over speed policy ( central drivers )

You're mixing apples and oranges ... Truck is governed at 62mph for fuel savings. No secret or issue there.

Speed violation is another matter ... That is exceeding the governed speed. The only way you can exceed a governed speed is to let the speed run out while going down grade. At that point physics takes over. Company trucks are governed at 62, you're riding it out at 70, you're starting cede control of the truck.

 

That's really hard to do, controlling your downhill speed with nothing but cruise control and an engine brake.
But I never seem to have a problem with it. I just back the cruise speed down 4 MPH as I crest the hill and I never get over 64, unless I am over 40k on a pretty steep hill.
Then I tap the brakes every now and then to keep my speed in check, or shift down one gear and let the engine brake hold me at 55 if I had to brake too much.

Unless the truck speed limit is lower, in which case I select the proper gear and kick back.

Rocket science, I know.


And you are not Central drivers anymore.
You are employed by Swift, and have to abide by their rules.

 

We should have that grace period to 67. I went 66 today. Nothing popped up on the Qualcomm. I got too close to comfort. I'm going to have to start grabbing some brakes at 64

 

To me it's not tha big of a deal. But I'm never in the mountains. But I'm sure they'll be that one time I'm trying to change lanes. Or watching the dumb a texting passing me. And I'll go over it. I just try to look ahead and look for down grades.

 

And there is leeway.
You can hit 66 or even 67 for very short periods before the alarm goes off, and if you have the cruise set.
Let it go for too long and it will get flagged, as it will be even sooner if you are not on cruise control.

Mentors and O/O's have a couple more MPH above that.

But it's just a few seconds, not a minute or more. So don't try to gain time by speeding down the hills.
And by speeding I mean what the company allows - not the actual speed limit.

I see a lot of drivers that just blow off the speed limit (actual, or company) and go as fast as they can down the hills.
Some of them end up in a ditch because they ignore the FACT that all that weight and inertia is far less controllable with gravity working against you.
And it's not a linear effect, it's progressive. Meaning that every MPH faster you go has more effect than the previous increase of 1 MPH did.

You could always experiment a bit.
Take the same hill just 1 MPH faster each time you go down - just to save you that minute or five overall.
I'll bet you reach a point, if you don't chicken out first, that you don't ever do that again.
Or anything else, for that matter.

No Fear?
That is a concept truckers should NEVER embrace!

 

I have had a few alerts, but never on a mountain. Its always on rolling hills when I'm dealing with traffic or other "distraction." (Can it be a distraction when its your primary safety concern at the moment?). I admit that I run at the governed speed, but its not rare to get a load wher I have to run that fast. On some occaisions, if I can't make 620-650 miles in a day, its going to be late. This may indeed be the issue that makes me quit.

 

I'm thinking you're not as "swift" with pbysics as you might believe. You realize, that unless you are on the fuel peddle and exceeding the pull of gravity down a hill, that the trailer is "pushing" you. But, even that isn't truly correct, because if gravity is pulling both the tractor and trailer equally, and it is unless you are at the crest or bottom of the hill, that the trailer isn't pushing but rather gravity pulling on both. The only time the trailer then would be pushing then is when you hit the brakes, and then only if the braking of the tractor is greater than the trailer. These similar physics are employed to win Cub Scout racing derbies. So,ifbeing out of control is defined by the trailer pushing you, then you shouldnever employ the engine brake, because this would cause the greatest differential and thus the most pushing (this is why you don't use engine brakes in slick conditions). I think your "physics" might better be described as propaganda.