Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
40 Under sponsorship of the Transportation Research Board, Bishop Consulting along with the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) is conducting a study focused on the safety impacts of speed limiting devices in commercial trucks and buses. As a trucking industry professional your knowledge and opinions are important to this study. This survey seeks your input on various speed limiter issues. The survey, which will take about 10 minutes to complete, asks you about the effectiveness of speed limiters, in terms of perceived fleet safety, driver acceptance, vehicle operations, and related issues. There is also a space for your comments and suggestions. Final research results will be provided to interested parties and stakeholders, but all infor- mation provided by you will be kept strictly confidential! The information collected from this survey will not be used for any other purposes. Thank you for your participation and support! Please send me a copy of the final report (must complete information below) YES Name: ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Phone: ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Company: ________________________________________________________________________________________ E-mail: ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Job title: __________________________________________________________________________________________ 1. Number of years you have been a safety manager (for commercial vehicle operations): _____ years 2. Your approximate number of years experience in commercial vehicle operations: _____ years 3. Number of power units in your companyâs fleet: _______ power units 4. How would you characterize your fleets primary operation (select one)? For hire: local/short-haul (less than 100 miles from home base) For hire: long-haul (more than 500 miles from home base) Private fleet: long-haul Private fleet: local/short-haul Passenger carrier: long-haul Passenger carrier: local transit Other (please specify): ________________________________________________ 5. Does your organization use speed limiters in any of your trucks? NO YES a. If âNO,â then why (select all that apply)? If âYES,â skip to Question #6. Cost of installing and/or maintaining devices Owner-operator refusal Impact on delivery time Avoid workplace conflict Carâtruck speed differential safety concerns Inability to accelerate during safety event All vehicles (cars and trucks) must have speed limiters Fear that drivers will drive faster in lower posted speed zones Other (please specify): ______________________________________________ If you answered NO on Question #5, please do not complete the questions beyond this point. Please e-mail your responses to richardbishop@mindspring.com or fax your responses to Jeff Hickman @ 540-231-1555. Thank you for your time. APPENDIX B Survey Questionnaire
41 6. Do you use a speed limiting device that was factory installed by the engine or vehicle manufacturer? NO YES a. If âNO,â what type of speed limiter does your company use? ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 7. Please estimate what percentage of your fleet uses speed limiters? _____% 8. How many years have speed limiters been installed in your vehicles? ____ years 9. Does your company set a cruise-control speed limit that is different from a non-cruise control (on-pedal) speed limit? NO YES, the cruise control speed is _____ MPH 10. What is your non cruise-control (on-pedal) speed? _____ MPH 11. Do you require speed limiters for owner-operators you hire? NO YES Not applicable 12. How did you determine the governor speed to set in your fleet (mark all that apply)? Safety Posted speed limit Fuel mileage Insurance requirements Driver input Followed other trucking organization Other (please list): _______________________________________________________________________________ 13. What are the TOP three intended goal(s) of speed limiters (please write number)? __ Reduce top speed __ Reduce overall speeding above posted speed limits __ Reduce crashes __ Reduce speeding-related violations __ Reduce tire wear __ Increase fuel economy __ Other (please list): _______________________________________________________________________________ 14. Do you have any variations in the top speed of the speed limiter among your drivers? For example, different speeds for drivers with an excellent or poor safety record. NO YES, please explain: ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 15. Have drivers tampered with the speed limiter settings? NO YES a. If âYES,â are there penalties for drivers who tamper with the speed limiter settings? NO YES, please explain: _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________ 16. Based on your experience, how successful have the speed limiters been in reducing speeding violations? Very successful Successful Neutral Unsuccessful Very unsuccessful Cannot determine
17. Based on your experience, are you aware of drivers traveling faster than normal in lower speed areas in order to âmake upâ time âlostâ by using a speed limiter on interstate routes? NO YES, please explain (anecdotal information is acceptable): ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 18. Based on your experience, how successful have the speed limiters been in reducing crashes? Very successful Successful Neutral Unsuccessful Very unsuccessful Cannot determine 19. Based on your experience, how successful have the speed limiters been in reducing tire wear? Very successful Successful Neutral Unsuccessful Very unsuccessful Cannot determine 20. Based on your experience, how successful have the speed limiters been in increasing fuel economy? Very successful Successful Neutral Unsuccessful Very unsuccessful Cannot determine 21. Based on your experience, how often do the speed limiters reduce on-time delivery? Very often Often Neutral Seldom Very seldom Cannot determine 22. Based on your experience, what has the driver response been toward the speed limiter? Very positive Positive Neutral Negative Very negative Cannot determine 23. Based on your experience, in what way does having speed limiters on fleet vehicles impact driver hiring and retention? Strong adverse impact Adverse impact No impact Positive impact Strong positive impact Cannot determine 42
43 24. Have speed limiters negatively affected safety in any area of your operations? NO YES, please indicate how: ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 25. Have speed limiters negatively affected productivity in any area of your operations? NO YES, please indicate how: ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 26. Overall, the use of speed governors has improved your fleet operations. Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 27. Please feel free to write any comments, issues, or experiences youâve had with speed limiters. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Thank you for your time. Please submit you survey in one of the following ways. E-mail: richardbishop@mindspring.com Fax: Jeff Hickman @ 540-231-1555 Mail: Jeff Hickman, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Blacksburg, Va., 24061