a customer wants us using cruise control whenever you reach 20MPH including town centres. i think its stupid and pointless. what do you guys think?
scanny77:
a customer wants us using cruise control whenever you reach 20MPH including town centres. i think its stupid and pointless. what do you guys think?
I think your customer is an idiot.
He’s a ■■■. How you can you use cruise control in such busy conditions? Does CC even set at 20mph?
To save fuel cruise control is only really effective in long periods of sustained driving. If you’re in a town or village what not, the amount of hazards is too great. If you see a hazard you can just come off the throttle where as if you’re on cruise you’d need to brake for the hazard.
I do use it in villages but only if i can see a good distance ahead and there is no hazards in sight.
i dont think it saves fuel at all. when you start going uphill the cruise control powers up to maintain speed right to the top and then it drops it as you go down the other side. a human can back off the power near the top losing speed but saving fuel then allow gravity to regain the lost speed on the other side
there are too many hazards in town and there would be a delay before you get the foot on the brake which would increase stopping distance in the event of an emergency so there are safety issues too. i very much doubt cruise control would save fuel anyway. what is the difference between a computer maintaining a set speed and a human maintaining a set speed with his/her foot? it seems to be a delusion to me 
That was MRS view on driving as well when they got the renaults we were told use the cruise control as much as poss. Obviously not down a busy high st though.
I was gonnae have a dig at MRS/JBT but i better no i got found out the last time 
Well im no gonnae slag cruise off i love it, this will be a priority for my next car!
i havent been told directly as i havent had a drivers grading yet but i know someone who argued about it as he was hitting his fuel return targets anyway.
the other one is switching the engine off at traffic lights IF you stop. the preferred method is to approach slowly in the hope that they change. i would imagine most drivers would slow down at any type of junction and approach it slow enough to stop but quick enough to use the momentum when the opportunity arises. stopping at switching off seems a little extreme though, especially with longer nights which means using more battery power as you need lights on and possibly heater in the near future
merc0447:
I was gonnae have a dig at MRS/JBT but i better no i got found out the last timeWell im no gonnae slag cruise off i love it, this will be a priority for my next car!
depends how you view the purpose of cruise control. i always thought of it as a comfort tool, not a fuel saving tool
This is how isotrak monitors you stobarts and the like use it. This company isnt stobarts so i dont know their parameters but this company you only need 10% of your driving to be cruise control. So if you drive for 60 minutes only 6 minutes is needed to get you into green. But look at the idling 11.6 minutes has got a red to get a green you need under 5 minutes - that is 5 minutes for your whole working day, that is going to hurt the start motor
Nobody tells me how to drive my truck …
scanny77:
i dont think it saves fuel at all. when you start going uphill the cruise control powers up to maintain speed right to the top and then it drops it as you go down the other side. a human can back off the power near the top losing speed but saving fuel then allow gravity to regain the lost speed on the other sidethere are too many hazards in town and there would be a delay before you get the foot on the brake which would increase stopping distance in the event of an emergency so there are safety issues too. i very much doubt cruise control would save fuel anyway. what is the difference between a computer maintaining a set speed and a human maintaining a set speed with his/her foot? it seems to be a delusion to me
It doesn’t. And that’s the fatal flaw with it that all the ‘you must use CC for bestest mpg’ brigade never manage to grasp. You described the ‘issue’ better than I would have done, but it’s 100% spot on. I rarely use the CC in my car unless I’m on a motorway, and even then it has to be ultra quiet like dead of the night and also relatively flat terrain. I’m along the A55 in North Wales a lot and coming back home there’s that huge incline round Rhyl area where it splits into 3 lanes. If I’m using CC I always knock it off at the bottom of there and just keep a steady speed up there (70ish) rather than the 80 or so I had set on CC. When your ECU ‘sees’ your speed dropping off that fast (due to the steep incline) it basically cranks the injectors to max to try and maintain it regardless, and this causes your mpg to go through the floor. Personally I have always managed to beat ALL CC mpg figures by simply using my right foot and driving according to the terrain.
Well, to answer the OP, that’s more dangerous than ridiculous, what with a vehicle constantly, unthinkingly pulling in a potentially hazardous environment. I don’t understand why some people seem to think Cruise Control is particularly economical but it seems to me they might be confusing maintaining a constant speed with reducing maximum speed. They maybe think that if you cruise at 53mph under all circumstances then that is going to be more economical than adjusting your speed according to the conditions, e.g. slightly faster down hills, slower up them or not rushing up to a hold-up. Of course, those with a heavy right foot will benefit by using it and resisting the temptation to put their foot down; for others, as scanny stated, it’s a chance to rest your ankle.
I use the CC on my coach to a) build the air up quicker and b) to warm it up quicker
DAF95XF:
I use the CC on my coach to a) build the air up quicker and b) to warm it up quicker
scanny77:
a customer wants us using cruise control whenever you reach 20MPH including town centres. i think its stupid and pointless. what do you guys think?
i use it whenever i can in daytime,at night i dont/wont use it as if i fall asleep ill go alot father across the field with it on than off,but if i want my £5 per day fuel bonus ive got to use it at least 75% of my driving time[think that the figure]
My CC only works above 30mph, I only use it on dual carrigeways and motorways as it’s the only way I can overtake a lot of trucks.
53mph on the pedal but 55mph on the CC, it’s just had it’s 6 year calibration and it does seem to take longer to start accelerating again once it’s hit the limiter though.
scanny77:
a customer wants us using cruise control whenever you reach 20MPH including town centres. i think its stupid and pointless. what do you guys think?
Tell the customer to F*** off!! Stupid, dangerous etc. In built up areas too, when that kid, mum etc steps out on you 
■■ Good luck!
I had all this crap at a firm I used to work for. All I said was I’ll be the judge of when and where I use it, as “I was on cruise, trying to save fuel” is a lame excuse when you’ve hit someone up the rear in the morning rush hour 
I would say “Mmmm, hmmm, yaaas boss, I will do dat ting for you” in a 1920’s Mississippi cotton-picker kind of way and then ignore him. 