Something That Has Been Bothering Me About Driving Governed Trucks.

Most lease trucks are even governed. I raced circle track over 20 yrs. It's a great stress relief. l have drove trucks with governers set all over the board. My current truck is not governed. Drivers are drivers all over the country. They do stupid stuff. Brett is spot on with his comments. The higher the speed the bigger the problems. I won't lie though it is nice to have the pedal available to get away from some folks. But slowing down is the safer method and I have yet to see a truck governor interfere with that. Even though I got it I rarely use it and still slow down. Because it's safer!!!!!

It can be annoying.most trucks are governed at 65 to 70 which I think is reasonable.i worked for Schneider which was really annoying because the truck is governed at 65 but they have an overspend rule of 1 Percent over 62 mph.makes sense huh?If you exceed that you have to answer for it.i got dispatched 2200 miles in four days and my overspeed was 30 percent.i did 2800 miles that week had my best paycheck ever,but I got a call from the safety Manager.How is 62 safer than 65?It's not.especially in the Northeast.try running 495 in Massachusetts in the granny lane all day.theres an exit ramp every five miles and people don't yield.you can't run 62 in the middle lane or you hold up other tricks that are not governed.so in my opinion 62 is more dangerous than 65.and it takes money out of your pocket

For me, i drive governed at prime. It isnt the speed that irks me. It is the dampened horse power and torque resulting from the governing that irks me. Not enough that i want to complain i just lower my gears enough to make it up hills.

My post wasnt about not being able to go fast for the sake of going fast, it was about the speed difference between trucks.

I'm governed at 63, but I don't like to run right up against the limiter, so I set cruise at 62.

My issue is that trucks who are governed at 65 or any speed slightly faster than me, will creep by, then cut right in front.

This leaves me with 2 choices, tailgate them for the next 10 miles as I wait for their slight speed advantage to pull them away from me....not an option for me, or tap on the brake and slow down to open the gap quicker. This is the option I always take.

So, for me, it's about always having to yield, all day, every day.

I do have patience, but sometimes, this happens every few minutes, all day long.

Maybe I'm in the minority, I can't believe this doesn't annoy anyone else.

Anyway, it was just a question.

Sambo's rules:

I'm governed at 63, but I don't like to run right up against the limiter, so I set cruise at 62.

My issue is that trucks who are governed at 65 or any speed slightly faster than me, will creep by, then cut right in front.

This leaves me with 2 choices, tailgate them for the next 10 miles as I wait for their slight speed advantage to pull them away from me....not an option for me, or tap on the brake and slow down to open the gap quicker. This is the option I always take.

I agree with you 100%. Swift is set at 62mph, and playing happens both ways. It takes 3 minutes (almost forever) to pass some trucks, which I do as needed. I stick in the left lane long enough to get some space between me and the slower truck.

On the flip side, as a faster truck inches by, I actually use the Jake lever to slow a bit flash the headlights & let them in, clearing the passing lane faster. That little bit of slowing doesn't waste any time. I just wish the people that I pass could think to do this.

(Slowing with the Jake lever keeps the cruise control operating, so I don't have to reset it. Talk about being lazy!!)

I'm governed at 70 and it's just as much a pain. People see a truck and automatically just HAVE to be in front of it. So they speed up to pass but once they get in front of me they realize they're doing 75 or 80 and immediately slow down, usually to slower than I'm going!

My post wasnt about not being able to go fast for the sake of going fast, it was about the speed difference between trucks.

I'm governed at 63, but I don't like to run right up against the limiter, so I set cruise at 62.

My issue is that trucks who are governed at 65 or any speed slightly faster than me, will creep by, then cut right in front.

This leaves me with 2 choices, tailgate them for the next 10 miles as I wait for their slight speed advantage to pull them away from me....not an option for me, or tap on the brake and slow down to open the gap quicker. This is the option I always take.

So, for me, it's about always having to yield, all day, every day.

I do have patience, but sometimes, this happens every few minutes, all day long.

Maybe I'm in the minority, I can't believe this doesn't annoy anyone else.

Anyway, it was just a question.

Out of curiosity, when was the last time you drove a car?

Reason I ask, I used to get really frustrated by the same thing when I was still driving otr. I really thought that not being governed would help. Then I got this local position and had to start driving my car an hour to work and an hour back every day. Well, I still have the same problem. I mean, it is nice to be able to speed up around traffic sometimes, but most of the time I don't do that because I have to worry about my fuel economy so I don't spend a fortune on gas every month. I didn't used to have this problem of people cutting me off all the time, but that's because I used to be the guy speeding and driving faster than almost everyone else.

Now that I'm in an ungoverned vehicle, I've "experimented" and found that the best way to avoid getting cut off so much is to go either faster than everyone else or much slower than most everyone else. I seriously get tailgated, "bullied," and cut off much more going 80 mph than I do 62-65.

I don't drive my truck near as much anymore since I spend most of my time in the yard, but the way I usually deal with it is to set the cruise a couple notches slower if I'm getting passed like that alot. Not the best option if you're on a really right run, but it only slows you down a few minutes and after a while you hardly notice you're going any slower than you were. Again, not gonna lie, ungoverned is nice, but in reality it's somewhat overrated.

I don't know what it's like yet in a rig or very congested traffic yet but back home on the highway it's usually pretty quiet except tourist season or if I went out of town to one of the busier sections of the state. I always preferred to stay around 60 to 65 while everyone else would be doing 70 plus leaving me plenty of space around my vehicle. I prefer the space.

Naturally impatient, type-A personalities are many times challenged with the delays associated with truck driving, especially in-flight on the Interstate. Let's "go-go-go", "I have an appointment to keep". Driving a loaded semi, with or without governed speed, requires patience, gobs of it. Learn to adjust, work with what you have available, or allow the obvious to drive you nuts.

Regardless of governed speed, much of what is written here is "just truck driving" and over the course of gaining experience, a driver will learn to adjust and recover speed with a minimal amount of yielding and frustration. Situational awareness is a skill developed over time, learning to anticipate traffic patterns and flow, applying minor adjustments well ahead of the need to heavy brake or full acceleration. No matter what speed a loaded truck is governed at, it will lag and eventually slow ascending a grade. Fact is, it takes us far longer to recover lost speed. It's inevitable an 80k truck will never respond like the 3500lb family sedan. Anticipating changes in terrain, road direction and basic "Ebb" and "Flow" of traffic is part of the job and a learned skill.

Speed governance, 62 seems to be the optimal number for most of the mega carriers. It’s no coincidence. The reasons for this are simple; fuel economy and safety. Increase the speed from 62-70 and the drop in fuel economy is not linear, but decreases in an accelerated downward curve. Fuel cost is a huge percentage of operating costs for a trucking company. Even a 1-2% improvement can save millions of dollars annually. Otherwise we wouldn't be driving around with tank skirts, trailer skirts, trailer tails, restricted idling, and offered fuel bonuses for managing and reducing fuel consumption. A “penny saved is a penny earned”, applicable in a business that survives on 3-3.5% profit margins.

Governed speed for safety's sake has been discussed ad nausea and can be a hotly debated topic depending on individual perspective and motivation. Like it or not, speed can kill. The simple fact is, with gigabytes of statistical data, probability charts, and sophisticated what-if modeling tools, our employers know exactly the speed and the inherent risk associated with it. They also know how increased speed affects an inexperienced driver’s safe operation of a CMV. There is not guess work here. The governed speed was not selected randomly and certainly wasn’t done to reduce our earning potential. Increase the speed and safe stopping distance also increases. And similar to fuel economy, the stopping distance does not increase in a linear fashion (on a straight-line), but on an upward curved line. Statistics do not lie. Increased speed requires an increased responsibility to maintain a safe following distance and optimal tire inflation pressure (steer tires are speed rated at 75mph and assume recommended inflation pressures). A 8 mph increase in speed, for example from 62-70mph, increases safe stopping distance by about 100 feet depending on loaded weight and road conditions. Add in the potential for driver fatigue near the end of a shift, and the stopping distance may increase even more.

The intangible point of higher speed can be addressed with part of Chickie's reply: when she maintains a speed of 70mph, cars pass her at 75-80 and then slow to 70 or below. Why? Simple answer; when they pass her at 80, they are likely exceeding the speed limit and want to quickly slow down and return to the perceived safety of the right hand lane. At 70mph we put our trucks in a situation of "mixing-in" with faster traffic. Casting aside the idiots who draft us like in a NASCAR race, most drivers do not want to be stuck behind a truck because for no other reason, they cannot see what's in front of them. So,...there is a mad dash to get by us. Expect it and adjust.

Safe driving requires frequent glances into the mirror, anticipation of passing vehicles approaching and entering your space. It's our job, not theirs to manage the space around the truck and focus on safety above all else. A governed speed of 62, 63 or even 65 will reduce the ability and tendency to “mix-in” with faster traffic, and lower the probability of risk by doing so, especially for a newer driver. In addition, if running at 70, in many states it’s the maximum speed limit; that too causes the propensity to “mix-in” with traffic. My basic rule of thumb; regardless of my speed, I proactively avoid “bunching” at highway speed with other vehicles, commercial or otherwise. I want a place to go if I need-be that is not occupied. Again it’s back to situational awareness and anticipation.

Naturally impatient, type-A personalities are many times challenged with the delays associated with truck driving, especially in-flight on the Interstate. Let's "go-go-go", "I have an appointment to keep". Driving a loaded semi, with or without governed speed, requires patience, gobs of it. Learn to adjust, work with what you have available, or allow the obvious to drive you nuts.

Regardless of governed speed, much of what is written here is "just truck driving" and over the course of gaining experience, a driver will learn to adjust and recover speed with a minimal amount of yielding and frustration. Situational awareness is a skill developed over time, learning to anticipate traffic patterns and flow, applying minor adjustments well ahead of the need to heavy brake or full acceleration. No matter what speed a loaded truck is governed at, it will lag and eventually slow ascending a grade. Fact is, it takes us far longer to recover lost speed. It's inevitable an 80k truck will never respond like the 3500lb family sedan. Anticipating changes in terrain, road direction and basic "Ebb" and "Flow" of traffic is part of the job and a learned skill.

Speed governance, 62 seems to be the optimal number for most of the mega carriers. It’s no coincidence. The reasons for this are simple; fuel economy and safety. Increase the speed from 62-70 and the drop in fuel economy is not linear, but decreases in an accelerated downward curve. Fuel cost is a huge percentage of operating costs for a trucking company. Even a 1-2% improvement can save millions of dollars annually. Otherwise we wouldn't be driving around with tank skirts, trailer skirts, trailer tails, restricted idling, and offered fuel bonuses for managing and reducing fuel consumption. A “penny saved is a penny earned”, applicable in a business that survives on 3-3.5% profit margins.

Governed speed for safety's sake has been discussed ad nausea and can be a hotly debated topic depending on individual perspective and motivation. Like it or not, speed can kill. The simple fact is, with gigabytes of statistical data, probability charts, and sophisticated what-if modeling tools, our employers know exactly the speed and the inherent risk associated with it. They also know how increased speed affects an inexperienced driver’s safe operation of a CMV. There is not guess work here. The governed speed was not selected randomly and certainly wasn’t done to reduce our earning potential. Increase the speed and safe stopping distance also increases. And similar to fuel economy, the stopping distance does not increase in a linear fashion (on a straight-line), but on an upward curved line. Statistics do not lie. Increased speed requires an increased responsibility to maintain a safe following distance and optimal tire inflation pressure (steer tires are speed rated at 75mph and assume recommended inflation pressures). A 8 mph increase in speed, for example from 62-70mph, increases safe stopping distance by about 100 feet depending on loaded weight and road conditions. Add in the potential for driver fatigue near the end of a shift, and the stopping distance may increase even more.

The intangible point of higher speed can be addressed with part of Chickie's reply: when she maintains a speed of 70mph, cars pass her at 75-80 and then slow to 70 or below. Why? Simple answer; when they pass her at 80, they are likely exceeding the speed limit and want to quickly slow down and return to the perceived safety of the right hand lane. At 70mph we put our trucks in a situation of "mixing-in" with faster traffic. Casting aside the idiots who draft us like in a NASCAR race, most drivers do not want to be stuck behind a truck because for no other reason, they cannot see what's in front of them. So,...there is a mad dash to get by us. Expect it and adjust.

Safe driving requires frequent glances into the mirror, anticipation of passing vehicles approaching and entering your space. It's our job, not theirs to manage the space around the truck and focus on safety above all else. A governed speed of 62, 63 or even 65 will reduce the ability and tendency to “mix-in” with faster traffic, and lower the probability of risk by doing so, especially for a newer driver. In addition, if running at 70, in many states it’s the maximum speed limit; that too causes the propensity to “mix-in” with traffic. My basic rule of thumb; regardless of my speed, I proactively avoid “bunching” at highway speed with other vehicles, commercial or otherwise. I want a place to go if I need-be that is not occupied. Again it’s back to situational awareness and anticipation.