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By Greg Bartlett

Fuel costs are a big drain on small businesses that have delivery vehicles and commercial drivers. However, by using vehicle tracking systems, companies can cut down on the amount of fuel that their employees use. There are several areas that commercial drivers waste fuel, and they can all be cut down with a tracking system.

Vehicle tracking systems show how long the work vehicles are left idling. Drivers may be tempted to keep the vehicle running while they unload or deliver a package, but this is a huge and completely unnecessary fuel waster. Knowing that they are being monitored will be enough for them to turn off the vehicle while they are stopped, which could eliminate up to 10 minutes or even more of idle time when the vehicle is getting zero miles to the gallon.

These systems also track the speed at which the vehicle is traveling. Employees who know that their speed is being tracked will follow the posted speed limits more closely, which will cause less fuel to be wasted. Most vehicles get the best mileage between 40 and 60 mph, but when employees are exceeding 60 mph, especially in large heavy work vans and trucks, it can easily cut their miles per gallon down to barely anything. Heavy vehicles loaded with equipment and deliveries already get poor gas mileage. Companies need to be sure that their employees are using their fuel responsibly.

The ability to track miles will also cut down on extra side trips and make it easier for companies to plan out the routes with more efficiency. Businesses will be able to locate all of their vehicles instantly and determine which is the closest to a particular job site. By choosing the closest vehicle, the company could save an entire gallon of fuel on just one job.

All these things will save companies fuel. Although cutting down on idle time may save a delivery company more gas than cutting down on speeding, when all these factors are added together, vehicle tracking systems will save the company hundreds or even thousands of dollars in fuel costs.

Fuel prices are constantly fluctuating, and summertime highs can be a large concern for small businesses. The last thing that they need to do is waste fuel. Vehicle tracking systems will enable the businesses to minimize their fuel costs and run their businesses in a more efficient way.