One of the major ways speeding hurts companies and drivers is by accelerating vehicle wear and tear, thereby increasing maintenance costs.
In 2022, there were 25,247 commercial vehicles pulled over in the U.S. and Canada and 9,950 passenger cars. Speeding, which was the focus of CVSA’s 2022 Operation Safe Driver Week, was the top violation both in warnings given and citations issued, for both types of drivers. Officers issued 8,586 citations and 7,299 warnings for speeding.
Broken out, that amounts to 2,577 warnings to commercial motor vehicle drivers, and 4,722 to passenger vehicle drivers. Citations were given to 1,490 commercial motor vehicle drivers, and 7,096 passenger vehicle drivers.
The American Transportation Research Institute’s recently updated “Predicting Truck Crash Involvement” report found that when a commercial motor vehicle driver receives a speeding violation, their likelihood of being involved in a crash rises by 47%.
According to ZenDrive, a San Francisco based insurance services company, 51% of ongoing costs, which includes repair and maintenance, were influenced by excessive speeding.
Exceeding recommended speeds takes a toll on the overall health of a truck, particularly its braking system because the brakes must work harder to slow momentum. That friction leads to excessive tire tread wear.
Joe Kay, Meritor's director of Engineering of Front Drivetrain, gave the following explanation of the physics of braking:
“The function of a brake is to convert kinetic energy into thermal energy (heat) then dissipate it into the atmosphere. The basic equation for energy is 1/2M V*2. The importance of showing the physics equation is the V- Velocity (speed) goes up by a square factor. For example, if an 80,000-lb. tractor trailer is traveling at 50 mph, the kinetic energy calculates to 6.7M Ft* lbs., and if the same vehicle is traveling at 60 mph, the kinetic energy is 9.6M Ft* lbs.—a significant increase in energy.
Because the energy requirement goes up by the square of the speed it means the amount of thermal energy (heat) also increases at an exponential rate. This example assumes the vehicle gross weight and the desired deceleration rate are the same.
Applying the brakes from higher rates of speed are likely to have effects on wear of pads, rotor, or drums, or tires. The life of a brake will depend on speed when the brakes are applied, the deceleration rate (emergency-type stop versus longer stop), the operating temperatures of the brake, condition of all the brakes on a vehicle, etc.”
Kay also offered the following advice on rooting out possible habitual speeders, who could then be coached up to slow down:
“Most fleets will be able to detect driver abuse versus the normal or expected wear life. Operators that tend to abuse brakes usually have symptoms like 1) accelerated wear and 2) thermal (overheating) shows up as burned or scorched boots, seals, grease. It may also show up with blued color drums or rotors.”
Willie Reeves, maintenance manager at PacLease, Paccar’s truck leasing arm, echoed Kay’s sentiments on brake wear and tear, adding:
"Ultimately, speeding can cause a truck to have to come in for unscheduled preventive maintenance service, which drives up the cost of operating the truck. Having unscheduled maintenance can cause headaches for a maintenance facility due to the shop having to ensure they have the parts on hand and the proper technician available to perform the work.
Tire wear is another casualty. Tires generate heat, and increased speed causes more heat to build due to the load placed on the tire—especially if the trailer is loaded. Tires have a speed rating that can vary from 55 mph to 70 mph. Many drivers are not aware of their tire speed rating—it’s important to know.
What’s more, heavy braking can cause tires to become flat-spotted, which changes the shape of the tire. This can potentially cause a blowout, creating a safety hazard, requiring a service call, and delaying delivery. Even without a blowout, flat-spotting will require the tire to be replaced prematurely. It also means the shop will have to review the tire program it has in place with the customer."
The powertrain and aftertreatment also feel the effects of a driver’s need for speed. Reeves explained:
"Engines will run at a higher rpm rate to achieve higher speed. That builds up heat, reduces fuel economy, and adds more stress on the engine and its components. Regen cycles will also occur more frequently due to the excessive heat, causing the use of more diesel exhaust fluid. Overall truck health will be impacted as it will cost more to operate the unit due to more frequent PM cycles.
Uptime is affected due to the unit having to be scheduled for PMs more often. Many trucks run three to four PM cycles per year. With constant speeding events, those PM cycles can increase to four to six per year and additional road service calls could occur. All of this means a reduction in vehicle uptime."
Reeves also offered advice on getting drivers to slow down and keep fleet operations running smoothly and according to schedule, stating:
"It starts with communication and having a productive relationship between the shop, customer and driver. This will ensure the best overall health of the vehicle to prevent lost uptime and added maintenance costs.
For fleet managers, utilizing data from telematics devices can play an important role. Most telematics devices track data such as speeding, hard braking events, and engine overspeeds. Fleet managers can use this information as a coaching opportunity with their drivers."
How SpeedGauge Safety Center® Can Help Fleets Win the Maintenance Cost Battle
1. Install GPS fleet management software.
SpeedGauge Safety Center maintains a record for every reported observation where a vehicle exceeds the posted speed limit or any Custom Speed Limits. This feature helps supervisors coach drivers on patterns and trends, and to filter out less serious incidents by applying a Speeding Threshold above the effective speed limit (according to Vehicle Type and Road Type).
For example, if the Speeding Threshold is 5 MPH, SpeedGauge will not trigger or report a Speeding Incident until a vehicle travels at a speed greater than 5 MPH over the Custom or posted speed limit. It may help to think of thresholds as raising the speed limit by the threshold amount.
To trigger an incident the vehicle speed must be the speed limit + thresholds + 1 (if the vehicle were going exactly the speed limit, it wouldn't be speeding!). On a road with a 55 MPH speed limit, for example:
| Threshold | Speed to Trigger Incident | Formula |
| 0 | 56 | 55 + 0 + 1 |
| 1 | 57 | 55 + 1 + 1 |
| 2 | 58 | 55 + 2 + 1 |
| 5 | 61 | 55 + 5 + 1 |
| 10 | 66 | 55 +10 +1 |
Changing your Speeding Thresholds to create future reports is easy and fast: from your SpeedGauge Safety Center Dashboard. Just find the Vehicle Group in question, click on Report Settings and modify your thresholds. This is just one way the SpeedGauge Safety Center helps fleets curve the type of driving behavior that causes excessive wear and tear resulting in increased maintenance costs.
Please CLICK HERE to visit our video library for tutorials on how to use SpeedGauge’s Safety Center's tools more effectively.
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