Speed limits? We don't need not stinking speed limits.
I recently drove through seven states, with interstate speed limit ranging from 55 MPH to 70 MPH, most every vehicle on the road, cars and semis was running at least 75 MPH, even in the 55 zones. In Tennessee, where the limit was 70, most every vehicle was running between 80 and 90. If any of those Peterbuilts and Freightliners were governed at 62, something was amiss because they were still passing all the Corollas and 4 cy Camrys up those Tennessee mountains. LOL
I remember, while driving the Queens highway near London Ontario, being passed by a Monford meat hauler coming from Montana with a full length tractor trailer pulling a full trailer while I was going 85 MPH in a BMW. I was like getting passed by a New Haven passenger train coming out of Boston LOL
In fact you have just made a wildly errorneous presumption. You -know- nothing about me but for what you have read here.
Which I have taken the liberty to reinsert: California Sues Dick Simon Trucking Inc
In fact the article suggests Dick Simon as a company that is willing to take higher risks with it's drivers and the public than larger companies. DS hired that driver KNOWING he had serious mental and legal issues that would have disqualified him at most other companies. If it is true DS has there trucks roaring across the states you mentioned at the speeds you mentioned, this only supports my argument.
Still nothing in your post supports your original claim, and you continue to ignore evidence to the contrary. It's an old tactic Phillip, when you are wrong change the discussion. Until you can demonstrate otherwise,it is fairly obvious from the numerous posts in this thread, modern semi rigs are not governed at 62. Your failure to support your own claim does speak a lot about you and your credibility.
One last time: cite a single fact to support your allegation.
Ok, so let us put this into another perspective. If I were another person reading this thread for the first time and I read about 4 people who have witnessed trucks going well over 70 mph in different parts of the country vs. your citing of a theory that contradicts all the witness's observations, who should I believe (4 people or 1 person)?
Second, you refuse to accept my invitation to park along side the freeway on the outer fringes of Houston during non rush hours and spend perhaps 3 hours using a radar gun to check every rigs' speeds.
Last, show us a reputable web site link to back up your claim. Assuming it exists, perhaps you are misinterpreting it because the observations don't follow your theory ???
I'd like to know about Canada. Why do I see trucks with 42 wheels? Is Canada the answer to life the universe and everything? I suspect with 11 axles, that's pretty hard to steer, and I'd hate to see the wear pattern on some of the tires. Or is that tyres up in Canada?
I put it to you to show more than your anecdotal sightings of small companies and/or O/O's. Call some companies like Yellow, JB, ABS, some other carriers of the size I mentioned earlier. :^)
You guys are going around in circles sniping at each other - and ALL of you are right on your individual points.
Some large fleets have speed governors on their trucks - and you aren't going to see trucks in those fleets going over the governed speeds because they physically can't. At least on the level or uphill, they might be able to go faster on overrun going downhill.
And some of the large fleets are using Teletrac or other satellite monitoring systems that continuously report on the truck speed and location, or the good old fashioned Tattletale paper chart speed recorder that will fink on them the moment they arrive and a Safety Department person checks the chart. And you won't find those drivers speeding very often either - that is, if they want to stay employed.
But there are also a whole lot of independent truck drivers still out there who own (or lease) their own trucks, and their trucks are not governed. (At least not for road speed, all diesels have an RPM limiter built into the injection pump or fuel management system somewhere to make it harder to blow up the engine. Not impossible.)
Those are the trucks with the "How Am I Driving? 1-800-F*CK-YOU" sign on the back. Or the Chrome Bikini Girls on the mudflaps. Or fifty "Tom Leykis Flash Friday" stickers on the trailer back doors spelling out something lewd... ;-)
And the shippers don't give a rip about whether the trucker hit a lot of traffic or had to stop for three flat tires or lengthy weigh station inspections. The computer said that under ideal conditions it takes X hours to drive a load from Nebraska to Long Beach, so they expect the cargo to be at the port Friday at 10 AM, and by god it better be on time because the ship leaves for China at Noon.
Those are the truck drivers who'll be flying down the highway as fast as the rig will go (speed limits and fuel efficiency be damned), and driving past their scheduled sleep times. Because if they stop for sleep - or anything else - the load will be late. They might spend all their profit for this run on extra fuel they're wasting driving flat out - but if they're late they lose the contract.
These are the guys who are popping caffeine tablets or uppers, drinking Jolt or Mountain Dew straight from the 2-Liter or bad coffee by the 2-quart Thermos, and keeping two Driver's Log books ("Comic Books") to lie about their time, because they've been up for 24 hours straight trying to get the load there.
Those are the drivers who'll be doing 70 wherever they can - and then they lock up the brakes when the radar detector starts squealing.
Okay, Phillip - I'll bet this hits Really close to home. ;-)
All large fleets have engine speed governors. That is a safe statement.
Qualcomm is the most common system.
(I know that you know this Bruce), but for others, so long as the clutch stays engaged, the engine speed governor is the defacto vehicle speed governor. I know of no governance system that applies the service brakes.
LOL
Well according to the self appointed x'spurts, UPS drivers fit the aforementioned profile.
I've seen more than a few drivers fitting your above description. Nearly always in the little no name truck stops where they are less likely to get caught and can easily get 'something' to prop them up for the next 12 hrs. But this situation has improved considerably since the late 80's. The company I worked for made a big issue out of dispatching drivers on legal loads ... loads that had sufficient time to deliver with the hours the driver had available without running two logs. That's one of the reasons why I stayed so long.
BTW, I did find in my archives a picture I took of a Dick Simon truck over the side on I-80 in Wyoming back in 1998. Gee ... do you suppose he was driving too fast for conditions? Email me and I'll send it to you.
I guess none of those trucks pass by Texas or the other states that 4 or so witnesses observe. Gimme a break. More than likely you are the one confused.
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