Estimates Show Commercial Driver Detention Increases Crash Risks and Costs, but Current Data Limit Further Analysis
The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act of 2015 (FAST Act) directs the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator (FMCSA) to issue regulations that cover the collection of data on delays experienced by commercial motor vehicle (CMV) operators before the loading and unloading of their vehicles. The act also directs the Office of Inspector General (OIG) to report on the effects of driver detention. Accordingly, OIG conducted this audit to (1) assess available data on delays in motor carrier loading and unloading, and (2) provide information on measuring the potential effects of loading and unloading delays. In addressing these objectives, OIG also reviewed FMCSA’s plan to collect data on driver detention. Accurate industrywide data on driver detention do not currently exist because most industry stakeholders measure only time spent at a shipper or receiver’s facility beyond the limit established in shipping contracts. Available electronic data cannot readily discern detention time from legitimate loading and unloading tasks, and are unavailable for a large segment of the industry. OIG estimated that a 15-minute increase in average dwell time—the total time spent by a truck at a facility—increases the average expected crash rate by 6.2 percent. In addition, OIG estimated that detention is associated with reductions in annual earnings of $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion for for-hire commercial motor vehicle drivers in the truckload sector. For motor carriers in that sector, OIG estimated that detention reduces net income by $250.6 million to $302.9 million annually. FMCSA’s plan to collect data on driver detention does not call for collection or detailed analysis of reliable or representative data, and the Agency has no plans to verify the data that motor carriers and drivers would provide. As a result, the data may not accurately describe how the diverse trucking industry experiences driver detention, which would limit any further analysis of impacts. FMCSA concurred with OIG's recommendation to improve future plans for collection of data on driver detention.
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Corporate Authors:
Department of Transportation
Office of Inspector General, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC United States 20590 - Publication Date: 2018-1-31
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
- Pagination: 76p
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Commercial drivers; Costs; Crash rates; Crash risk forecasting; Data collection; Delays; Dwell time; Loading and unloading; Motor carriers; Recommendations; Revenues
- Identifier Terms: U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
- Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Freight Transportation; Motor Carriers; Safety and Human Factors;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01663710
- Record Type: Publication
- Report/Paper Numbers: ST2018019
- Files: TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
- Created Date: Mar 22 2018 11:58AM