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Thursday, March 28, 2024

FMCSA Studies Detention Time

 

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is requesting information regarding driver detention times and how it affects roadway safety.

FMCSA submitted a request for information on Friday, June 7, that is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on June 10.

“A recent study by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General found that better data are needed to fully understand the issues associated with driver detention,” the notice stated.

In 2011, the Government Accountability Office recommended that “FMCSA examine the extent to which detention time contributes to hours-of-service violations in its future studies on driver fatigue and detention time.”

FMCSA responded to the GAO report by sponsoring a study in 2014 among a sample of motor carriers. The study found that drivers experienced detention time during approximately 10 percent of their stops for an average duration of 1.4 hours beyond a commonly accepted two-hour loading and unloading period.

In 2018, DOT’s Office of Inspector General reported that detention time increased crash risks and costs but that the current data limited further analysis. The report recommended that FMCSA collaborate with industry stakeholders to develop and implement a plan to collect and analyze “reliable, accurate and representative data on the frequency and severity of driver detention.”

The agency is asking stakeholders to answer seven questions.

Are data currently available that can accurately record loading, unloading, and delay times?

  • Is there technology available that could record and delineate prompt loading and unloading times versus the extended delays sometimes experienced by drivers?
  • How can delay times be captured and recorded in a systematic, comparable manner?
  • Could systematic collection and publication of loading, unloading, and delay times be useful in driver or carrier business decisions and help to reduce loading, unloading and delay times?
  • What should FMCSA use as an estimate of reasonable loading/unloading time? Please provide a basis for your response.
  • How do contract arrangements between carriers and shippers address acceptable wait times? Do these arrangements include penalties for delays attributable to a carrier or shipper?
  • What actions by FMCSA, within its current statutory authority, would help to reduce loading, unloading, and delay times?