Audit: Excessive Detention Time Contributes to Higher Crash Rate, Reduced Income
Although it said recent accurate industrywide data are lacking, a new audit by the Department of Transportation Inspector General estimates that truck driver detention time increases the number of fatal, injury and tow-away crashes, and costs drivers and motor carriers a significant loss of income.
The audit was an analysis of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration safety data using 2013 dwell time at loading docks collected for a 2014 agency study and the assumption that dwell time in excess of two hours represented detention.
“Based on data from 2013, we 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%,” the audit said. “In addition, we 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, we estimated that detention reduces net income by $250.6 million to $302.9 million annually.”
However, the audit cautions that 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.”
In conducting the audit, the IG said it attempted to assess available data on delays in motor carrier loading and unloading and provide information on measuring the potential effects of loading and unloading delays.
The audit did not examine the effects of detention on the net income of shippers or receivers.
The Jan. 31 audit said that 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,” the audit said.
The 2015 FAST Act directs FMCSA to issue regulations that cover the collection of data on delays.
The IG recommended, and FMCSA concurred, that the agency should improve plans for collection of data on driver detention.
In its audit, the IG pointed to the results of two FMCSA driver detention studies, in 2007 and 2014.
The 2007 research indicated that time at shipping and receiving facilities beyond that legitimately needed for cargo loading and unloading may reduce driving hours and cause income loss for commercial motor vehicle drivers.
The research also indicated that drivers who experience detention may drive unsafely due to fatigue or desire to recover lost income — increasing the risk of crashes that result in fatalities, injuries and financial costs.
In 2014, FMCSA published a study that used dwell-time data and defined detention time as all time spent at a stop in excess of two hours. The study found that drivers experience detention at approximately 1 in 10 stops for an average duration of 1.4 hours. Medium-size carriers experienced detention about twice as often as large carriers, and for-hire truckload carriers experienced detention more frequently than for-hire less-than-truckload and private carriers.
A 2015 study was canceled because the selected technology vendor discontinued its support of the work.
