Texas A&M Transportation Institute published its 2019 Urban Mobility Report this month, reflecting the growing issue of congestion on our nation’s roads and just how much it is costing Americans. Here were the key takeaways: (The following can be found in the full report available at https://static.tti.tamu.edu/tti.tamu.edu/documents/mobility-report-2019.pdf)
*The cost of congestion has risen drastically over the years from $14 billion in 1982 to a startling $166 billion in 2017, up $9 billion from the year prior.
*In 2007, the average American spent 43 hours stuck in traffic. A decade later, that number increased to 54 hours. That’s a total of 8.8 billion hours PER YEAR among commuters!
*Hate going to the gas station and battling high prices for gas and diesel? Imagine this, 3.3 BILLION gallons of fuel were wasted in 2017 due to congestion. The report notes that this equals “a line of 18-wheel fuel trucks from Los Angeles to Boston.”
*Fridays were indicated as having the greatest number of delays followed by Thur., most occurring in the 4 pm to 6 pm hours.
*It is estimated that at this rate, congestion will result in a $200 billion cost and 10 billion hours’ worth of delays in the year 2025, with the average consumer wasting $1140 and 62 hours as a result.
Let’s talk trucking…
*Congestion costs truckers $21 billion annually as a result of delays and fuel waste. In 2017, for example, the following areas experienced the below costs due to lost productivity and wasted fuel.
-NY: $1,828,000,000
-Philadelphia: $44,000,000
-Boston: $424,000,000
*New York truckers experienced 34,088,000 delayed hours in 2017, while Philadelphia experienced 8,176,000 and Boston 7,956,000.
*New York truckers wasted 68,627,000 gallons of fuel in 2017, Philadelphia 17,133,000 gallons, and Boston 15,718,000 gallons.
While there is no stopping congestion from occurring, Road Scholar Transport incorporates procedures and technology onto our fleet to help prevent further delays.
Road Scholar has the ability to monitor and react to road conditions/reroute equipment. Our ShowMe feature allows us to use the Google Maps traffic congestion overlay to see where our trucks are and where traffic may affect delivery in order to choose the best route to avoid delays so that your product line in not on hold or reputation with your customer is not tainted.
Additionally, Road Scholar is preventing delays and damaged or loss of freight with our anti-crash technology. Road Scholar has an ACB system (Active Cruise with Braking) installed on our trucks that allows us to maintain a set distance of 8/10ths of a mile marker behind a forward vehicle.
When cruise control is off, the ACB will deliver a beeping alert, which gets faster and louder when closing in on a vehicle, as well as a visual warning on the dashboard showing how far the vehicle is from your truck.
When cruise control is on, the ACB will automatically reduce the throttle, use the engine retarder, or apply the brakes (delivering 1/3 the vehicle’s power but the driver can apply the rest if needed) in order to maintain a set distance from the vehicle ahead.
Not only does Road Scholar incorporate the Bendix Wingman ACB on its trucks, but ESP (Electronic Stability Program) as well. This system is especially good for icy or wet weather conditions where wheels lose their grip, or taking a curve too quickly, which can result in a rollover. Drivers may not sense a rollover could be starting, which is where the ESP’s row and yaw stability sensors come into play. The row sensors work to prevent rollovers while yaw sensors prevent slide, spin, or jackknife situations. The ESP automatically distinguishes the problem and quickly corrects it by reducing the engine throttle and applying the brakes.
These are just some reasons why Road Scholar has a low damage claim rate of just 0.0003%, in addition to qualified drivers and safe equipment.
Are in transit delays from your current carrier becoming an issue of concern? Let us know. Road Scholar Transport will do a free audit of your lanes and offer some suggestions on route optimization. Visit www.roadscholar.com today.
https://mobility.tamu.edu/umr/congestion-data/
https://static.tti.tamu.edu/tti.tamu.edu/documents/mobility-report-2019.pdf
