‘McIdling’ could be costing fleets hundreds

Our latest research has shown that drivers who stop for lunch and leave their work van engines running could be racking up unnecessary fuel bills of hundreds of pounds for fleets.

Data collected from the blind phase of the free Lightfoot trial reveals this is a common problem amongst fleets and is especially prevalent in fast food restaurant car parks during lunch hours, when van drivers leave their engine on for heating, air con, or simply because they forget to switch it off.

The issue of ‘McIdling’ may seem trivial, but our data shows that a diesel van left running for an hour uses around a litre of fuel, costing approximately £1.25 at current pump prices, excluding VAT.

If a driver does this every day that they work, with 240 working days in the typical year, this will cost the fleet an additional £300 in fuel from lunch breaks alone. This is equivalent to over 2,000 miles of driving at 35mpg, or four full tanks of diesel for a medium LCV.

Idling also contributes to a fleet’s carbon footprint, with this particular habit creating around 2.7kg of carbon emissions per hour, or 0.6 tonnes across the working year.

Lightfoot’s Managing Director Paul Hollick had this to say:

“Our data shows that the fast food car park, especially at lunchtime, is a major hotspot for idling. And if it’s not stopped, it could be costing employers thousands of pounds a year while all their drivers to stop and have lunch.

“If a driver sits in their cab eating a Big Mac Meal, and leaves the van idling while they do it, the cost of that lunch goes up from £7.10 to £8.35 with the extra fuel used. That can really add up over the course of the year.”

“We see that businesses are trying really hard to decarbonise, through better driving, better route planning, more efficient vehicles and electrification, yet it can all be wasted by not policing instances of idling such as this.”

“McIdling is one of a number of behaviours that cost money and create pollution that Lightfoot can stop. The fact we can warn drivers about it as they tuck into their Big Mac, Zinger, Whopper, or even Pret baguette, means they can ensure they save as much money as possible.”