Fleet fuel efficiency is deeply influenced by driver behavior. While vehicle type, maintenance schedules and fuel card programs play pivotal roles, the way drivers operate vehicles remains one of the most direct and impactful factors in controlling fuel-related expenses. For businesses seeking operational savings, smart fleet management begins behind the wheel.
By linking purchases and route data, businesses gain actionable insights into vehicle usage and spending patterns, allowing them to optimize routes and reduce unauthorized activity.
Driving Habits that Drain Fuel Budgets
Aggressive driving behaviors — such as rapid acceleration, harsh braking and excessive speeding — consume more fuel and accelerate vehicle wear and tear. Fleet managers who monitor telematics data often uncover patterns that show drivers with certain habits significantly increase their overall fuel expenses. According to recent fleet industry insights, consistent speeding alone can reduce fuel efficiency by as much as 30%.
Idling is another culprit. Whether it’s during deliveries, at job sites, or while waiting for cargo, unnecessary engine idling burns fuel without moving the vehicle. For large fleets, this behavior scales into thousands of dollars in wasted fuel each year. Monitoring idling through GPS and telematics solutions helps identify high-idle drivers and enables corrective actions.
Telematics and Tracking: Tools for Monitoring Efficiency
Modern fleet fuel cards like the Sunoco Business Fleet Card and Sunoco Fleet Universal Card integrate with advanced telematics systems to provide detailed driver behavior reporting. These tools allow fleet managers to track location, speed, idle time and fuel purchases in real time across all vehicles in their network.
With driver PINs and transaction controls at the pump, managers know exactly who is fueling, when and where. This level of visibility enhances security and helps uncover inefficiencies. By linking purchases and route data, businesses gain actionable insights into vehicle usage and spending patterns, allowing them to optimize routes and reduce unauthorized activity.
Reducing Fuel Costs with Smart Driving
Fleet managers can use telematics and fleet card data to coach drivers on fuel-efficient techniques. Smoother acceleration, adhering to speed limits and reducing idle time are simple adjustments that yield significant savings. Dash cams and telematics dashboards provide real-world feedback, enabling targeted coaching based on specific behaviors, such as hard stops or prolonged idle sessions. With automated reporting features, tracking improvements over time becomes seamless.
Companies that leverage telematics, fleet card tracking, and real-time transaction data often see measurable cost improvements — directly through reduced fuel consumption and indirectly through increased vehicle life and reduced maintenance needs.
Fuel Card Controls that Reinforce Efficiency
Fuel cards do more than enable secure fuel purchases; they serve as tools for administrative control. By setting spending limits, usage hours and location-based restrictions, managers ensure compliance with company fuel policies. Sunoco fleet fuel cards include custom reporting capabilities, making it easy to identify and highlight any transactions that occur outside the parameters defined by your fuel spending policy.
This granular level of control reduces fraud and unauthorized fueling, key issues in large fleets with decentralized operations. For example, a driver restricted to fueling only during work hours at Sunoco stations won’t be able to charge personal fuel costs on company accounts.
With tools like Sunoco fleet fuel cards and integrated telematics, businesses can align driver behavior with broader financial and operational goals.
Convenience Without Compromise
The Sunoco Fleet Universal Card is accepted at 95% of gas stations nationwide, offering flexibility for drivers on longer or irregular routes. At the same time, fuel rebates of up to 6¢ per gallon at Sunoco locations deliver ongoing financial benefits to the business. The card also provides access to over 45,000 service locations, supporting vehicle maintenance needs across a broad network.
For businesses with more centralized operations around Sunoco stations, the Sunoco Business Fleet Card is a great choice, offering the same per-gallon savings, plus zero setup and annual fees. Both cards offer mobile and web account access, allowing for easy management of payments, balances and transactions from anywhere.
Real-time Reporting that Drives Action
Real-time data is invaluable for improving fleet fuel efficiency. Custom dashboards and scheduled reports streamline administrative tasks, allowing managers to focus on strategic improvements. Reports can spotlight top-performing drivers, identify underperforming routes and flag unusual activity that may signal misuse.
By aligning purchase reports with operational data, fleet managers can present a clear case for performance incentives or additional training where needed.
Tax exemption reporting is also available for qualified businesses, further reducing fuel-related costs.
Creating a Culture of Fuel Efficiency
Implementing purchase controls and leveraging telematics only goes so far without driver buy-in. Fleet managers should actively involve drivers in the process by sharing performance data, celebrating improvements and educating on the impact of fuel-efficient habits.
Recognition programs that reward drivers for achieving fuel-saving goals enhance morale and promote long-term behavior change. Transparency and trust are key — when drivers understand how their performance affects the company’s bottom line, they’re more likely to adopt better habits.
Small Business, Big Opportunities
For small businesses, every gallon matters. Fleet fuel cards offer savings and a professional framework for managing operations. Automatic invoicing, expense tracking and digital payments reduce paperwork, allowing small teams to maintain control with minimal admin burden.
Tools once exclusive to enterprise fleets — like transaction monitoring, alerts, and usage limits — are now available to fleets of any size. This levels the playing field and helps small businesses stay competitive by running lean, efficient operations.
Aligning Driver Habits with Business Goals
Improving fleet fuel efficiency is not just about the vehicles or the fuel card — it’s about people. The daily decisions made by drivers have a direct and measurable impact on operating costs. With tools like Sunoco fleet fuel cards and integrated telematics, businesses can align driver behavior with broader financial and operational goals.
Fleet managers who embrace data-driven insights and engage their teams in the process stand to see lower fuel expenses, fewer maintenance issues, and stronger bottom-line performance. And it all starts with putting efficiency in the driver’s seat.