was way back in 1972 during the first fuel crunch. I've probably covered the subject every way you can since then. The question still remains: Why do some drivers idle incessantly, regardless of what they're told by their companies?
Try to relate some of these thoughts to experiences with your own fleet. We're talking here about all sizes and types of vehicles. Not included are the obvious - vehicles running PTO equipment and emergency vehicles. My focus here is on local trucks. Included are delivery trucks, dump trucks, public utility trucks and small vans that go to a job site and sit there for hours while work crews - or just the driver - work outside the truck.
What prompted this column, of course, is the fact that gasoline and diesel fuel are at an all-time high.
I'm a creature of habit. Part of my routine is a morning stop at my local diner on the way to work. Between 7 and 10 a.m., trucks and tractor trailers of all sizes pull in. Some are making food and beverage deliveries; some are drivers stopping for eggs and coffee. Some are company-owned vehicles, some are leased. None have PTO-operated equipment such as lift gates; nor are we talking night-time deliveries when lights are needed.
There are certain fleets, at least in my area, where you know there will be no idling. Period. How often do you see a UPS truck or tractor idling when the driver's not in it? The beverage trucks in my area are pretty good about shutting down - Coke, Pepsi, most local beer distributors. Fuel and heating oil trucks almost always shut down unless pumping.
Who doesn't shut down? For the most part, it's the large trucks and tractor trailers making deliveries to the diner. There are some long-haul 18-wheeler reefer rigs making twice-weekly deliveries. But those drivers do the unloading and usually shut down.
The worst idling offenders in my little world are leased refrigerated straight trucks followed by local bakeries and linen supply companies, some with walk-in vans. Deliveries take 10 minutes to nearly an hour.
Not far behind in the idling department are heavy vocational straight trucks. They include refuse haulers, municipal-type public works crew trucks, newspaper deliveries. Their drivers are unloading for 20 to 30 minutes. Others, often with work crews, are in the diner eating but leave their trucks running.
Another culprit, at least around here, appears to be utility companies, and especially the contractors they hire to do excavation and trenching. Utility trucks seem to sit there idling all day. They're not running buckets or jack hammers requiring PTOs, either. Close behind are contractor dump trucks just idling away for long periods while waiting to load or unload.
Idling at truckstops on the interstates is a world unto itself. Maybe I'll revisit that subject again some other month. But for trucks running locally as described here, I suspect many of you see the same patterns of unnecessary and wasteful idling. We can argue about idling to keep the cab warm or cool. I'll buy that in Minnesota at zero degrees in January or Phoenix in July when it's 120 degrees.
What's the solution? Obviously better driver motivation and/or discipline. On new trucks with electronic engines, some can be programmed for automatic shutdown, but there's usually an override or drivers find a way to defeat the system.
If you have any thoughts or opinions - or solutions that have worked for you and your fleet - e-mail me at jwinsor@truckinginfo.com.
