Harsh or hard acceleration occurs when a driver uses more power than necessary to pull off from a dead stop. This action can indicate distracted or aggressive driving which leads to increased tire wear, a variety of maintenance issues, and sometimes, costly insurance claims.
Overview
Fleet vehicles fitted with telematics hardware can detect an increase in speed greater than 8.35-9.65 MPH per second and trigger a harsh acceleration alert. This figure depends upon the class of vehicle.
- Harsh acceleration is a common result of drivers not paying attention to the pace of traffic and needing to speed away from a stop line.
- It can also be because a driver is so distracted that he doesn’t notice that he’s on a collision path with another vehicle, person, or object, necessitating aggressive action to prevent a serious accident or injury.
Effects of harsh acceleration
- Hard acceleration often makes harsh braking a necessity
- Harsh accelerations burn more fuel which is bad for the environment
- Risk of injury to drivers, passengers, and pedestrians
- Risk of damage to other vehicles, public property, or valuable loads
- Increases vehicle maintenance costs
- Can necessitate vehicle downtime
- Contributes to fuel spend and wastage
- Affects your bottom line
The Motive thresholds for hard acceleration are as follows:
Light: 0.44G/9.65 mph/s
Medium: 0.41G/8.99 mph/s
Heavy: 0.38G/8.34 mph/s
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