Hard braking as a habit of some inexperienced drivers started to drive more attraction over the last few years as the fleet management and telematics industry advanced. It is very easy and convenient to monitor driver’s behaviors nowadays.
By simply installing certain pieces of hardware into the truck, fleet managers now have the option to analyze and monitor driver behavior, driving style in real time as well as also track the historic data of the driving performance in the past.
An advanced version of GPS devices used to monitor the real-time position of the truck are also used to provide information about truck driver driving style and habits. By reading the data collected from the hardware installed in the truck, fleet managers can easily read the information and proactively educate and instruct drivers to upgrade their performance.
Fleet managers by logging into web-based dashboard used by most GPS service providers on the market can see all records of Hard Braking along with the date, time and speed when it occurred. In addition, they can also set alerts to be immediately alerted by email or SMS when that Hard Braking event happens.
Here in this one place, I wanted to share with you how this phenomenon can be really bad for the company and why it is very important to pay attention to this detail that can cause some serious damage to the trucks and serious expense for the company.
Hard Braking Tears the Brakes
Tearing the brakes can be instant when hard braking is applied. It can be so aggressive that brakes can be totally worn out if they happen to be close to the replacement cycle. A situation like this can mean that truck driver needs to pull off the truck on the nearest truck stop immediately after the hard braking.
After this, there is no other way but to call the road service and replace the brakes immediately. Replacing brakes on the road by the road service instead of replacing them in the trusted truck shop can mean double than ordinary price.
Instead of paying few hundred dollars for the replacement, the cost of replacing it on the road can very quickly reach the level of one thousand dollars, so pay attention to hard braking happening on highways because it tears the brakes the most.
Hard Braking Can Wear Out The Tires Much Faster
Again, of the really expensive disadvantages of hard braking. Truck tires are especially in danger when full force is applied on the foot brake.
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If the truck driver is driving at the full speed on the highway and due to bad judgment or unexpected situation on the road needs to apply the full force on the braking pedal, this could very easily wear out the tires like they were driven for 5.000 miles.
On top of the situation like this add hot summer weather when the road surface temperature raises well above 100 degrees and you have all the ingredients for possible tire malfunctioning.
Sometimes I’m sure by driving on the highway you were able to see a lot of truck tire pieces on the roadside. This is what happens when tires are under a lot of pressure due to hard braking – sometimes they simply explode.
Tire explosion beside being dangerous if happens to front axle on the truck can also be very dangerous for the other cars driving the truck because pieces of the tire can hit other vehicles.
Hard Braking Especially Affects Trailer Brakes
Trailer brakes are the most in danger. When applied, hard braking can burn the trailer brakes very easily. I’m sure some of you that spend a lot of time on the highways have seen the smoke coming from the rear trailer end. This is what happens to trailer brakes when hard braking is applied – sometimes they just burn out.
Burning out the trailer brakes causes the same situation described above with the truck or vehicle brakes. Stopping at the truck stop and calling the road service is inevitable. Again, you will face the expense of $500 minimum.
Passengers Can Get Injured Due To Hard Braking
Passengers driving with you on a road trip across the country could face a very unpleasant experience. Instead of driving across the country and enjoying the trip they could end up being hurt. As a result of un-proper seating on the seat and not using a seat belt a lot of passengers get injured every year.
A situation like this could be prevented very easily if the both truck drivers and passengers traveling with them pay more attention to the safety.
Proactively predict and avoid a dangerous situation is the first task every experienced and smart truck driver should do. On top of that passengers should also know what the safe way of traveling is and how to use all safety equipment.
Of course, certain situations cannot be prevented no matter how experienced truck driver is there is always a chance something unexpected will happen. To make sure all dangerous situations are avoided I’d like to recommend all truck driver to warn their passenger before starting the trip to put the seat belt on and take a seating position that is according the regulation.
Team Drivers Can Get Injured Due To Hard Braking
Driving a truck in a team is something very special. It requires both full mental and physical focus and there are only a few drivers that are willing to drive in the team. Generally speaking, this is the best option for the company because trucks are always driving and generating revenue.
Compared to the standard truck driver who drives 60 hours a week, team drivers double that and drive 120 hours a week. As you can see trucks are almost always moving and the amount of potentially dangerous situations is doubled.
