Speeding is among the most-cited roadside findings in the Unsafe Driving BASIC. There is no federal speed limit in Part 392; §392.2 requires every CMV to be operated in accordance with the laws, ordinances, and regulations of the jurisdiction it is in (and, where an FMCSA regulation sets a higher standard of care, that regulation instead), so a speeding citation is the State's limit written up under the federal section.
Severity weight
SMS Appendix A (version 3.21, revised May 2026) scores speeding in the Unsafe Driving BASIC by how far over the limit the driver was:
- 6–10 mph over (392.2-SLLS2): weight 4
- 11–14 mph over (392.2-SLLS3): weight 7
- 15 mph or more over (392.2-SLLS4): weight 10
- Speeding in a work or construction zone (392.2-SLLSWZ): weight 10, at any speed over the posted limit
Two things the tiers leave out. Speeding 1–5 mph over the limit is not in the SMS at all — FMCSA removed the 392.2-SLLS1 range from the methodology to match the speedometer-accuracy rule in §393.82, and the removal applied to the prior 24 months of data as well as everything after (SMS Methodology, Appendix B, item 6). And a generic speeding citation that does not state the range (the older 392.2S code) is weighted 1 for violations on or after January 1, 2011, down from the 5 it carried before that date (Appendix B, item 7); no generic speeding row appears in the current Appendix A tables. "Speed too fast for conditions" (392.2-SLTFC) is a different violation — the basic-rule finding, weight 5 in the Dangerous Driving group — not a speeding tier.
The weight shown at the top of this page is the top tier. The tier the officer records is the one that lands on the carrier's Unsafe Driving measure.
How to prevent it
The obvious answer is: don't speed. Beyond that, common contributors:
- ELD pressure. A driver close to running out of duty hours may push the limit. Build dispatch buffers so the route doesn't require speeding.
- Speed limiters. Many fleets set governor-limited top speeds. For a single-truck operation, awareness and habit are the main controls.
- Construction zones. Lower posted limits apply, and any speeding in a work zone scores at the top tier (weight 10) no matter how far over. Brief drivers explicitly when a route includes a known construction zone.
How Roadworthy HQ helps
A speeding citation lands on the driver. Roadworthy HQ does not record individual violation codes, pull CSA or SMS scores, or track coaching. What it keeps is the driver file an auditor opens next: the annual MVR and the §391.25 annual review, each with reminders 60, 30, and 7 days out, and the qualification-file documents with their retention periods enforced. If the citation came from a roadside inspection, log that inspection on the vehicle (date, state, level, driver, number of violations, out-of-service or not).