Stop and Go
I worked for a company that provides a utility truck, and one of the analytics they monitor is how long the truck stays in place with the motor on. The target number was something like 3%, but I was consistently stuck in traffic due to my area being changed to the downtown area of my city. Naturally, this raised my idle percent.
My supervisor began constantly badgering me over the raise of my idle percent, which was about 10-12% higher now. After they decided to give me a wRiTtEn VeRbAl WaRnInG I became the MOST efficient truck no idler in our branch. But I had a secret. I brought it down to a 0.00 by shutting the truck off at every stop sign, red light, highway stopped in traffic, in drive-thrus, and INSTANTLY off when I got to where I was going.
Now, re that is charging my two phones, laptop, tablet, and my various equipment. All this juice sucking and no alternator spinning putting the power back into the truck meant the battery died. A LOT. Now, the rules the company had made it forbidden for me to jump the truck myself, so I had to call the company and they sent out a tow truck to jump start it for me each time, and every time I call this tow truck it takes a minimum of 2 hours for it to show up.
I began doing this multiple times a day, every day, until they figured my truck was broken. It goes to the shop, checks out, they give it back—I ruin it again. They end up giving me an entirely new truck, I start ruining it, I repeated this process until they gave me the THIRD truck and the manager calls me to ask what my daily routine is.
I go through the basics and add in the whole stop at red light engine off, stop in traffic engine off, etc. and dude goes “Why the heck are you doing this?” “My supervisor wrote me up for my idle time being too high.” “This is completely ridiculous.” He tossed my write-up and I’m guessing talked to the supervisor because I never heard a word about idle time again and I quit caring about it.