Hours of Disservice * USA - ATA board votes to oppose regulating detention time

Grain Valley,MO,USA -Land Line Magazine, by David Tanner -May 20, 2011: -- The House bill HR756, calls on the U.S. Department of Transportation to quantify detention time, issue regulations to set the maximum number of hours a driver can be detained without compensation, and impose penalties against shippers and receivers that don’t pay for unreasonable detention time... According to a Government Accountability Office report that coincided with DeFazio’s bill in February, 65 percent of drivers reported losing revenue because of wasted time at the docks and 80 percent of drivers reported that detention time hindered them from meeting hours-of-service requirements... FMCSA Administrator, Anne Ferro, is on record saying the issue must be addressed. FMCSA’s own study showed detention time costs truckers $3.9 billion and costs the public $6.5 billion in lost productivity... An OOIDA study showed drivers can lose as much as 40 hours a week waiting to be loaded or unloaded... While the ATA’s position on detention time is infuriating, it’s also typical, OOIDA President, Jim Johnston, said... “I really can’t find the words to express my disgust and anger over this,” and added, “But when you think about it, and the things that these people have done in the past that are similar, like supporting speed limiters on trucks, electronic on-board recorders, increased truck size and weight limits, increased roadside enforcement, it’s not surprising..."


* ATA's Dan England: “No carrier wants to see our drivers’ time wasted”   

Arlington,VA,USA -Transport Topics -18 May 2011: -- Last month, a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration advisory committee recommended that FMCSA seek authority from Congress to impose penalties against shippers, receivers and brokers who “unduly detain” commercial vehicle drivers... American Trucking Associations said its board of directors voted to oppose efforts at regulating detention times — the time drivers and trucks wait to load or unload their cargo... The Government Accountability Office said in January that 59% of drivers reported delays of more than two hours at freight terminals, making it hard for them to comply with federal rules on driving time... (Photo from bigrigdriving: trucks waiting at warehouse)


* OPINION: Detention Self-Help.  "The last thing the trucking industry needs is for the federal government to decide just how long is “too long” when it comes to loading and unloading trailers"

Arlington,VA,USA -Transport Topics -23 May 2011: -- There’s no doubt that the failure of some shippers and consignees to promptly load or unload trailers is a serious issue for the trucking industry.  And because of this, most fleets have added detention rules into their contracts with their customers, detailing just how long it should take for a trailer to be loaded or unloaded...  When shippers fail to meet the rules, fleets are then able to charge their laggards for the time that is lost: both to help cover drivers’ wasted time and for tying up the equipment...  So we understand the motivation behind the recent moves to put more pressure on fleet customers to not impede the flow of commerce by detaining drivers and equipment...  But we also strongly believe that this is not an area that needs a new round of federal regulations and oversight to solve, because the so-called “solution” could turn out to be a lot worse than the problem...  But we have to strongly object to the solution he proposes: the creation of national standards by the Department of Transportation and the imposition of fixed penalties for violations...  This is surely a situation where the involved carrier has to determine acceptable detention times — and the penalties to be assessed when customers violate them...