THE DEFINITIVE TRUCKING SITE

October 2008

TAKE a ride along any highway in the country. The R and M roads are also worth covering and right into the Metro areas you will observe any number of 4-, 5-, 6- and 7-axle rigs with flat deck, volume van, bulk tanker, or tipper trailer charging down the road in excess of 100 km/h. Many of those I observe are unladen. It begs a few questions: 

• What is the hurry? Invariably these drivers are still standing at the next traffic light when the rest of the traffic catches up. This is a crass waste of fuel.

• Do these drivers have instructions or is it company policy to allow speeds of 100km/h and more? 

• More interesting is, if there are such policies and instructions, why do the transport controllers fail to take meaningful action or do they neither know, nor care about how much fuel is being wasted?

• Have these drivers been trained and retrained? A recent survey I undertook reveals transporters and fleet managers are concerned about the poor attitude of drivers and a lack of pride in their jobs. 

Whatever the reasons, the incidence of these poor driving habits is costing truck owners a pile of money they do not have to spend. There is no substitute for periodic route riding and route supervision.