FleetBoard Drivers’ League Final 2011: DOEGO and Smeets Beheer on the winners’ podium

Excitement was at fever pitch for the final of the 9th FleetBoard Drivers’ League on 3 September: 25 truck drivers from 13 different countries delivered an outstanding finish to the competition at the Altes Lager site in Münsingen. Their results in four challenging tasks decided who would reign supreme in the international Drivers’ League of 2011.


After some exciting action, Karsten Krüger of DOEGO Fruchthandel in Germany was able to defend his title as the ‘Winner of the Drivers’ League’. The winning company has used FleetBoard since 2006 and sees continuous improvement in the driving style of its drivers. Hot on his heels was Dawied Walczak of Smeets Beheer B.V. from the Netherlands, who took second place after a thrilling final round. Jürgen Breginski of DOEGO Fruchthandel from Germany narrowly managed to secure a well-deserved third place. For the first time in the history of the Drivers’ League, a female driver made it through to the final. Patrizia Kofler of Tanzer Handels- und Speditionsgesellschaft mbH from Austria was a good match for her fellow competitors and finished in 22nd place.

One of the challenges involved a 30km drive on public roads, which included highways, country lanes and roads in built-up areas. During this test, the competitors were judged on their economical driving style using FleetBoard Performance Analysis. Operating the truck in everyday conditions with optimal fuel consumption and minimal wear and tear was what counted here. The drivers skilfully demonstrated an efficient use of resources in handling their vehicles and achieved top scores between 8.1 and 9.9 (on a scale of 1 to 10).

Another exercise involved estimating speed with an obscured speedometer. Here, the finalists demonstrated their feel for their vehicle by driving a section of road as closely to 30km/h as possible.

The task on the off-road course in a laden Actros tipper with a weight of 32 tonnes provided plenty of entertaining driving. On those sections of the course with a 20 percent gradient, the weight of the tipper had a particularly noticeable effect and the full concentration of the drivers was required to keep fuel consumption to a minimum. Twist humps and wading ponds recreated off-road conditions perfectly and posed a real challenge for the drivers.

The drivers from Great Britain and South Africa, who were used to right-hand vehicles, also demonstrated their proficiency at the highest level. All of the finalists showed great competitive spirit and delivered exceptional performances. It was a close run race.

Those who made it through to the final had already qualified from an original field of 9,000 drivers in their home countries of Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Great Britain, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, South Africa and also in the Middle East. Drivers from France, Spain and the Middle East were taking part for the first time.

This year, to coincide with ‘FleetBoard inside’ – which sees FleetBoard as standard in the new Actros – the drivers faced a new challenge: they competed in the new Mercedes-Benz truck. If their companions held a truck driver’s licence, they too were able to have a go at driving the new Actros. For all the drivers, so-called ‘trucker maniacs’, it was an exciting weekend of thrilling driving experiences and a fantastic event to be part of. They also took the opportunity to talk shop about the best use of retarder brake systems, cruise control and environmentally-friendly driving, and enjoyed their time together as winners of the 2011 Drivers’ League.
The Drivers’ League also represented a triumph for the environment: the competition provided motivation for all 9,000 participants to reduce their CO2 emissions by an additional 1 percent, which roughly equates to a tonne of CO2 per year and per truck.

Karsten Krüger was overwhelmed at his victory: "It was a challenging competition with a lot of fun, excitement and action. I am very happy to be taking the trophy home with me again." As his prize, FleetBoard will be sending him and a companion to Madrid for a week. As well as enjoying the lively atmosphere of the Spanish capital, the two-time winner of the Drivers’ League will get to experience the European Championship Truck Race on 2 October 2011.

Markus Lipinsky, Managing Director of Daimler FleetBoard GmbH, shared in the excitement of the live final: "The finalists of the Drivers’ League are the best Mercedes-Benz truck drivers in the world. The driver is often the final link in the chain and as such they earn great respect for their day-to-day work on the road. FleetBoard enables them to clearly show how efficiently they drive, how well they anticipate traffic conditions and how they can minimize wear and tear on their vehicles. They form the basis for the company’s success and play an active part in protecting the environment. My thanks go to all 9,000 competitors."

Results and photos from the final can be found at www.fahrerliga.de .

Source: Daimler AG

Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.

FleetBoard inside: telematics as standard on the new Actros

With the launch of the new Actros, Mercedes-Benz is the first automobile manufacturer to offer a telematics system as standard. The FleetBoard system, an in-house development from Mercedes-Benz, will be available in all new Actros trucks throughout Europe at no extra charge for the hardware. The system will also function effectively in mixed fleets comprising various brands of vehicle.


New customers will have an opportunity to test the Vehicle Management and Time Management services free of charge for four months. FleetBoard is offering free driver training on economical driving practice during this test phase. Experience shows that the use of FleetBoard reduces fuel consumption by 5% - 15% in the short term.

A foresighted and economical style of driving also reduces wear. As a result, the maintenance interval for vehicles with activated FleetBoard can be extended by up to 30,000 km.

Companies which already have a different telematics system in use can also put FleetBoard to the test. It is possible to run two systems on board in parallel.

At the end of the test phase, the customer can actively decide to extend the service contract. The customer can then select the desired scope of services which he wishes to continue using from a comprehensive service portfolio. The minimum resultant monthly charge is € 59 per vehicle.

A one-off FleetBoard fee of € 800 will also be payable after the test phase. The customer can avoid this charge by opting for a Complete Mercedes-Benz truck service contract, however, covering all repair and maintenance work.

This results in a 50% reduction in hardware and service costs in comparison to the previous FleetBoard offering – with a broader scope of services into the bargain.

Markus Lipinsky, Managing Director of Daimler FleetBoard GmbH, stresses: "With this innovative product offering, FleetBoard is going that crucial step further and offering customers concrete savings from the very first mile. In conjunction with the most economical truck available, FleetBoard enables fleet managers to exploit the vehicles' potential to the full. With the entry-level costs for professional telematics now also reduced substantially, there is no longer any reason to go without such systems."

FleetBoard EcoSupport – trainer on board

FleetBoard EcoSupport provides the driver with a tool which analyses his current driving style in real time and provides direct feedback.

FleetBoard EcoSupport is available in every Actros, irrespective of whether the FleetBoard system is activated. Criteria relating to an economical style of driving, such as steady speed, pedal movements, use of wear-free brakes, roll behaviour and similar are continuously analysed and evaluated. The calculation algorithm is fully compatible with FleetBoard Performance Analysis.

Truck Maintenance Management and telediagnostics reduce downtimes

Beyond this, Mercedes-Benz offers its customers a further special service on the basis of the FleetBoard data. Truck Maintenance Management enables fleet operators to assign the scheduling of maintenance work on their truck to a Mercedes-Benz service partner. The service partner then monitors the due dates for impending servicing and plans the servicing together with the fleet manager, so as to minimise downtimes for the vehicles.

Minimising downtimes is also the aim of reactive telediagnostics. In the event of a breakdown, the driver can transmit the diagnostic data to the workshop via FleetBoard at the push of a button. The service team member can analyse the fault symptoms prior to setting off for the breakdown site and can take appropriate preparatory measures for a swift remedy to the situation on site.

Comprehensive choice of services

The Vehicle Management services help to optimise the deployment of vehicles and to improve driving styles. This leads to reduced fuel consumption and wear-related costs.

The Logistics Management services support the logistics processes in the area of job scheduling. An additional terminal in the vehicle, the DispoPilot, displays the job data and facilitates communications with the driver. Customised workflows can be defined in accordance with the requirements of the individual company concerned.

The Time Management services enable recording of the drivers' working hours for further processing, e.g. in payroll or expenses accounting systems. The Tacho Management functions also belong to this area of services. Download of drivers' cards and the mass storage unit provides a simple and automatic means of meeting the statutory requirements on the storage of data.

FleetBoard services also remain available for other brands of vehicle on the familiar terms.
Further information on the Daimler FleetBoard product range is available at www.fleetboard.com.

Source: Daimler AG

Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.