Celebrate Safe Driver Week July 10-16 By Giving it a Brake. Every year, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Administration celebrates Safe Driver Week by identifying a particular area of focus. This year, state and local law enforcement agencies will be concentrating on speeding—keeping commercial drivers safe by emphasizing obeying the posted speed limits.
Why speeding? Excess speed is directly related to increased accidents and driver fatalities. Nearly 40,000 drivers lost their lives in 2020—the most recent year data is available—which was a nearly 7 percent increase from the year before. Speed-related fatalities increased 17 percent—the main reason speeding was selected as an area of emphasis for 2022. According to the National Highway Transportation Association, 26 percent of all on-road fatalities were related to speeding in 2019, and almost 10,000 crashes occurred because one or more drivers involved were speeding.
Even when speeding doesn’t produce an accident, it’s costly for commercial carriers. Increasing highway cruising speed from 55 miles per hour to 75 increases fuel consumption by as much as 20 percent. With diesel fuel costing around $6 per gallon, that efficiency hit packs a particularly hard punch.
The recipe for safety and efficiency success? Keep the posted speed limits and avoid aggressive driving—hard acceleration and stops that can cut miles per gallon by more than 40 percent. Not only does it save fuel (and money) but also cuts down on vehicle wear and tear and reduces insurance claims.
For more information on how GPS Trackit can help you increase the safety and efficiency of your fleets, contact us for a free demo.
