How Is It Legal For Company Trucks To Be Governed At Different Speeds?

For the past few months I’ve been realizing other company trucks have been passing me on flat ground going 3mph faster. The drivers even admitted to me their company trucks are governed higher.

When I bring it up with management they insist all trucks are governed at the same speed.

How can they not know? And how can they get away with it? I would think this would qualify as insurance fraud as the insurer covers them for only one governor speed.

This company has been decent, but this reeks of dishonesty, and I’ll probably be looking at other companies, because they refuse to acknowledge the facts and refuse to turn my truck up. We run like 80% of on duty time at maxed out speed, so I figure these guys running 3mph faster are making north of $250 more than me per month for the same amount of drive time.

I’ve got 2 yrs experience. Any recommendations for companies with passenger program?

Could be like Schneider where team drivers and bulk drivers can go 65 but OTR solo can only go 63. Owner operators can go 68 to 70 depending where they the truck.

Could be like Schneider where team drivers and bulk drivers can go 65 but OTR solo can only go 63. Owner operators can go 68 to 70 depending where they the truck.

That very well could be, or maybe it could be something to do with pedal vs cruise? I can't recall the company but there was a company that allowed 63 on cruise and 65 on the pedal.

Scott, a lot of newer drivers get all bent out of shape over this issue, but I have great news for ya - it's not an issue at all. Whether someone is going a few mph faster will make no difference in the end whatsoever. It far more complicated than doing simple math based on wide open, flat ground, uninhibited speeds.

You're spending tons of time going up and down hills. You're spending time going in and out of parking lots, in traffic backups, in stop and go traffic, waiting at customers, and taking breaks. So it's not valid to simply say that someone is turning more miles in less time so I'm getting screwed. No, you're not. You're getting paid by the mile, not by the mile per hour. You're getting paid for how many miles you turn, not how quickly you turn them.

With all of the variables involved you'll find that a few miles per hour makes no difference in your paycheck.

Now what will make a difference in your paycheck:

• Learning how to maximize your available hours
• Getting loads picked up and delivered ahead of schedule
• Proving yourself to be a strong worker and a safe, reliable driver so you get more miles, better freight, and access to special divisions within the company
• Developing a strong relationship with your dispatcher so you'll get extra attention and priority over other drivers when it's time to assign freight or handle special circumstances

This list goes on forever.

Have a look at these articles:

What It Takes To Be A Top Tier Driver | TruckingTruth Blog

How To Maximize Your Pay During A Time Of High Driver Demand

if you read through our forum and speak with the top performing drivers in this industry, not one of them will care a lick about their governed speed and not one of them will agree that it has any affect on their pay. Kick back, relax, and roll with it. You're causing yourself all kinds of grief over nothing, I can assure you. There are a million little things that go into making a driver into a top performer, but governed speed is not one of them.

And stop being combative with the people at your company. They're the ones who determine who gets the best freight, the most miles, the best treatment, and the special favors from time to time. You're part of the team. You need to have good relationships with the people who call the shots at your company. I can absolutely promise you that every time you cause grief for them they're going to cause grief for you. Every time you do an awesome job and make someone's life easier at your company, they're going to do the same for you.

Not to mention - you're worried about maximizing your pay and yet you're considering quitting your job, losing a ton of money as you transition from one company to another, and then starting all over again at the bottom being a nobody at a new company. Does that really sound like the best way to maximize your earnings? To me it sounds like the best way to chase your tail and cause yourself a ton of grief over nothing.

Wow...great reason to jump ship (sarcasm).

My Swift truck used to be governed at 62 mph; about 3 years ago it was increased to 65 mph. My income has increased over that period but not because of this. CPM was increased several times. Here is the thing, I drive at 63 mph on the interstates. Far easier to avoid bunching, manage space with all of the other trucks doing 65. And when I am approaching a slower vehicle, I've got headroom necessary to pass them quicker by taking it up to 65 or temporarily bypassing the governor allowing a higher speed for passing. But...I always return to 63. In 6 years of NE Regional Dedicated driving; no citations or accidents. 63 mph keeps helps to keep me out of trouble. Pure and simple.

As far as your company reeking of dishonesty? A rather strong overstatement. Based on what you wrote, I don't believe that is the case. All of their trucks probably are governed at the same speed and this has nothing to-do with other carriers' policy to govern higher or not at all. If you are making good money, getting great miles every week, regular home-time, and have developed good working relationships with your driver management, I think moving-on is a hasty and rather short-sighted decision.

No. head of maintenance said the speed is governed evenly across the board for all company trucks regardless of cruise vs. pedal. Also said it would take company codes to adjust governor speed. I’m thinking these have been new trucks from the factory, and they haven’t realized they’re set too high

Scott, have you been turning a minimum of 3,200 miles per week every single week on the road consistently? That's how you make top pay. Think about it - who makes more money, the guy who's travelling 65 mph getting 2,500 miles per week or the guy travelling 62 mph getting 3,200 miles per week?

Don't get lost in trivial details that don't matter in the end. Your governed speed is exactly that - it's trivial. Forget about it and start focusing on what you have to do to become the best driver you can possibly be so you're bringing home the biggest paychecks in the fleet.

I’m thinking these have been new trucks from the factory, and they haven’t realized they’re set too high

Your company shop sets the governor by hooking a computer to it. Atleast at my company this is done when they put the decals and DOT numbers on the new truck. Doing a couple MPH more isn't going to make a big difference. It will create an illusion of turning more miles but how often will you get caught behind a slower vehicle causing you to slow down with too much traffic in left lane to pass. I'm governed at 70 mph and I was running low on hours for getting back to the terminal. My buddy and i left minneapolis headed to des Moines (250 miles)at the same time. I tried to maintain 70 and he cruised at 65 the whole way. As I backed into my spot he was entering the gate. In 3 and half hours roughly I got there 5 minutes faster and had a much higher stress level than he did by needing to pass others. If you want to get all bent out of shape over a couple bucks be our guest but I think you've been hanging around the terminal rats too much. Insurance fraud? Seriously. C'mon man. Like Gtown I typically run lower than my governor to allow more speed to pass as needed, and keep more distance between myself and cars. The only time I run against the governor is in the overnight hours IF traffic is nearly non existant AND I have a 620+ mile day as I'm expected to return back to the terminal daily.

No. head of maintenance said the speed is governed evenly across the board for all company trucks regardless of cruise vs. pedal. Also said it would take company codes to adjust governor speed. I’m thinking these have been new trucks from the factory, and they haven’t realized they’re set too high

Lease ops take theirs to dealers who will change the settings.

As far as insurance fraud.... most of the mega carriers are self insured... so no fraud on the companys part. it could be a breach of contract on the lease ops part.

But seriously, who cares. Stop worrying about everyone else and manage your time to make more money.

At Wolding trucks are initially set to 62 on the pedal and 63 on cruise. If you get great fuel economy, are a trainer, or one of the runners, your truck get s turned up to 63 on the pedal, 65 on cruise. There were a few trucks that were set to 65 on the pedal and 68 on cruise. They were experimenting with fuel economy to see how much difference it made. Some of the turned up trucks got forgotten about and never got turned back down. Kinda the luck of the draw.