The Trucking Industry Needs to Be More Responsive to Detention

By: ClassADrivers.com

Truck getting loaded

Not since high school has the word “detention” struck fear into the hearts of so many people. But unfortunately, detention is still a scary timeout for truck drivers.

Why Detention is a Problem

Truck drivers are legally allowed to drive for 11 hours and be on-duty for 14 hours. If truckers spend more than 3 hours of their on-duty time without driving, then that eats into the time they can get paid for driving real miles.

This is especially a problem when drivers are detained at shippers and receivers.

The Damage of Detention

Detention hurts everybody. Most importantly for us, truck drivers hate it. Detention costs them time and money, and nothing is more frustrating than the saying of “Hurry up and wait.”

Some companies offer detention pay, but this may only be available after a certain amount of time waiting. Truckers will find it in their best interest to unload quickly and hit the road.

Detention also costs trucking companies money. If the drivers aren’t driving, then the company’s trucks aren’t moving. Trucking companies should be incentivized to pressure the shipper/receiver to do fast loads/unloads.

Even the shipper/receiver is hurt by detention. If one truck is unloaded late, this can back up their entire schedule.

Why Detention is Even More of a Problem Now

Detention problems are especially bad in the era of Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs). Truck drivers used to be able to fudge their on-duty time when reporting their regulated hours into a paper logbook. But now, the computer in their truck knows everything.

Truckers are specifically hamstrung by ELDs because they operate on such strict timelines.

What You Can Do

The first action you can do is to call your congressperson and ask for more flexibility in Hours of Service regulations. The FMCSA also recently had a comment section that allowed drivers to comment on potential reforms.

Another course of action is to contact your trucking company. You can always call ahead of time to the shipper/receiver to see if they are running on schedule, but if your company puts real financial pressure on the shipper/receiver, then there’s a chance for real change.

No shipper/receiver is going to want to delay a company that threatens to pull contracts. Trucking companies can and should throw their weight around. After all, they have an investment in this issue as well.

Finally, make sure you have all the correct paperwork before you arrive at the shipper/receiver. This may seem like a small thing, but one delay leads to the next, and they pile up fast.

Overall, the trucking industry from the government to the shippers/receivers to the trucking companies to the drivers themselves all need to put more attention on detention.

Share this article around to raise awareness for this ordinary but very costly problem.