Tirar o Limitador de Velocidade? The Risks of Removing One

Type como tirar limitador de velocidade do caminhão into a search box in Brazil and you will find plenty of people asking. The same question turns up for the ônibus escolar, and in Spanish as cómo quitar el limitador de velocidad or desactivar el limitador de un camión. This page takes a different route. It explains why most fleets that start down that road regret it, and what a fleet owner can do instead when a limiter is not doing its job.

The short version: a speed limiter is a control the owner uses to protect fuel, tyres, drivers, insurance and contracts. The person asking how to take it off is usually a driver or a mechanic, not the person who pays for the consequences.

Who actually wants the limiter removed

Three groups ask, and their interests are different.

• Drivers who feel the cap costs them time, or who are paid by trips completed.
• Mechanics and tuners who get asked to “free up” a truck.
• Owners who bought a second-hand vehicle with a limiter fitted by a previous owner and wonder if it still earns its place.

The first two groups carry little of the cost when something goes wrong. The third carries all of it, which is why the answer for owners is different.

What removal and tampering really cost the fleet

Fuel

Diesel use rises with speed. Aerodynamic drag grows with the square of speed, so a truck running at the top of its range uses far more energy per kilometre than the same truck cruising a little lower. Removing the limiter lets that running come back, on every trip, for every driver. For a fleet, it is often the single biggest controllable cost. Our fuel savings from speed limiters guide explains the mechanics, and the HGV fuel consumption calculator lets you test it on your own trucks.

Safety and liability

A heavy truck or a loaded bus takes much longer to stop at speed. If a vehicle is in an accident and the owner’s own limiter was found disabled, the owner has trouble explaining why a safety control was switched off. Courts, insurers, clients and families will all ask the same question. When the vehicle carries children on a school run, the weight of that question gets heavier still.

Insurance and contracts

A sealed limiter is something you can show an insurer. A removed one is something you may have to explain. Clients with their own site or transport rules, such as mines, ports and oil and gas sites, ask for the same proof. A fleet that cannot show its speed controls is a fleet that gets passed over.

Legal exposure where the rule exists

Several countries in the region put the control itself or the speed record in law.

Country	What applies
Brazil	Código de Trânsito Brasileiro art. 105 II requires a tachograph (registrador instantâneo inalterável de velocidade e tempo) on school transport vehicles, passenger vehicles with more than 10 seats and cargo vehicles over 4,536 kg GVW. Art. 230 XIV makes driving with a tachograph that is viciado ou defeituoso, where one is required, a grave infraction.
Argentina	Resolución 19/2016 and Disposición 500-E/2017 set limiter speeds. Used units that do not comply will not pass the mandatory technical inspection (RTO), and the CNRT can deactivate non-compliant units.
Peru	The limiter certificate for intercity buses must show that tamper-protection mechanisms are fitted (MTC Resolución Directoral 1028-2025-MTC/17.02).
Guatemala	Operating without the SLV is fined, and the vice minister has mentioned licence cancellation. Fines began on 2 March 2026.

In Brazil, then, the tachograph is the record that the law protects, and a tampered tachograph is a grave infraction. A fleet that interferes with the equipment that records speed is putting itself in a bad position, whatever the limiter beside it is doing.

Why people try, and why it backfires

Drivers who tamper with a limiter usually believe it saves time. In practice the saving is small on most routes, because traffic, loading and rest stops dominate the journey. Meanwhile the extra fuel, wear and risk are real and are paid for by the owner.

The second problem is trust. Once a fleet knows limiters can be removed quietly, the speed policy stops being a rule and turns into a suggestion. The owner loses control of the one setting that protects the fleet.

What a sealed, tamper-detecting limiter does differently

The design goal is simple: the setting stays with the fleet owner, and any attempt to interfere leaves evidence.

• Sealed enclosure and tamper-evident seals. The unit cannot be opened without leaving visible signs.
• Power and signal monitoring. The unit logs interruptions to its supply or signals, so a disconnected unit shows up in the record.
• Protected configuration. The speed setting sits in protected memory that needs authentication to change, so a driver or a casual mechanic cannot alter it from the cab.
• Remote alerts with TrackSpeed. TrackSpeed pairs the limiter with ScorpionTrack GNSS tracking, so the fleet manager can see where the vehicle is and how it drives.

The full technical walk-through is in our tamper detection and tamper-proof speed limiter design article.

The effect is to make tampering visible, and visibility is what changes behaviour. A driver who knows interference leaves a trace behaves differently from one who knows nobody will ever look.

Who holds the setting

The most useful change a fleet can make is to decide who controls the set speed. The answer should be the owner or the fleet manager, not the driver and not whichever workshop happens to have the vehicle that week.

• Record the set speed for each vehicle in a simple register.
• Control who has the configuration tools.
• Check seals and records at service intervals.
• Tell drivers that the limiter is a fleet policy, with consequences if it is interfered with.

If a limiter is causing a problem

Sometimes a driver complains about the limiter for a reason that has nothing to do with speed. The vehicle may stutter near the limit, the set speed may be wrong after a tyre change, or a fault may have developed. Removing the unit is not the answer to any of these. Recalibration is. Our speed limiter recalibration guide explains when and why it is needed, and our technical team can support you remotely.

If the real issue is that the fleet needs a different speed for different roads, GeoKontrol applies GPS geofenced zone speed limits, so the same vehicle can run faster on the highway and slower near schools, depots or sites.

Choosing a unit that fits

Your vehicle	Fits	Notes
Electronic throttle (drive-by-wire)	DBW speed limiter	Electronic. Fit about 1.5 hours.
Older diesel with mechanical fuel control	System 80	Mechanical, works on the fuel line. Fit about 60 minutes, accurate to +/-1-2 km/h.
Need proof of speed and a tamper record	TrackSpeed	Limiter with ScorpionTrack GNSS tracking. Fit about 60 minutes.

We ship direct to your fleet with fitting instructions. Your own workshop team or a local auto-electrician of your choice can fit the unit, and our technical team supports you remotely.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I remove a limiter from my own truck or bus?

The limiter belongs to the fleet owner, and so does the decision. Before anyone removes one, weigh the fuel, insurance, contract and liability cost. If the problem is a fault or a wrong setting, recalibration fixes it.

What does the Brazilian code say about tampering?

Art. 230 XIV of the Código de Trânsito Brasileiro makes it a grave infraction to drive with a tachograph that is viciado ou defeituoso where one is required. The tachograph itself is required by art. 105 II on school transport, passenger vehicles with more than 10 seats and cargo vehicles over 4,536 kg GVW.

Can a driver change the speed on a sealed limiter?

No. The setting sits in protected memory and needs authentication to change. Any attempt to disconnect or interfere is logged.

How does a fleet owner find out if a limiter has been tampered with?

By checking seals and the unit’s records at service, or in real time with TrackSpeed, which pairs the limiter with GNSS tracking.

Who can fit a new limiter?

Your own workshop team, or a local auto-electrician of your choice. We ship direct with fitting instructions and support you remotely.

Get a quote

If your fleet needs a limiter that stays set, tell us the make, model, year and engine type of your vehicles and the speed you want to hold. We will recommend the right unit. Request a quote or email international@autokontrol.com.