Fuel is one of the largest and most volatile variable expenses a motor carrier faces. Prices are outside your control. Driver behavior and maintenance discipline are not.
The five practices below cut unnecessary fuel spend, and most of them improve safety at the same time.
1. Optimize speed and traffic flow
Instruct drivers to run 2 to 3 mph below the flow of traffic, without exceeding posted limits.
Steady speed improves fuel economy, reduces tire wear, and cuts the constant braking and acceleration cycle that burns fuel and wears brakes. A driver who maintains a consistent speed and lets traffic come to them will finish the day with better numbers than one who repeatedly closes gaps and brakes.
2. Minimize idling
Idling burns fuel without producing revenue miles. Auxiliary Power Units handle cab climate control and electronics during breaks and rest periods, substantially reducing wasted fuel over the year and across a fleet.
Two practical points beyond the fuel savings:
Idling can also cost you a citation. Many states and municipalities have anti-idling ordinances with real fines attached. Idle reduction protects against those as well as against fuel spend.
The weight penalty is smaller than drivers think. Under federal weight rules, tractors equipped with qualifying idle-reduction technology may claim a gross vehicle weight exemption of up to 550 pounds, which offsets much of the APU’s weight against your payload.
3. Maintain tires and alignment
Pre-trip inspections should verify inflation and check tread condition. Underinflation is the most common and most correctable fuel penalty on a truck and a tire failure waiting to happen.
Avoid high-traction tread types on long summer highway runs, where the extra rolling resistance costs fuel you do not get back. And keep axles aligned — misalignment creates drag on every mile and wears tires unevenly.
4. Plan routes for steady miles
Program routing to avoid heavy stop-and-go congestion.
A slightly longer route with uninterrupted highway miles frequently burns less fuel than a shorter route through congestion — and it often arrives no later, because the shorter route was never actually faster.
5. Reduce aerodynamic drag, safely
Roof-mounted deflectors and properly adjusted fifth-wheel settings reduce the tractor-trailer gap and smooth airflow over the unit.
One caution worth stating plainly: never draft behind another vehicle to cut wind resistance. The following distance required to gain any meaningful aerodynamic benefit is well inside the safe stopping distance. Whatever fuel it saves is not worth one rear-end collision, and in a commercial vehicle, that collision will not be minor.
Efficiency and safety run together
Most of what improves fuel economy also improves safety. Steady speed, correct tire condition, and disciplined following distance show up in both sets of numbers — and in your loss history, which shows up in your premium.
Palomar’s risk consulting team includes Danny McPeters, a veteran transportation safety leader and former Georgia Division Administrator for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. If you want help building the driver coaching program that makes these practices stick rather than sit in a handbook, that is the conversation to have.
Contact the Palomar Transportation Team at (800) 489-0105 or email info@palomarins.com to access safety resources and review whether your coverage matches your operational exposure.
See our transportation insurance programs.
Educational content provided in partnership with Great West Casualty Company’s Value Driven® Company program, which helps insureds build a safety-first culture and manage risk effectively.
