Cargo integrity, accidents & breakdowns

Between pickup and drop-off, the road is trying to take your payout back. Cargo integrity is the number that tracks how well you are defending it — and the mechanics behind it are simple enough to manage once you see them laid out.

The integrity meter

Every load starts at 100% integrity. Whatever is left at handover sets your payout tier:

Note the shape: the first tier boundary is at 90%, so you have only 10 points of grace before real money disappears. Two accidents on one run is already the 80% tier.

Where damage comes from

• Gradual road damage. Each kilometre rolls a small chance of a minor hit (−1% integrity). The odds scale with route choice, driver skill, and vehicle condition — a rookie in a worn van on a fast route bleeds integrity almost continuously; a veteran in a fresh vehicle on an economic route barely registers.
• Accidents. The sharp event: −5% cargo integrity and −10% vehicle condition in one blow, with the damage spread across the vehicle's components. Accident chance per kilometre is shown in the mission panel before you accept — fast routes double it, economic routes halve it.
• Theft. Exclusive to one-off contract drivers: a small chance (around 1.5%) that the driver simply takes the goods, roughly doubled for special cargo and elevated for payouts over $5,000. Staff drivers never steal. The driver guide covers the fine print.

Vehicle condition and breakdowns

The vehicle has its own health, worn by distance and battered by accidents — and low condition feeds back into higher accident odds, which is how a neglected vehicle spirals. At zero condition the vehicle breaks down where it stands: the mission stalls until you dispatch a $200 tow, and the cargo sits through all of it. The Fleet panel's "Worn" and "Need attention" badges exist precisely so you repair at a garage on your schedule instead of the road's. Repair timers and costs are covered in the running costs guide.

The exception: liquids

Liquid cargo is immune to integrity damage. Fuel and chemicals in a tanker cannot be degraded by rough roads or fender-benders — tanker work is pure logistics. (The tanker itself still wears and crashes like any vehicle; the cargo just does not care.) This makes liquid contracts the most predictable revenue in the game once you own the truck.

While you were away

Damage, accidents, breakdowns, and completions all resolve server-side in real time, including for vehicles your drivers are running while you watch something else — or while you are offline entirely. When you return, a recap summarizes everything that happened: jobs landed, accidents survived, vehicles that need attention. Check it before you plan the next wave.

The risk-management checklist

• Match route to cargo: premium and fragile loads ride Normal or Economic, always.
• Repair before "worn" becomes "broken down" — condition drives accident odds.
• Put skill where the money is: your best driver takes the expensive cargo.
• Never give contract drivers special or high-value loads — that is what the theft risk multipliers punish.
• Mind the 90% line: if a run has already taken two hits, slow the remaining legs down — protecting the 80% tier is now the job.
• Read the per-km risk numbers in the mission panel before accepting; they already account for your driver, vehicle, and route.