One of the things that I have the privilege of doing is meeting with smaller fleets. Often these fleets are
made up of older more experienced drivers. Maybe, I think a little differently. I believe in process. Results don't just come from thin air. When
I talk with these fleet owners, I tell them that I wouldn't give out fuel bonuses based on results. I would give them out based on following the process.
DO THE RIGHT THING FOR THE RIGHT REASONS AND THE RESULTS WILL FOLLOW.
Today's trucks are providing more information to the driver and owner than ever before. Back in the day you could track how much fuel you bought and how many miles were driven. Getting MPG was and is a simple equation of dividing how many miles were driven by how much fuel was bought. If you drive 1,000 miles and bought 125 gallons of fuel, you got 8 MPG. The next week same trip you may have bought 140 gallons. Another week it may have been 115 gallons. Day by day or week to week MPG could change without the driver doing anything differently. The smaller the sample size, the larger that the variance can be. It is discouraging to drivers, and they may give up on the idea of trying to save fuel.
Today's engines can give more information than yesterday's engines. Encourage drivers to
DO THE RIGHT THING FOR THE RIGHT 
REASONS AND RESULTS WILL FOLLOW. It is easier to get idle time, RPM histories, engine load percentages etc. in today's trucks. In tomorrow's trucks it will become easier yet. I am a driver first. As a professional driver myself I tend to believe in the driver more than parameters.
SHOW THE PROFESSIONAL DRIVER RESPECT, NOT JUST BECAUSE THEY HAVE EARNED IT, BUT BECAUSE IT WORKS.
Show the professional how the modern engine works. Pull up a torque chart. Explain why the modern engine works the way that it does. Respect the professional driver, and you will get buy in. There is a process to getting the professional driver to buy in. That process begins with treating them with respect.
Even a one truck owner operator can earn a fuel bonus. I aim for mine on a continuous basis. To me the number one thing is to reduce idle time. Reducing idle time improves fuel mileage. One customer wanted me to talk about idle time. Cool, you really can not talk about MPG without talking about idle time. I sent them my engine report with 6.05% idle time and 8.30 MPG. Then I told them to just give me a sampling of theirs – about a half dozen or so. No. I did not have to see them in advance.
RESULTS BECOME PREDICTABLE WHEN YOU FOLLOW THE PROCESS.