---
title: "Driver Speed"
description: "Make your optimization smarter by telling Routific how fast each driver actually works"
url: https://help.routific.com/en/articles/60-driver-speed
collection: "Driver management and the Routific mobile app"
updated: 2026-10-29
language: en
---

# Driver Speed

Make your optimization smarter by telling Routific how fast each driver actually works

Not all drivers work at the same pace. Some consistently move faster and can handle more orders; others need a lighter workload to finish on time.

Driver Speed lets you set a speed factor on individual drivers – affecting not only **how fast they drive** to a location (driving time) but also **how fast they work** at a location (order duration time).

By adjusting your driver’s speeds, Routific's optimization will more accurately reflect how your team actually performs.

### **How to set a driver’s speed**

![](https://staticfiles.gleap.io/ghelparticle/B0Y2dAeDN5M5LF8nVRFZG0Hh6NwdJG0J2wOeTAlH2aMqY71KCFWzWfoIT6s5PDvnEOeAb6SKfAk.png)

1.  Click on the steering wheel to access the **Drivers** page.
    
2.  Hover over the driver you want to edit. Click the pencil icon.
    
3.  Use the **Driver Speed** slider to set their speed.
    
4.  Click **Save**.
    

The slider ranges from **\-30% to +30%**, with **Default** in the center. Move it right for faster drivers, left for slower ones.

-   **+10% to +30%** — driver works faster than average (Routific builds shorter ETAs and can assign more stops)
    
-   **Default** — no adjustment; Routific treats this driver as average
    
-   **\-10% to -30%** — driver works slower than average (Routific builds longer ETAs and assigns a lighter workload)
    

![](https://staticfiles.gleap.io/gattachments/waBx9KUtyHyzTS1rhUORCk37ulyhdWSCwoit1nN6aw3j6YCCdgjdvIhv63bT7YzCUzWoG2lWrl9.png)

## **What driver speed actually adjusts**

The speed setting affects **two things**: 

-   how fast Routific assumes the driver travels between stops
    
-   how quickly they complete each stop
    

Both are scaled together.

That means a driver set to +30% isn't just assumed to drive faster — Routific also assumes they'll spend less time at each delivery. The combined effect can meaningfully change total route time.

> **Info:** For example: If +10% speed is set, a 10 minute drive is reduced down to approximately 9 minutes and a 10 minute duration becomes approximately 9 minutes.

## **Assigning drivers before you schedule**

To make sure a driver's speed is factored in, you have two options:

-   Assign drivers to their routes **before** clicking Schedule, or
    
-   Use the **assign drivers step** within the scheduling flow
    

Either approach ensures Routific knows which speed to apply when building the optimization.

If a route has no driver assigned at scheduling time, Routific uses Default (no adjustment).

## **Updating a driver's speed after scheduling**

If you change a driver's speed setting after routes have already been scheduled, Routific will ask if you want to update their existing routes to reflect the new speed. This applies to routes scheduled for today or a future date that the driver hasn't started yet.

-   Click **Yes, update routes** to recalculate ETAs for all of that driver's unstarted routes
    
-   Click **No, don't update routes** to save the new speed setting without changing any existing routes
    

If the recalculated ETAs cause any constraint violations (e.g. a time window is now missed), Routific will surface the existing violation warnings so you can make manual adjustments.

## **Driver speeds on the old Routific**

An older version of Routific had a driver speed setting that worked a little differently. There, it only increased or decreased travel times from one location to another. It did not affect durations at each stop.

In the new Routific, adjusting a driver’s speed will affect both how fast Routific assumes the driver travels between stops and how quickly they complete each stop.

Please note driver speeds will not copy over from the old Routific to the new. You will need to recalibrate your driver speeds if you have just transitioned to the new Routific.