Trip Planning: Approximating Speed Limit Average

I am a company OTR driver and I am stuck in the Indiana-Ohio-Illinois area. I say stuck because I am from the West Coast and my loads have lead me to out here for the past two weeks. I was told by mentors and at trucking school to just divide my miles by 50MPH to approximate my times. This doesn't work for the area I am in because there are long stretches of 45MPH or below and toll booths that require you to go through a kiosk lane even with an EZPass. Does anyone know where I can get legit speed limit info for this area? I want to plan accordingly. Also, how do OTR drivers make money out this way because the reduction in the speed limits lowers daily driveable miles.

Thanks

Well first of all, most company trucks only run in the 60 - 65 mph range so they're maxed out pretty much everywhere they go.

50 mph as an average estimate time should work pretty much anywhere you go. I mean, even if you're averaging a little below that for a stretch of a few hours because of construction and traffic, you should be able to hit that mark or better by the end of a full day of driving. I can't imagine driving 10 or 11 hours and not being able to average at least 45 mph. That would be a pretty awful day of backcountry driving or constant city traffic.

I'd be curious to hear what most people are using for estimates to approximate their times.

My truck is governed at 58 on the pedal and 62 on the cruise. No matter where I will be driving I always figure my ETA with 50 mph. I also include breaks I include 11 hours a day just to cover my 10 hour sleeper berth and my 30 minute break and any rest room breaks I may need to take. 50 mph has always worked out for me so far and I am usually always earlier than my ETA I give to my FM. I just keep them updated along the way. It seems even if a lot of my trip is 2 lane highways through a lot of towns, in the end I can usually still average 50mph or a little more.

I've been driving for a little over 5 1/2 years, and using a 50 mph average to trip plan as well as determine whether I have enough hours to do any given load has always worked for me. There have been times where I've been delayed beyond that threshold, but only because of things that are beyond my control, such as weather or major accidents that have the highway shut down. Trip planning around a 50 mph average generally takes care of any of the usual delays like traffic or construction.

I have been getting loads under 500 miles, so I don't have other miles to even out delays or Backcountry roads

To be honest, I trip plan at 60 mph but that's simply because I'm governed at 70. Our trip planners plan everything at 55 mph but 60 works well for me. If I know I'm going to be running into a lot of towns or back roads I'll figure at 55 but this isn't too frequent.

I have been getting loads under 500 miles, so I don't have other miles to even out delays or Backcountry roads

That statement has me confused now. I can't really get what the problem is now that you've added that information. I run in those states fairly often and have not encountered the difficulties you speak of unless I'm mostly in and around Chicago, and if that's the case I'll be running strictly at night to alleviate the congestion in that area.

Loads under 500 miles should be doable in a single driving shift, even with some delays. You have the power of choice on your side. Sometimes just choosing the time of day that you attempt running a load makes all the difference in the results you get.

I am in the Northeast a lot, running loads that no one else in our fleet wants to run. Choosing to handle the driving portion of those loads at the proper time of day makes all the difference in whether one has success with them or not.

Have you considered running through the night in these areas that are causing you difficulty?

I completely agree with OldSchool and I don't "get" what the problem is either.

I drive for a company that primarily focused on short haul Midwest Regional. Our AVERAGE length of haul is about 350 miles.

Some days I'll do more than 1 pickup and delivery. During my rookie year I drove about 158,000 miles doing SHORT HAUL in the Midwest. I don't generally run toll roads either. I trip plan at 50 mph and my truck is governed at 65.

The name of the game is maximize your HOS , keep the driver's door closed, deliver and load asap while keeping your dispatcher as the first to know with updated ETAs, no excessive breaks.. etc. So they can keep you rolling. Got a delivery appointment you can beat by a long shot? Do it the old fashioned way.. call the customer, see if you can deliver early or sometimes it's better to ask forgiveness afterwards for showing up way early, than it is asking permission to do so.

I trip plan at 55mph plus 30 min break, fuel stops, plus I add 1 hr for every major city I am going thru. 30 mins for major large towns with a crap load of stoplights when on back country highways.

I calculate at 60mph, then add an hour for breaks, an hour for hills or construction depending on how much I fill up with fuel at the start of my day so no need to stop usually. Bad weather adds more time. If I'm asked for an ETA I always tell them the end of my 14 then roll in early lol

I run a lot of the same roads so if I know the back roads I add time accordingly.

I run the Midwest and northeast a lot and don't have issues. It takes time to learn your clocks. Good luck