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5 Bad Driving Habits to Avoid

As an owner-operator, your driving habits directly impact the amount of money you get to keep. That’s because bad habits lead to higher fuel consumption, greater risk for accidents, and lower productivity – all of which take a chunk out of your profit.

But bad habits can be hard to break, especially if you don’t recognize them or don’t immediately see the cost. Here are 5 driver behaviors to avoid to protect your health, safety and bottom line.

Bad Habit #1: Aggressive Driving
Impact: Higher fuel costs, premature maintenance, unplanned downtime, shorter lifecycle

Some owner-operators are tempted to engage in aggressive driving – such as speeding, sudden lane changes, harsh acceleration and hard braking – to complete their deliveries sooner and move on to their next load. The thinking is that by going faster, you can free up time to take on more loads and make more money.  

But this mindset can actually be counter-productive, says Art Liggio, president of Driving Dynamics, a commercial driver training firm based in Newark, Del. “If the driver is consistently operating the truck with hard acceleration and braking, that starts eating into fuel economy.”
 
And that can be an expensive habit. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, aggressive driving lowers fuel economy by as much as 33-percent at highway speeds and 5-percent around town. If a truck would normally achieve 12 mpg under optimal driving conditions, an average of 25-percent reduction in fuel economy results in a 3 mpg difference. Spread that loss over 80,000 to 100,000 miles per year, and you get the idea.

Sudden starts and stops can also cause premature wear and tear of the vehicle, which increases maintenance costs and shortens the vehicle lifecycle. “In the long run, aggressive driving maneuvers will catch up to you with the maintenance of the vehicle,” says Liggio.

Then there’s the concern with safety, says Liggio. “The more miles you put on with risky driving habits, the closer you are to having that expensive incident that would be life changing.”

Bad Habit #2: Skipping Meals
Impact: Fatigue, weight gain, productivity (and income) loss

Although this habit doesn’t pertain to the act of driving itself, it does impact your physical capacity and mental alertness to operate the vehicle safely.

“Some operators become so focused on their destination that they just forget to stop for a meal or just think they can delay it without consequence,” says Liggio. “This lowers mental acuity, accelerates fatigue, and can eventually cause weight gain because the next meal turns into an oversized, high-calorie eating event.”

The solution?

“Eat three meals daily. And it’s best if scheduled at regular times each day. Keep low calorie, high-nutrition snacks (such as yogurt, unsalted nuts, etc.) with you in case you’re off schedule,” says Liggio.

Bad Habit #3: Taking Fundamental Driving Skills for Granted
Impact: Increased risk of vehicle damage, reduced driver productivity
 
“Like anything else with human nature, bad habits tend to creep in over time, making you unaware of where your skills might be lacking,” says Liggio.

He recommends that owner-operators periodically take driver training courses to master the fundamentals. “Courses can help drivers recognize any deficiencies in what they're currently doing. They get to that ‘A-ha moment,’ thinking, ‘Oh, I'm not doing that anymore but I should be.’ And then they can identify the correct procedures and steps to execute those appropriate skills.”  

What driving skills, if mastered, could make a big difference on your profit?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) SmartWay program offers these driving tips:

•    Use cruise control where appropriate
•    Coast whenever possible
•    Brake and accelerate smoothly and gradually
•    Progressive shifting (upshift at the lowest rpm possible)
•    Limit unnecessary truck idling
•    Start out in a gear that doesn’t require using the throttle when releasing the clutch
•    Limit unnecessary shifting; block-shift (go from, for example, 2nd gear to 5th gear)
•    Drive at the lowest engine speed possible
•    Reduce parasitic energy losses by limiting the use of accessories.

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Bad Habit #4: Mental Inactivity
Impact: Increased distraction and crash risk

“A boring ride is a dangerous ride, and monotony can easily set in if you don’t keep your brain engaged,” says Liggio. “Over long periods of driving, operators can become dazed, inattentive or distracted, and start losing concentration.”

How do you break the monotony and improve alertness?

Liggio offers this recommendation: “While you don’t want to engage in activities that can overtly cause distractions, listening to audio tapes, radio talk shows, signing along to music have shown to be very helpful in keeping the mind alert.”

Bad Habit #5: Going Beyond Your Limit
Impact: Fatigue, increased crash risk, lower safety score

This is where you go beyond your limit, thinking, “I’m OK ... I’m just a little tired.”

“We all know the problem. Yet, too often operators think they can push on. But, the statistics tell us otherwise. Over 30,000 crashes each year are related to fatigue,” says Liggio.

What should you do?

“Quit while you’re ahead. Or, at least, take a break,” advises Liggio. “It’s always better to complete your delivery than not at all. Learn to recognize the signs early on so that you can stop for a beverage, move around, or take a longer period off if you are really struggling. Illness can be a factor here as well. If you’re not feeling well, don’t attempt to push through any pain which can certainly pull your attention away from the road.”

The Bottom Line

In the expedite business, there are a lot of things outside your control that impact your income. But one thing you can control is how you operate your truck. When you drive with safety and fuel efficiency in mind, you’ll preserve more profit from each load.