The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is asking truck drivers and others in the trucking industry for information about 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 the 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.
A full list of questions can be found in the notice here.
FMCSA will accept public comments for 90 days beginning June 10 when the notice is published in the Federal Register. Comments can be made at www.regulations.gov by searching Docket No. FMCSA-2019-0054.
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.
