WASHINGTON — If drivers have to be federally regulated by hours-of-service rules, brokers should be required to pay drivers for time lost waiting to pick up freight because it ends up making roads less safe.
That is the argument of a group of owner-operators and small trucking companies as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration plans a new study on the effects of driver detention time on road safety and trucking operations.
While carriers of all sizes have long been concerned about the effects driver detention has on safety and operations, “it affects us differently [than] established trucking companies as they are able to negotiate a maximum wait time and they are given priority when it comes to service,” stated one owner-operator commenting on the information collection request (ICR) for the study, which FMCSA must submit to the Office of Management and Budget for approval.
“Brokers would rather sacrifice the independent owner operators rather than hurt their relationship with the shipper or receivers [because] they would automatically lose their contracts.”
Another commenter to the ICR asserted that although brokers know where and when a truck is heading for a pickup or delivery, “we get there and still have to sit for hours and hours while our clock’s ticking. As soon as we arrive, we should all start being paid on the clock. It will also make these shippers and receivers move faster to send us on a safe journey from pickup to delivery.”
Arctic King Logistics LLC, a trucking dispatch service, said wait time-related pressure to get back on the road to make a delivery or to pick up the next load may lead drivers “to make compromised decisions, potentially endangering themselves and others on the road.”
However, “it’s important to note that not only brokers are responsible,” the company stated. “Certain facilities contribute to the issue, often being ‘short-staffed’ or simply not caring and creating conditions where detention time is almost guaranteed. Regulating and improving these facilities is essential for enhancing overall safety and the welfare of drivers and all participants on the road.”
Several commenters said FMCSA should allow for an industry-accepted two free hours of wait time, after which it should require a $100-per-hour detention time fee be paid by the broker, shipper or receiver.
“Hit them where it hurts: their bottom line,” said one, recommending a $100-per-hour fee go to the driver and $300 per hour to the carrier, “paid immediately by the offending party prior to [the driver’s] departure via an industry accepted payment method. Carriers must pass on full driver share to driver, no exceptions, and carriers cannot, as a condition of employment, compel drivers to sign any portion of their share away.”
Chris Burroughs, vice president of government affairs for the Transportation Intermediaries Association, which represents truck brokers and 3PLs, said that TIA has been investigating the detention time issue for years, pointing out that technology has made it easier to track detention time metrics which in turn improves transparency with customers.
“However, it’s essential to emphasize that sharing accurate data does not automatically guarantee the fair compensation of detention time,” Burroughs told FreightWaves.
“TIA steadfastly views detention time as an industry-wide concern, urging that it should not be the FMCSA’s role to regulate. Instead, the agency should remain dedicated to its core mission of ensuring safety rather than dictating commercial provisions. As brokers, our priority is to nurture fruitful relationships with motor carriers, ensuring that they are justly compensated for any time unnecessarily lost due to detention. It’s our responsibility to advocate for these hardworking professionals.”
The American Trucking Associations, which represents major trucking companies, has also insisted that FMCSA steer clear of attempting to regulate detention time, contending that it is an economic issue and therefore best addressed by carriers and their customers.
“Whether detention time is also a safety issue — and therefore an issue within FMCSA’s statutory authority to address — is another question altogether,” ATA stated in its comments to the ICR.
“While there has been no end of speculation that excessive waiting times provide incentives for unsafe behaviors, numerous studies have failed to substantiate even a statistically rigorous correlation between detention time and crash risk, much less a causal link.”
But the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and truck safety advocates disagree, pointing to a 2018 U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General report’s conclusion that detention increases the likelihood of truck crashes involving death and serious injury.
“Most of [Truck Safety Coalition] victim volunteers have been forever and irreparably impacted by a fatigued and/or speeding truck driver,” commented the group, which advocates on behalf of crash victims’ families. “It is from a place of tragically somber experience that TSC unapologetically asserts that the proposed [study] is imperative for FMCSA to perform its functions.”
Sales Guy
Richard Davis makes a good point in that the broker does not create the problem at the dock. In many cases, they have no idea how many trucks are being handled at any given time.
Many shippers will send out emails for rate quotes to as many as 100 brokers and carriers and select from the cheapest quote. Regarding the shipper, it’s all about the cost. They fail to see the values that good relationships bring to the table. I explain to the shippers that we want to have a driver that WANTS to haul your freight. If the broker pays what the carrier is asking, (not beating down the rate) and giving the driver a good environment they will want to move your freight. Doing things like documenting in and out times, providing a comfortable area to sit and some snacks and cold drinks or hot coffee makes a person feel appreciated.
If your driver shows up while the catering truck is outside and everyone is having lunch, buy the driver his lunch too. It goes a long way.
For the brokers, if you are able to sell the load to your customer at a rate that allows you to make a few bucks, add some money to the carriers’ rate confirmation. I have done this numerous times over my career and if the carrier wants $2000 and you say ok $2300 and not a penny less. Believe me that carrier wants to work with you again. Of course, you have to keep your word and pay them.
At the same time if the carrier is told to deliver by 2 and the company closes at 3 then don’t show up at 3:15 then expect a layover fee.
All of the people involved in the supply chain have the ability to abuse the system and people then become defensive or offensive in how they treat everyone else. Drivers and O/O’s think it’s always the broker, but the bottom line is the guy who is paying the freight often dictates what is happening and everyone else is clambering to keep or get that business or keep their jobs. Are there bad brokers? Oh yes, lots of them, and carriers need a way to weed them out. Do we need a rating system for good and bad shippers and receivers? Absolutely! If anyone knows of an existing website let’s post it to see if it’s legit.
Let’s all work on being ethical and treating our drivers like the partners that they are. Carriers, drivers, shippers, receivers, and brokers all have a responsibility in the supply chain and if we work together with an ethical outcome in mind we can keep the government out from running things. We all know how well they run.
Edward McCartney
The ATA is not for the American truck driver. It is totally aligned with the government and is a Trojan horse towards the truck driver. It’s never, ever helped drivers!!! Show me anything good that they have done to help us drivers?? Any??
Richard Davis
Of course the ATA ( Anti Trucking Association) wants to leave it up to the carriers and their customers. That means don’t do anything, keep screwing the small trucking company and truck drivers, just long as it doesn’t cost big business money.
Richard Davis
Detention, the waiting at docks isn’t caused by the broker, it’s caused by the shipper and receiver, the people loading and unloading the trailer. The problem won’t be solved by talking about it or asking places to do their job faster, it’s been tried and didn’t work. The only way to fix the problem is to make a law that says detention has to be paid, not if a carrier wants to charge it and from minute one the truck arrives. If these places had to pay $120 an hour from the time the truck got there, I bet that truck would be out within an hour. If that happens, a truck could pick up and deliver more freight within the same hours they are allotted. Detention isn’t just a time and money problem for truck owners and drivers, it’s a safety and supply chain problem.
Richard Davis
WHY, should a truck owner have to give the use of their time and the thousands of dollars worth of equipment away for free? WHY, should a truck driver have to give away their time away for free? WHY not just make a law that says every worker in America has to work for free 2-hours before their pay starts? WHY, is it only truck drivers that are required or forced to work for free?
Lilwatts5000
It’s always interesting, simply put, the lawyers/politicians in this article are all on the same page. It’s in the language or fine print, nothing new!! Anytime there is a need for reform in the labor sector and we need help getting compensation for our time, you hear or see words like stand clear!! Why? Because they are all in it together!! Brokers and big companies don’t want to pay us anyway, so you think they gonna push for us to get paid for their failure to get the truck loaded in a reasonable time! Nah man, be honest they getting paid they don’t care if you don’t as long as the product moves. An we move it, safely and sometimes unsafely. Just be honest with ourselves!! Cause we have families to take care of and feed!! Children that depend on us, this why we sacrifice an these greedy ppl know this!! Truckers are the heartbeat of this country and but are treated like the lowest on the planet!! From law enforcement to regulators to normal drivers we are not appreciated like we should be! We all know when detention time is a factor it can and create unsafe circumstances it’s common sense because if we late, we pay or get delayed! An we lose money period! So stop with the cool talk cause it’s just talk!! Some action needs to be taken!! All the double brokering going on, cutting rates etc!! So much greed!, you should wanna pay us our fair share, because imagine if we just stopped?
B. Roper
Send them to a chicken plant and see what happens. You get there early, sit all day and most of the night and just before shift change they load you and you gotta to be 500 or more miles down the road before daylight and if you are late a lot of receivers will charge a late fee knowing that it wasn’t your fault. Most know you are on a Obama mandated tracking collar and don’t care. Make both ends pay 165 a hour after a one hour wait
Mac
Truck drivers should be paid for long waiting times most places take there time knowing they are holding up the driver I have been 2 many companies that stand around doing nothing