Shippers Are Wasting Truckers' Time

Anne Ferro, head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), recently told shippers that they need to stop undermining truckers' ability to drive safely and stop wasting their time. Not surprisingly, the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) applauded her remarks.

Ferro said that a "constant refrain, a constant complaint" heard during the FMCSA's public hearings on hours-of-service regulations was about the valuable time truckers waste at shipping facilities waiting to be loaded or unloaded. She also said truckers are under increased financial and mental stress when their legal driving hours are eaten up by that time wasted loading docks.

Ferro reminded shippers that they indeed play a unique part in highway safety, urging them to take responsibility in their businesses to increase their stake in motor carrier safety. "Between now and the end of the year, take the time to reexamine practices that shortchange the driver's ability to drive safely," she said.

Todd Spencer, OOIDA’s Executive Vice President, praised Ferro’s comments.

"Boy, did she get it right," says Todd Spencer, executive vice president of OOIDA. "Most truckers are not compensated by the hour but rather by the number of miles driven. That translates into drivers' time being of little value to shippers or receivers, and into truckers spending a mind-numbing amount of uncompensated time sitting at loading docks."

The full text of the speech can be read here.