Is rapid acceleration bad for your car?

Yes - when stationary, engines are in an ‘idle’ state, ticking over slowly in place. When you accelerate, components kick into gear to create friction and heat, causing the vehicle to move. The faster this occurs, the more stress the engine is under during the initial stages of acceleration. This stress can grind away at the components of the car, causing problems in connecting components such as the clutch. So what does that mean for your vehicles in practice? Here are a few ways that rapid acceleration can affect your fleet:

Fuel consumption: The faster you accelerate - and drive in general - the more fuel the engine will have to burn to get you up to speed. That can be pricey, especially for vehicles with high fuel usage, such as coaches and HGVs .

Incomplete lubrication: When a vehicle is idling , oil isn’t completing a full distribution cycle around the engine. When the car kicks in at speed, there may not be time to fully lubricate moving parts before they begin to spin. This can cause parts of the engine to grind against each other, wearing down rapidly.

Clutch wear: To set off, your driver will have to reach the ‘friction point’ of the clutch. This is a state of partial disconnection, when the clutch is applying enough pressure to transfer motion to the wheels, but not enough to be slotted into place. When setting off too quickly, the clutch is caught between slow wheels and a fast engine without being securely engaged. This can cause severe overheating and may burn out the clutch over time.

Hazardous driving: When your driver sets off at speed, they’re unlikely to have time to consider new hazards in the road. This is especially concerning at crossroads, when vehicles in different lanes have only just stopped at the lights. Cars moving through orange or red lights have the potential to T-bone the accelerating vehicle, or vice versa.

Harsh braking: Harsh braking and acceleration go hand in hand. If your driver is accelerating quickly, they’re unlikely to be noticing hazards within a reasonable stopping time. Braking too sharply is harmful to your tyres, wheels and braking system components, and can cause mechanical failures in the long run.

The effects of harsh braking

Imagine the stress on your vehicle every time you slam on the brakes. Frequent harsh braking subjects your fleet to this kind of stress repeatedly, leading to premature wear and tear on brakes, tyres, and suspension components. One of the most common bad driving habits , this behaviour can also create a dangerous driving environment for other road users. Here's a closer look at the negative impacts.

Increased friction on your tyre treads: Braking stops your vehicle by creating friction between the tyres and the road. This is necessary - and it’s also the reason why icy road surfaces are so dangerous. What isn’t necessary is slamming on the brakes (unless in the event of an emergency), as this creates an elevated amount of friction and prematurely wears down your tyres.

Wear and tear on brake components: Braking harshly causes excessive friction in components such as the brake discs and pads. Friction can cause wear and tear over time, forcing you to replace parts of the vehicle far more frequently than you otherwise would.

Cargo damage: Momentum slams cargo forward in HGVs and vans, pulling against restraints and wearing down materials. Hard braking should be avoided in order to keep cargo in good condition during transit.

Hazardous driving: It shouldn’t be necessary to slam on the brakes in a non-emergency. If you notice it happening frequently, it’s likely that your employees are driving too fast for the road conditions - a habit that caused 29% of fatal collisions in the UK in 2023.

Rapid acceleration and heavy braking: fuel consumption

Fuel consumption is often linked to the consistency of your speed. The most fuel-efficient speed is a consistent 50MPH, and your fuel efficiency will reduce the more you accelerate and slow down during a journey. When you’re speeding up and braking harshly, fuel consumption will increase as a result.

How can you avoid harsh braking?

It’s usually easy to avoid harsh braking in anything but an emergency scenario. Identifying hazards early, driving at a safe speed for the current road conditions, following the speed limit and indicating are all methods you can use to prevent hard stops. Making sure that your drivers aren’t accelerating too fast will also reduce instances of harsh braking.

How to monitor rapid acceleration and heavy braking

The first step to cutting down on harsh braking and rapid acceleration habits is to identify the issue. It’s important to monitor your fleet for the health and safety of your employees, as well as to keep an eye on the condition of your vehicles. By monitoring what your drivers are doing, you can identify bad habits before they cause issues such as risk to life or damage to your fleet.

Install dash cams: Dash cam footage can help you to identify distracted or aggressive driving by your drivers. This can be obtained via internal cameras to catch frustrated behaviour, or external cameras to flag up sharp braking and close calls. If your drivers need to take emergency action, dash cam footage provides a record of what happened that helps to protect them and support insurance claims.

Monitor driver performance: Atom GPS trackers use your vehicle’s battery to power an in-depth analysis of your driver’s performance, and to catch instances of sharp braking and rapid acceleration during journeys. You can also use the tracking information to provide delivery updates to your customers, improving customer service.

Engine tracking hardware: The Stratus tracking hardware can monitor the performance of your fleet engines, bringing any bad habits - and the consequence wear and tear - to your attention.

Vehicle alerts: The Kinesis software works alongside a Stratus or Atom ‘black box’ fitted into your vehicles, giving you detailed updates on their performance. The system sends you real-time alerts, flagging up dangerous or damaging driver behavior.

Driver training: Training is a great way to increase drivers awareness, reducing unintentional occurrences of bad habits. It’s also viewed far more favourably than punitive action, so may help increase staff retention.

Appropriate deadlines: Rapid acceleration is often the result of time pressure. Setting suitable deadlines and allowing enough time for your drivers to reach their destinations is one of the best ways to reduce instances of hard braking and acceleration.

Preventing bad driving habits in your fleet

Vehicle telematics are an excellent way to keep track of your fleet, whether your drivers are wearing down your vehicles, taking unnecessary detours or using excess fuel. If you think GPS vehicle tracking could benefit your business, browse our range of telematic solutions or get in touch with a member of the team today.