Is Speeding Worth It?

Let’s talk about speeding for a minute.

Yes, I know that 98% of people view the speed limit as a suggestion, but that does not justify or excuse your lead foot by any means. In recent years, around 20% of commercial motor vehicles were involved in an accident where speed was a factor. On the surface, it doesn’t look like that number is too high. But when you consider there were roughly 139,000 CMV accidents in 2024; simple math shows that 20% means 27,800 CMVs were involved in speed related accidents…or 76 CMVs get into a speed related accident every day.

Accidents aside, speeding is also one of the easiest ways for DOT officers to identify a driver committing a violation. And once they pull over the driver, they now have an opportunity to examine the driver and vehicle for more potential violations. In theory, the driver should be running a clean and compliant log book, and their truck should be in tip top shape. But the traffic stop can expose the driver and vehicle to more potential violations.

SO WHY SPEED? 

The thought behind many is that speed will get you to your destination quicker. While there is some truth to that, I would venture to guess that speeding doesn’t cut out as much time as one would think. Don’t believe me, let’s do the simple math.

If a driver has a run that is 300 miles long and let’s say the speed limit is 65 miles per hour so the driver averages 65 miles an hour, it will take that driver 4.62 hours to drive that. And yes, I know that averaging 65 mph is far fetched, but for the sake of this article, just go with me on it.

Now, if a driver drives 300 miles and averages 72 mph, it will take them 4.17 hours to drive that. By increasing their speed by 7 miles per hour, they can complete the trip about a half hour sooner. However, at 7 miles per hour over, you are starting to put a bullseye on your vehicle. I have spoken with numerous DOT officers and while some of them say they PROBABLY wouldn’t go after a driver going 7 over the speed limit, they ALL said that it is up to their discretion to engage, meaning if they want to pull you over, they will.

If you bump up your speed to 75 miles per hour, you can complete that 300 mile trip in 4 hours. However, for that entire 4 hour trip, that driver will be playing with fire, because the DOT officers I have spoken to have all said that they will pull over a CMV going 10 miles per hour over the speed limit. And once you’re pulled over, you can kiss any of that time you tried to save goodbye. But, even if you don’t get pulled over, you only save around a 40 minutes in travel time, which in my opinion, is not enough time to justify the potential violations and fines that could come with speeding.

On top of the violation implications, a CMV burns fuel quicker the faster it goes. According to energy.gov, the peak fuel efficiency is around 50-60 miles per hour. For every 5 miles per hour over 50 is like paying an additional $.22 per gallon. So speeding can potential cost you in fines, but it will certainly cost you in fuel expenses.

While the common thought that speeding saves time is, in theory, true, it comes with many potential drawbacks both financially and professionally. The best advice I can give as a safety guy is set your cruise to the speed limit, and drive free from worries about getting a speeding fine and violation.