Recently I met HR manager Bob Armstrong, from Bathgate based MRS Distribution, to discuss various staff skills matters as part of Skills for Logistics Employer Engagement programme. During our meeting Bob mentioned that MRS had taken up the Safe And Fuel Efficient Driver scheme (SAFED), funded by the Scottish Executive.

The scheme, designed to improve road safety and reduce fuel consumption, is part of the Scottish Road Haulage Modernisation Fund. It can be used to train driving instructors to deliver the SAFED scheme in-house and to third parties.

I was surprised to learn that a substantial portion of MRS training is carried out on trucks fitted with automated gear changing. I mentioned to Bob that in my experience, as far as the 'Safe' driving element was concerned, the type of gear change was immaterial.

In terms of the 'Fuel Efficient' part of the scheme the computerised automatic gear changing took fuel consumption to a major degree out of the drivers hands. In other words I was rather sceptical that drivers using lorries fitted with automatic gear changing could achieve substantial reductions in fuel consumption.

I wondered why at this point in the meeting Bob asked me if I had an LGV licence and without thinking I said 'yes'. You may have already guessed what I had talked myself into!

Housekeeping

'Hi, you must be Chris - the guy from Skills for Logistics who wants to try the SAFED scheme using a lorry with automatic gears,' said a voice on the phone.

'I'm Wullie Patterson from MRS and your LGV driver trainer. Before we start the course we will go through some housekeeping rules, check your driving licence and your eyesight too.'

When we met, Wullie gave me a posh SAFED course manual, explained the contents of the programme and the activities and events I would take part in and be assessed on. A classroom lecture and videos on safe vehicle and driving procedures followed and then we went out to the transport yard to carry out vehicle and coupling safety checks on a bright red Renault Premium, six axle, 16.5m, 44 tonne loaded artic rig.

At this stage my instructor had succeeded in calming down my nerves, but on getting into the cab I saw there was no gear lever to hang on to! The last time I drove a lorry without normal gear gate selection was a semi auto EPS system that still needed a clutch pedal for moving off and stopping!

Wullie assured me that as I had previous experience of driving automatic gearboxes in cars then I would cope with this 44 tonner, and he was right. After starting the engine, I flicked a switch on one of the steering wheel stalks to select D for drive, released the handbrake and carefully applied the accelerator. The vehicle purred along changing its 12 gears almost imperceptibly.

Our mission was to complete the first of two 30 mile repeat journeys covering all types of driving conditions. On this first journey I was told to drive as normal and I would be assessed on safe and economic driving standards.

We returned to the MRS depot for my first debrief. I knew myself that I had made quite a few driving errors and Wullie confirmed that this was indeed the case. He advised me that I did not take advantage of the cruise control and exhaust brake features that would improve safety and in particular help reduce fuel and maintenance costs.

I was not looking far enough ahead to anticipate situations and avoid, where possible, bringing the lorry to a complete halt at roundabouts, junctions and traffic lights. It takes a huge amount of fuel to get the momentum of a heavy lorry into motion once it has been brought to a standstill.

Manual Override

I was given detailed instructions on how to programme and use the cruise control settings in conjunction with the three stage exhaust brake and automated gear changing with manual override.

This was developing into complex vehicle control programming procedures and I found it quite a daunting task to try and remember everything expected of me on my second and final journey assessment. Who said driving an automatic truck was easy!?

However, thanks to my instructor's patience and training techniques it can be easy. After I had programmed the vehicle controls for the road conditions, all I had to do to obtain optimum performance was to monitor overall progress, steer the vehicle carefully and let the vehicle management systems do the rest.

I was cruising along at 44 tonnes with both of my feet firmly on the cab floor. It felt peculiar to be controlling the speed and braking by giving priority use of hand controls instead of the foot pedals. My confidence was building and I was beginning to master the skills required for this driving technique, in fact I was really enjoying myself.

On returning to MRS Bathgate depot I was given two test question papers and my final run de-brief. Wullie confirmed that my driving was much smoother and that compared with the first run assessment I had increased my average speed, and shaved seven minutes off the journey time and reduced fuel consumption by 3%. He advised me that I had passed the SAFED requirements, gaining an average mark.

Until now, I have always doubted the skills of drivers who use automatic gearboxes. A real pro would be toiling with a 13-speed range change crash gearbox or maybe wrestling with a 16 speed synchro splitter.

Manually selecting the correct gears in terms of engine performance and fuel consumption does require a lot of driver skill.

However having been properly trained by my instructor Wullie Patterson in the use of modern automated gearbox selection combined with cruise control and engine retarding equipment I have changed my view.

Today's drivers using the most up to date automatic boxes also require high levels of training to achieve the skills required to take advantage of the onboard technology. It is not just a question of selecting the drive button and flooring the accelerator pedal.

There is no doubt in my mind now that automatic gear changing and correct use of cruise control and engine retarding equipment leads to a much more relaxed and comfortable drive.

Other benefits for the driver and operator include maximum use of engine torque via the computerised gear changes. This helps maintain good average speeds, speed limit adherence, together with reduced fuel consumption, engine, brake and transmission wear.

Most important of all, once the vehicle is programmed for the route conditions the driver can devote more time to concentrate on the craft of safe driving. That's SAFED for you!