Fuel efficiency is not just science and it’s certainly not only an art. Thanks to advanced engine systems, mapping programs which reduce travel time and improvements in driver education, fuel consumption is becoming slightly less of a budget strain for many companies, but it’s time to get better.

The Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) of 2010, grants authorizes state governments programs like engine retrofits aimed at reducing emissions from existing diesel engines.

The legislation would authorize $100 million per year for grants in fiscal years 2012 through 2016. The program was originally established under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which authorized $200 million in grants for diesel engine emissions reductions annually until the end of the current fiscal year.

Sponsor of the bill, Senator George Voinovich, R-Ohio, said in a statement that “The authorization of DERA promotes sound environmental and economic policy and I am so proud the Senate passed its reauthorization before I leave Washington at the end of this Congress.” The bill now goes to the House where prospects for passage, with the limited time remaining in the session, are not good.

Even if the bill doesn’t pass, we have a few solutions to help your fleet be as fuel efficient as possible. Here are five points we recommend you monitor with a GPS system (like ours!):

-Idle time, do you know how much fuel is wasted idling?
Do you? We can tell you. Any time your fleet gets stuck in a traffic jam, it costs you all kinds of money. Let us help track and reroute to save time and fuel costs.

-Start and stop time
Like to keep track of your fleet when you’re out of town? Want to make sure drivers are starting with enough time to make their route or destination? We do both of those things.

-Engine hours
Not every vehicle will be used exactly the same. We can help you track engine hours so you can better plan maintenance and/or repairs on the vehicles that are more likely to need it.

-Vehicle activity
In a perfect world, everyone would be trustworthy, directions would be understood AND followed and shipments would arrive on time. We can tell you where your fleet is, what it’s doing and where it has to go.

-Speed, excessive speeds can reduce mileage
The faster you go, the faster you’ll get there, right? Is that 60 seconds saved worth the extra gallon of fuel burned? For your best customer, sure. But for the rest, definitely not. Use this to remind your drivers to keep it under the limit.