Speeding happens. Whether your drivers are on a populated interstate with everyone flying past the speed limit or a long country road where it’s hard to tell by sight how fast someone’s driving, staying on the right side of the speed limit can be tricky. But speeding doesn’t just cost your company in potential driving violation fees. These three indirect costs can slow down your profits:
1. Faster speeds waste gas money.
The cost of fuel isn’t significant. According to FreightWaves.com, dropping from 75 miles per hour to 65 will save nearly 30% of your gas. Since gas and diesel make up one of your business’s biggest categories of expenses, anything that knocks it down a few percentage points is worth making policy.
Faster speeds also create more drag, so look for bumpers and fins that can help your fleet cut through the air.
2. Speeding violations contribute to your CSA percentile negatively.
If your truckers get caught speeding, there’s a fine. Even after that, a history of fast speeds and tickets makes your company look riskier on paper. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration can step in if this and other violations makes your carrier company’s percentile too high. It can also make you lose contracts.
3. Speed is dangerous, especially in fall and winter.
Speeding doesn’t guarantee an accident, but it does make one significantly more likely. When you’re drivers are speeding, their response time is effectively slower and they have less time to see obstacles. While the roads may be slightly safer now that vacation season is over and school is in session, that’s temporary. Fall weather, with heavy rain, ice, and snow, is right around the corner.
Go to J.E.B. Insurance Services, LLC. to make sure you’re getting the best deal on your trucking insurance. We provide commercial truck insurance in the states of Florida, Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska.
