Safety first for urban drivers
14 JUNE 2018
Scania’s application-based driver training provides urban distribution drivers with tips to beat the city stress.
In 2017, nearly 50,000 long-haulage drivers signed up for Scania-led training and coaching, thereby improving skills and fuel performance. This successful scheme has now been extended to other types of driving, and is now known as application-based driver training.
“Training and coaching distribution drivers differs significantly from long-haulage, where it’s mostly about reaching fuel savings,” explains Competence Development Manager Tommy Durlind. “In dense, city driving, with repeated stops and starts, fuel savings are still attainable but they are not the most important part of the equation. Safety is the overriding consideration.”
Driver foresight can save fuel
With the constant buzz of other cars, buses, cyclists and pedestrians, the distribution driver can never relax. Drivers must be vigilant and manoeuvre through an environment with erratic cyclists and nonchalant pedestrians that can appear from nowhere, while blatantly flaunting traffic rules.
Meanwhile, the driver also must adhere to tight delivery schedules, despite the inherent risks of delays due to traffic jams and frequent accidents. Avoiding peak traffic in the morning may not be possible either, especially in food retail with shelves waiting to be restocked.
“My advice could be to make full use of mirrors and adopt a calm driving style despite the stressful situation,” says Durlind. “With foresight, the driver can more easily coast towards a red light and arrive as the light turns to green, thereby avoiding braking and saving fuel.”
