Eco-driving: ecological and safe

18/03/2021. Suivo organizes a webinar around improving driving behavior and its measurable impact. The presentation is aimed primarily at companies in the logistics sector with a fleet of at least twenty vehicles. The number of interested participants is the best proof that ecological, energy-conscious and economic driving is becoming an increasingly important topic in the transport world.

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Why analyze driving behavior?

Driving behavior is one-to-one linked to fuel consumption. Only 43% of all drivers are aware of this. This is evident from the fact that two out of three van drivers leave their engine running when stationary for a few minutes. Any employer who calculates how much fuel this costs on an annual basis will certainly try to limit unnecessary idling from then on. Not to mention the harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

Rapid acceleration also increases fuel consumption and leads to increased tire wear. Wear and tear on the brake discs increases when braking too late and therefore too hard. This, incidentally, often goes hand in hand with unsafe traffic situations. According to insurer TVM, 90% of unsafe traffic situations are due to the driving behavior of the driver. Through inattention or misjudgment of a potential risk. In addition, drivers who drive too fast or dangerously risk a fine. Another cost you would rather avoid as a company.

In summary, these are the main reasons to inspire employees to drive ecologically and safely:
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• Reducing fuel costs and CO2 emissions.
• Avoiding fines and potential reputation damage in the event of an accident.
• Reducing maintenance costs and insurance premiums.

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Possible solutions for eco-driving

Preventive maintenance of vehicles and components is extremely useful. It is relatively easy to schedule based on running hours or mileage. In this way, necessary repairs are detected in time and the damage frequency within your fleet will be actively reduced.

In addition, data analysis offers rational insights into the driving behavior of drivers. Hardware in the vehicle (a BlackBox and possibly a CAN-bus interface) captures data about the driving style. Think of speed, cornering, g-force, … This data is measured by the BlackBox and put into reports for analysis. The reports show such things as driving scores – whereby an A score indicates that a driver is driving economically and ecologically – and possibly CAN bus information about engine speed, engine load and so on. With all this data at hand, the fleet manager can enter into very concrete discussions with his drivers about their individual driving behaviour.

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Suivo hardware for eco-scoring

You can choose to install only an IoT – Extended BlackBox in your vehicles. This BlackBox has an internal memory to store information at times when there is no internet connection. So no data is lost, it’s just that sometimes data is transmitted with a slight delay to the Suivo IoT Cloud Platform. There, the Eco – drive module calculates the eco-score of a vehicle, after which the ecological and economic impact of the driver is visualized in a report. By linking a badge reader, you can – if desired – identify that driver. It is an effective way to individually discuss issues such as g-force, constant speed and idling.

If you link the BlackBox to a CAN bus, you can record additional information about consumption (both idling and driving) and driving behavior, such as percentage of cruise control, excessive rpm and excessive engine load.

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Real-time tracking of vehicles

The Suivo Web App provides a detailed visualization of the data recorded by the hardware in each vehicle. This allows you to assign fines to the correct driver or estimate whether or not braking was used before an accident. The tool allows visual and individual insight into driving behavior, driving style and fuel consumption. It is also very easy to make reports, per trip, per day, per month, per vehicle, … To follow up on mileages and CO2 emissions, calculate eco-scores, map CAN-bus data, etc. The fuel module provides insight into consumption per vehicle.

All information together gives a clear picture of the ecological footprint of your fleet as a whole and the eco-score of each individual driver. It makes driving behavior measurable and easy to discuss. The improvements you can introduce as a result are guaranteed to bring welcome savings.

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See how it works

If you want to watch the webinar again, click video to see the presentation on YouTube. Among other things, you’ll find a demo of the Suivo Web App.