Volvo’s best prac­tice

Owner Driver - - OWNER // DRIVER -

Man­agers as well as driv­ers can in­crease safety and pro­duc­tiv­ity and lower fuel con­sump­tion, for the ben­e­fit of them­selves, their cus­tomers and those shar­ing the road. Here are Volvo’s top 10 tips:

1. Trip plans:

• Seek flat roads or a route that min­imises heavy en­gine or

brakes use • Get lat­est up­dates on road, traf­fic and weather con­di­tions • Try to avoid rush hours.

2. Ve­hi­cle checks:

• Daily rou­tine pre-jour­ney checks cov­er­ing front to rear, in­te­rior and ex­te­rior, in­clud­ing mir­rors and seat po­si­tions, plus check that ve­hi­cle runs nor­mally.

3. Avoid over­load­ing:

• It is di­rectly linked to the ve­hi­cle’s fuel con­sump­tion • Be aware of the le­gal load limit and the max­i­mum safe ca­pac­ity of

truck.

4. Health and body:

• Al­ways get enough rest and try to re­lax be­fore long-dis­tance driv­ing • Stretch be­fore a long jour­ney to im­prove blood cir­cu­la­tion and

re­duce aches and pains while driv­ing • If tired on the road, take a break! • Stay hy­drated.

5. Con­stant speed:

• Where safe, use cruise con­trol • Keep speed as low as is prac­ti­cal • Avoid strong and sud­den use of brake and ac­cel­er­a­tor.

6. Min­imise gear shift­ing:

• Max­imise top gear us­age. Do not shift down too early when slow­ing • If con­di­tions al­low, use skip shift­ing to reach nor­mal cruis­ing speed.

7. Coast like a pro:

• Back off the ac­cel­er­a­tor – let the truck roll • Keep brake ap­pli­ca­tions to a min­i­mum and main­tain a safe

mo­men­tum • Take ad­van­tage of the to­pog­ra­phy or ter­rain.

8. Min­imise idling: • Park brake on, en­gine off! 9. Reg­u­lar ve­hi­cle main­te­nance:

• This can re­duce costs of wear and tear, and the need for re­pairs • Keep ve­hi­cle in prime op­er­at­ing con­di­tion • Con­duct a com­pre­hen­sive check ev­ery week.

10. Al­ways be safe!

• Plan your route and, where pos­si­ble, avoid bad weather con­di­tions

and traf­fic con­ges­tions • Con­duct proper and reg­u­lar checks/main­te­nance • Do not over­load ve­hi­cle • Do not use your mo­bile phone while driv­ing • Avoid al­co­hol be­fore or dur­ing the drive • Keep to a safe cruis­ing speed with­out sud­den brak­ing or

ac­cel­er­a­tion.

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