FMCSA is seeking additional data on detention time experienced by truckers at shippers and receivers.The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is asking truck drivers and and others in the trucking industry for information about driver detention times at shipping and receiving facilities and the potential impacts those delays have on highway safety.
The agency says a recent study by the U.S. DOT Office of Inspector General found that better data is needed to understand the issues around dwell times.
FMCSA says it is interested in data sources, methodologies and potential technology that could provide insight into loading and unloading delays experienced by drivers. Specifically, the agency is looking for information on whether data is currently available on accurately recording loading, unloading and delay times; if technology is available to compare prompt loading and unloading times to extended delays; what the agency should use as an estimate of reasonable loading/unloading time; what the agency can do to help reduce loading and unloading times; and more. A full list of questions can be found in the notice here.
FMCSA is accepting public comments here through Sept. 9.
Detention time has long been a hot-button issue within the trucking industry. The U.S. DOT reported in 2018 that detention cuts truck driver pay by between $1.1 billion and $1.3 billion annually and also increases crash risk.
Earlier this year, Overdrive readers reported no improvement in detention times since the ELD mandate took effect. Drivers at the Mid-America Trucking Show in March spoke with Trucker Tools app founder and CEO Prasad Gollapalli about potential updates to that app that could help with detention, including built-in detention pay collections and other tools to potentially reduce time spent at shippers and receivers.
