Systems and methods for vehicle speed management

A method, comprising:

• determining, with a controller, a plurality of route sections along a travel route for a vehicle in active cruise control mode, the plurality of route sections comprising a first route section and a second route section, each of the first route section and the second route section including at least one of a section grade and a section length;
• determining a vehicle speed mode identification based on at least one of the first route section and the second route section;
• determining a vehicle speed reference based on at least one of the vehicle speed mode identification, the section length, the section grade, and a current speed;
• and
• providing the vehicle speed reference to an output device from the controller.

An apparatus, comprising:

• an electronic controller in operative communication with a vehicle system in active cruise control mode, wherein the vehicle system includes an engine and a plurality of inputs operable to provide signals indicating conditions of at least one of a route, an environment, and the engine, wherein the electronic controller includes:
• a section grade and surface classification module structured to divide a route grade into one or more sections based on a section length, wherein the one or more sections comprises a current section and a next section;
• a speed mode determination module structured to determine a vehicle speed mode for each of the one or more sections based on at least one of the current section and the next section;
• and
• a speed reference determination module structured to output to a display an indication of a vehicle speed reference command based on at least one of a current speed, the vehicle speed mode, a first length of the current section, a first grade of the current section, a second length of the next section, and a second grade of the next section.