Speeding Drivers Can Increase Costs and Risks for Fleets

SmartDrive Systems found that drivers who speed are more likely to engage in unsafe driving behavior and be involved in a collision.

The SmartIQ Snapshot for Trucking report made use of information from the SmartDrive database, analyzing data from more than 220 million driving events. The Snapshots are designed to provide in-depth analysis and metrics of top fleet performance trends.

That report found that drivers who speed were 45% more likely to be involved in a near collision and were 2.5 times more likely to run stop signs, change lanes in an unsafe manner, and be distracted while driving.

On top of risky driving behavior, speeding also hits the bottom line, as the highway mpg for drivers who speed was 2.7% lower than all other drivers.

Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that 27% of all fatal automobile crashes involved speeding drivers. Smart IQ found that drivers who speed were also 54% more likely to cross the median or center line of a roadway while driving, and were 3.7 times more likely to drive with their hands off of the wheel.

And while most drivers agree that speeding is a safety concern, 64% reported feeling comfortable with speeding.

“Although speeding continues to be one of the most serious problems facing the commercial transportation industry, speed limits continue to increase across the country,” said Steve Mitgang, CEO of SmartDrive.

While people who speed tend to engage in other risky behavior as well, the faster a vehicle is moving, the more deadly accidents seem to be. Even increased legal speed limits were shown to have cost 33,000 lives in the last two decades, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Speeding decreases the amount of time that drivers have to avoid crashes and increases the severity of the resulting collision. The NHTSA reports that the force of an impact doubles with ever 10-mph increase in speed over 50 mph.

In addition to the SnapShot for Trucking, SmartDrive is also offering an interactive map to help drivers avoid dangerous areas for speeding. This tool can be used by fleets to discover where dangerous speeding is occurring in order to take steps to avoid it.

The full SmartIQ Snapshot for Trucking report is available here.

Related: SmartDrive SmartSense Sensors Detect Bad Driving