Here's a fleet that last year cost nearly $12-million to operate. In addition, the 6,643 trucks and cars that comprise it rolled the equivalent of 2,418 times around the earth (traveling 60,200,000 miles, and consumed five and one-half million gallon of gas.

Despite the astronomical distance it traveled, the fleet's accident record remains remarkably low, reporting only one accident for every 52,581 miles driven last year-including minor bumps and scratches. Also, by the use of antipollution and exhaust emission devices, 3,500 vehicles, or more than half of the fleet, emit 'clean" exhausts.

Responsible for all these remarkable statistics is the Illinois Bell Telephone Company, which operates the largest privately owned motor fleet in the land of Lincoln. The fleet, according to R. P. Reuss, Illinois Bell's vice president of operations, is one of the company's most essential tools in providing service and installing and maintaining the company's 5,900,000 telephones.

The 6,643 vehicle which are housed in 111 garages and maintenance centers around the state, are classified as installation-repair (totaling 4,017 vans), construction (961 trucks), passenger (1,568 cars) and miscellaneous (97). Last year, Illinois Bell paid more than a half-million dollars for state and local license and inspection fees and almost $710,000 in gasoline tax.

In the area of safety, the enviable record of Illinois Bell may be due to the Smith defensive driving course. Given most company drivers in regular "tailgate" discussions on safe driving methods, the course is presented by foremen. Another factor is the excellent condition of the vehicles.

All of Illinois Bell's vehicles are equipped with seat belts, and drivers and passengers are required to use them. Regular company drivers also receive first aid training, which has helped many telephone employees to help victims of highway and home accidents.

Operations vice president Reuss said it takes all of the cars, and trucks of all shapes and sizes, to carry the men and equipment over all kinds of roads in all kinds of weather to do their job. And now, something new may be added to the fleet.

Company president Charles L. Brown recently announced that the telephone company has contracted for delivery of an experimental electrically-operated truck. If it proves successful, it will be added to the vehicle fleet and test-driven by telephone installers and repairmen on their daily service calls. The truck has already made several extended runs on the streets of Evanston III., a Chicago suburb.

According to Brown anticipated advantages of such an electrically operated truck are: (1) elimination of exhaust pollution, (2) reduced operating noise, (3) lower maintenance costs, and (4) lower operating costs.

This concept holds interesting possibilities for the shortrun, urban driving we do in densely-populated Chicago and the suburbs in performing our daily telephone installation and maintenance job," Brown said.

The truck developed by Linear Alpha Company of Evanston, headed by Dr. Ernest H. Wakefield, is run by a specially-designed system which includes a computer, a thyristor-fitted inverter, a standard induction motor and 24 12-volt lead acid batteries. Outwardly, the truck looks like the familiar telephone installer's truck. All the difference is inside.

The electrical power system replaces such conventional operational parts as the six-cyclinder gasoline engine, the gas tank, transmission, exhaust and tail pipes, generator and radiator.

Dr. Wakefield said that while parts of the new system-integrated circuitry and the solid state thyristor for example-have been known and in use for years in other applications, this is the first time his company has been able to design, produce and assemble them into an electrical drive system that is practical to run the truck.

The proposed plan of operation would have the telephone installer-repairman turn off an electric charger and disengage the charger cable when he arrives at the garage in the morning. The charger will have run up to five hours the night before, recharging the truck's batteries. For ordinary urban driving, he should be able to travel 40 to 50 miles without having to recharge the batteries. Specifications call for speeds up to 55 mph and it should be possible to accelerate to 30 mph in seven seconds.

A small computer connected to a specially constructed inverter, which changes the batteries' DC power into three-phase pulsed AC power when the driver pushes the accelerator, tells the inverter to deliver to the truck's motor a specific frequency of electrical pulses of a specific width which determines the motor's torque or twisting force on the rear wheels and, hence, the running speed of the truck. The rotor, a part of the induction motor which receives these pulses is connected to the truck's differential gear. It produces the necessary torque to move the truck.

Illinois Bell told AUTOMOTIVE FLEET that at this time no conclusions have been reached concerning the experimental unit and that there are still details to be worked out.

One thing is certain concerning the company's fleet, and that is that it has a new look. Introduced last fall, Illinois Bell's new color scheme has become a familiar sight. Installer's vans are white on top and gray-green on bottom, with reflective blue and gold stripes separating the two body colors. The traditional Bell seal, servicing as a company trademark since 1889 has been streamlined. The passenger cars, too, will have a new look with blue and gold stripes on the hood and rear deck of solid white cars. A company spokesman said the lighter colors increase safety by being more visible and reduce temperatures inside the vehicle during hot weather.

President Brown said the entire re-coloring change will take several years to complete. As new trucks are purchased under normal replacement schedules, they will be delivered in the new Bell colors, he explained. Those already in use will be repainted as the need arises.

Brown said the changeover is another method the company is using to "keep abreast of the times." In some respects, it seems they're ahead of them.