Posts Tagged ‘detention’

Accidents/Road Closures Lead to Missed Shipments/Delays, Road Scholar Can Help

Tuesday, December 11th, 2012

Tuesday, December 4th: A tractor-trailer heading southbound on Interstate 81 in Broome County, NY rear-ended a car carrier, losing one of the SUVs it was hauling, bursting into flames.  In an attempt to miss the accident, a second tractor-trailer swerved, hitting a third tractor-trailer and causing the vehicle to lose fuel.  The Interstate was shut down for over 3 hours for cleanup. 1

Thursday, December 6th: Baton Rouge, LA I-10 East was shut down for over 5 hours during rush hour (~8:45 a.m.) when a tractor-trailer overturned.  The tow truck was not able to clear the truck away until 2:15 p.m. 2

Monday, December 10th: A crash in Monroe County, PA around 3:30 a.m. closed Interstate 80 eastbound lanes for 15 hours after a flatbed tractor-trailer lost control, losing a pre-fabricated concrete wall from its load, striking two tractor-trailers and a car.  A fourth tractor-trailer hit one of the tractor trailers, resulting in a fatality. 3

Accidents such as these occur every day due to weather conditions, speeding, distractions, and other circumstances, resulting in tie-ups that can last several hours.  These circumstances can result in great consequences for those involved in the supply chain including:

*HOS: Eating up a driver’s hours-of-service, thus preventing the driver from keeping their schedule without exceeding their 11 hour driving time and leading the trucking company to either find another driver with hours to take over on the load or delaying/losing the shipment.

*Missed Appointments: Many companies have strict appointment times in which a driver must pick up/deliver.  If late, the driver may be forced to postpone the shipment or worse, face a cancellation in the load.  Now imagine if a driver’s first stop had a strict 8 a.m. appointment but an accident caused the driver to be over an hour late, thus rescheduling the delivery until the next day.  Being that the delivery was the driver’s first stop, the driver now has to take the shipment back to the terminal to rearrange the freight in order to deliver to the other stops onboard the trailer.  This costs the driver and company both time and empty miles.

*Detention: In the event that a consignee with a delivery appointment decides to allow the driver to deliver late, the driver now faces detention as the company will unload those trucks with delivery appointments first.  Detention, which has been called the “biggest productivity or efficiency problem in trucking” by the Owner-Operator Independent Driver’s Association (OOIDA), costs the trucking industry $3 billion a year.

*Delays: For LTL carriers, accidents/delays do not just affect one shipment, but every delivery on the truck and every pick up scheduled for that driver, leading to a trickled down delay affect and resulting in a loss of productivity.

*Loss of Productivity: Not only do carriers and drivers face a loss of productivity, but manufacturers as well.  Many manufacturers need their products delivered on time for use in the manufacturing process that day.  If even one shipment/product is delayed, it can result in a production hold-up, costing money and potential customer loss.

Although there is no stopping accidents from occurring, bad weather from falling, or unexpected tie-ups from occurring, Road Scholar Transport incorporates technology onto our fleet to help prevent delays.

showme

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Road Scholar has the ability to monitor and react to road conditions/reroute equipment.  Our ShowMe feature allows us to use the Google Maps traffic congestion overlay to see where our trucks are and where traffic may affect delivery in order to choose the best route to avoid delays so that your product line in not on hold or reputation with your customer is not tainted.

Additionally, Road Scholar is preventing delays and damaged or loss of freight with our anti-crash technology.  Road Scholar has an ACB system (Active Cruise with Braking) installed on our trucks that allows us to maintain a set distance of 8/10ths of a mile marker behind a forward vehicle.

When cruise control is off, the ACB will deliver a beeping alert, which gets faster and louder when closing in on a vehicle, as well as a visual warning on the dashboard showing how far the vehicle is from your truck.

When cruise control is on, the ACB will automatically reduce the throttle, use the engine retarder, or apply the brakes (delivering 1/3 the vehicle’s power but the driver can apply the rest if needed) in order to maintain a set distance from the vehicle ahead.

Not only does Road Scholar incorporate the Bendix Wingman ACB on its trucks, but ESP (Electronic Stability Program) as well.

This system is especially good for icy or wet weather conditions where wheels lose their grip, or taking a curve too quickly, which can result in a rollover.  Drivers may not sense a rollover could be starting, which is where the ESP’s row and yaw stability sensors come into play.  The row sensors work to prevent rollovers while yaw sensors prevent slide, spin, or jackknife situations.

The ESP automatically distinguishes the problem and quickly corrects it by reducing the engine throttle and applying the brakes.

Bendix explains the many sensors that supplement the wheel speed sensors which include:

-The steering angle sensor, which detects steering input, the first indicator of a maneuver.

-Brake pressure sensors, which monitor the amount of an operator’s braking.

-Lateral acceleration sensor, which detects the side force that could make the vehicle rollover.

-Yaw rate sensor, which helps determine if the vehicle is responding properly to driver steering input.

These are just some reasons why Road Scholar has a low damage claim rate of just 0.0003%, in addition to qualified drivers and safe equipment.

Are in transit delays from your current carrier becoming an issue of concern?  Let us know.  Road Scholar Transport will do a free audit of your lanes and offer some suggestions on route optimization.  Visit www.roadscholar.com today.

1http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20121204/NEWS01/312040027/One-injury-fiery-81-crash?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

2http://www.nola.com/news/baton-rouge/index.ssf/2012/12/i-10_east_to_be_reopened_soon.html

3http://www.wkbn.com/content/news/local/story/Youngstown-Man-Killed-in-I-80-Crash-in/zhp5NUVa_0OEEbW3xCeEdw.cspx

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Posted in Freight Quotes, LTL Freight Quotes, LTL freight, Northeast Regional Freight Quotes, Services, Trucking Industry News | Comments Off

Detention/Pay Forcing Drivers to “Cheat” Hours of Service…Are EOBRs the Solution?

Friday, May 11th, 2012

Electronic on-board recording devices (commonly referred to as EOBRs) have been a subject of debate in the trucking industry, especially recently with the passage of the The 2012 Surface Transportation Extension Act by the Senate which would require the mandatory installation of EOBRs on all trucks.

Against this proposal are groups (including the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association) who believe that the devices would lead to driver harassment, pressure to meet their quota and therefore driving tired and enforcing safety hazards, along with the expensive cost of $525 and $785 per truck.

On the other hand, there are groups (which include the American Trucking Associations, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, and many more) who support the proposal believing that EOBRs would lead to greater safety through HOS compliance, saving time by ridding of paper logs, and better accuracy.

But do EOBRs come with another benefit to an ongoing problem in the trucking industry…detention?

As a driver, have you ever pulled into a dock for a pickup only to find a long line of trucks ahead of you?  You end up sitting there two and half hours, still waiting to be loaded.  What do you do?  Do you pull the truck and waste the driver’s time, fuel, and accumulate empty miles or do you wait it out?  This detention not only threatens the next shipment on the driver’s truck being late, but also takes away from a driver’s allowed hours of service.

With a strict 11-hour driving limit, many drivers explain that they are being forced to cheat on their logs either due to financial reasons or because their employer is making them.  As one individual commented, “Drivers cheat on their logs because the job doesn’t pay what it should and they need the extra time & money. Average truckers work over 70 hours a week without a penny of overtime.  Companies threaten to have drivers sit for days if they don’t cheat.” 1

Another reason drivers provided for cheating on their logs, as mentioned earlier, was detention.

Let’s say you were detained at a shipper’s dock for three hours.  This drastically reduces the amount of time you now have left on the road while complying with your hours of service.  Since many drivers are paid by the mile, this now reduces that driver’s income, and therefore, the driver is more prone to “fix” their hours to have more time on the road.

According to a recent study, “More than 80% of drivers reported that they were unable to comply with the Hours of Service regulations after being “unduly detained” at loading docks.” 2

As OOIDA states, drivers are spending up to 40 hours a week on docks, sometimes for days, costing the industry $3 billion annually and becoming the biggest efficiency problem in trucking.  On top of that, OOIDA mentions the problem with compliance due to detention time spent on docks, causing drivers to lose productivity and, in return, higher the costs of consumer goods.

Last summer we witnessed initiatives, such as HR 756 and extending the FMCSA’s authority, in an effort to reduce the number of hours drivers are detained at docks to pick up or deliver a shipment.  This month, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration decided to conduct “two important studies to examine how wait times and driver pay affect driver behavior.” 2

Meanwhile, in order to compensate for detainment, many trucking companies are charging shippers/receivers detention fees, typically providing the first two hours free and charging for additional time.

But charging for detention does not always mean that the carrier will receive it.  As one carrier utilizing a third-party for its loads notes, “If at the two hour mark I call the broker and complain, I usually hear something like: ‘I’ll call the shipper and see about detention.’ This is a kiss-off.” 3

But many truck drivers/companies believe that EOBRs can help.  How?  One word…proof.

Let’s face it, we live in a world that requires a “see it to believe it attitude.”  If you can’t prove that you were at the dock from time this time to that time, I’m not paying.

One carrier utilizing EOBRs labeled it a “powerful tool” when it came to customers known for detaining drivers.  As he noted, “Given that stopped time and location is easily retrievable with the systems, I now have ready-made documentation to prove detention time to the shipper, beyond just me or my drivers’ word.” 4

Do you think EOBRs can be a solution to driver detention?  List your comments at http://gsfn.us/t/2uev4.

eobr

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1http://www.wjhg.com/news/headlines/Proposed_Government_Mandate_Could_Mean_Big_Changes_for_Truck_Drivers_150496015.html

2http://www.truckinjuries.com/latestnews/2012/05/fmcsa-will-study-questions-of-driver-safety/

3http://regulationroom.org/eobr/eobr-commenter-stories/

4http://www.overdriveonline.com/could-eobrs-solve-the-detention-dilemma/

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Posted in Freight Quotes, LTL Freight Quotes, LTL freight, Northeast Regional Freight Quotes, Services, Trucking Industry News | Comments Off

Safety Reauthorization Bills to be Presented to Senate Next Week, Available via Live Stream

Friday, December 9th, 2011

SenatThree transportation bills introduced earlier this week covering safety topics which include electronic on-board recording devices (EOBRs), chameleon carriers, detention, the loading/unloading of hazardous materials, among other issues, will be heard by the Senate Commerce Committee next week.

The first bill, the Motor Vehicle and Highway Safety Improvement Act of 2011, “reauthorizes highway and vehicle safety programs under the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration…managing safety and research programs designed to decrease vehicle deaths and injuries by changing driver behavior” (http://www.transportationissuesdaily.com/senate-to-act-on-highway-safety-bills/).

Among these safety programs is the mandatory requirement of electronic on-board recorders (EOBRS) on trucks.

Last August, the U.S. Court of Appeals sided with the Owner-Operator Independent Driver Association (OOIDA), agreeing that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) needed to address the issue of driver harassment in their EOBR mandate.

On November 1st, the FMCSA submitted its proposal of whether it will reduce a driver’s hours of service from 11 to 10 hours, among several other proposed changes.  But before the FMCSA’s decision will be announced to the public, the OMB must first review the rule, returning it to the DOT with any recommendations, who will then pass it to the Federal Register for publication.

Recommendations to the requirement were submitted to the FMCSA this week with details on the suggestions expected to be released next week.

The bill also addresses the issue of chameleon carriers (existing carriers who register as a new carrier in order to hide poor safety records).  As Transport Topics notes, “The bill would also make it harder for a carrier shut down for violations to “reincarnate” under a new name,” along with “requiring new ‘applicant motor carriers’ to demonstrate knowledge of safety regulations through written exams.”

Detention, labeled the “biggest productivity or efficiency problem in trucking” by the Owner-Operator Independent Driver’s Association (OOIDA), costing the trucking industry $3 billion a year and drivers 30-40 hours a week, is also addressed in the bill.

This detention not only threatens the next shipment on the driver’s truck being late, but also takes away from a driver’s allowed hours of service (HOS).  In return, the bill explains concern that drivers who are detained would be more apt to violate their HOS, driving fatigue in order to make delivery appointments.

The other two bills (the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Enhancement Act of 2011 and Hazardous Materials Transportation Safety Improvement Act of 2011) are not yet available to the public but would include the requirement of “a paperless hazard communication system between all parties in the transportation chain, along with emergency responders and law enforcement personnel,” as well as “uniform procedures for the safe loading and unloading of hazardous materials on and off trucks,” Transport Topics explains.

Road Scholar Transport is a hazmat certified carrier, hiring only the most professional and experienced drivers who are subject to background checks and safety tests well beyond the industry standard.  Road Scholar’s hazmat certified drivers participate in a training program that keeps them “up to speed” on the latest techniques to prevent accidents and protect hazardous cargo.  Combine Road Scholar’s drivers’ experience with our strict in transit security protocols and the result is a “security officer” behind the wheel escorting your freight.

Those wishing to tune into the session on Wednesday can do so at 10 a.m. by going to http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Home.

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MCSAC and ATA Take Opposite Sides Over Detention Dispute

Thursday, May 19th, 2011

detentionCurrent initiatives, such as HR 756 and extending the FMCSA’s authority, are being proposed in an effort to reduce the number of hours drivers are detained at docks to pick up or deliver a shipment.  Although transportation companies are urging for action to take place over detention issues, not all trucking groups are in favor of stricter regulations.

After a Government Accountability Office survey depicting 65% of drivers experiencing detention problems within the past month, Peter DeFazio proposed a bill entitled HR 756, which would determine a set number of hours a shipper is allowed to detain a driver before being charged.

As the bill awaits a decision, more and more groups began to show their support over the proposal, the Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee (MCSAC) and Owner Operator Independent Driver’s Association (OOIDA) being among them.

The MCSAC has taken the detention dispute even further, urging for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to take action in seeking legal authority over entities that contribute to FMCSA safety violations, which they believe is the case here since detention time can interfere and violate a driver’s hours of service.

Currently, the FMCSA “has authority over drivers and carriers” but the MCSAC is suggesting that they expand their control to cover “shippers, receivers, and brokers who ‘unduly detain’ drivers” (http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-detail.asp?news_id=73637).

OOIDA also seconds HR 756 explaining that detention costs the industry $3 billion annually and is becoming the biggest efficiency problem in trucking.

While the American Trucking Associations (ATA) understands the issue with detention and how valuable time is to drivers, they disagree with the MCSAC on how to go about the problem.

According to an article in truckinginfo.com, the ATA believes that carriers and shippers need to settle the detention dispute on their own without involving federal authorities, recently voting against regulating detention time.

The ATA explains that “federal intervention into this area would have significant impacts on the contractual agreements between carriers and shippers” effecting shipping rates, and although “no carrier wants to see our drivers’ time wasted… this is not an issue that can be handled with a ‘one-size, fits all’ regulation and as a result is best addressed in contractual agreements between carriers and shippers” (http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-detail.asp?news_id=73788).

The problem with detention is widespread with drivers spending up to 40 hours a week on docks, sometimes for days, and 80% of them unable to maintain the maximum hours of service, OOIDA explains.
Road Scholar Transport

Don’t have your shipment delayed.  Road Scholar Transport provides 24-hour expedited service to make sure that your freight is delivered quickly when you need it.

Go to www.roadscholar.com today to guarantee the fast delivery of your products.

Are in support of HR 756 or do you believe that the ATA is right in saying that it is an issue that should be between the shipper and carrier?

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FMCSA Encouraged to Demand Control Over Shippers/Receivers Who Detain Drivers

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011

Owner-Operator Independent Driver's AssociationIt has been called the “biggest productivity or efficiency problem in trucking” by the Owner-Operator Independent Driver’s Association (OOIDA), costing the trucking industry $3 billion a year.  That problem is detention and it has become a growing concern for truckers and carriers.

According to truckinginfo.com, the Government Accountability Office publicized the problem after conducting a survey which found that out of 300 drivers, 65 percent of them had experienced detention problems within the last month.  Because of these results, Peter DeFazio proposed a bill, called HR 756, which would determine a set number of detention hours a shipper is allowed before compensation must be paid.  The bill is still facing judgment.

But now, the Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee (MCSAC) is speaking up, urging the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to take action.

Currently, the FMCSA “has authority over drivers and carriers” but the MCSAC is suggesting that they expand their control to cover “shippers, receivers, and brokers who ‘unduly detain’ drivers” (http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-detail.asp?news_id=73637).

As OOIDA explains, 30-40 hours a week are spent by drivers on loading docks, with those drivers being detained sometimes for days, truckinginfo.com notes.  This detention not only threatens the next shipment on the driver’s truck being late, but also takes away from a driver’s allowed hours of service (HOS), which cannot be thought of lightly due the proposal sought to reduce a driver’s HOS.  80 percent of those surveyed by the Government Accountability Office acknowledged that they are having a hard time keeping the maximum hours they are allowed.

But that’s not all, MCSAC also suggested that “the FMCSA set up a complaint line for drivers being unduly detained, seek action against detaining parties that place drivers in violation of HOS rules, and develop a ‘Truck Driver’s Bill of Rights,’” which would “include detention compensation for drivers among roadside amenities like access to showers and food,” truckinginfo.com explains.

Are you worried about your freight being detained do to a prior shipper/receiver?  You don’t have to be.  With Road Scholar Transport you have the option of expedited shipping along with our on time delivery guarantee to ensure that your LTL and TL freight will be delivered when you expect it.  Visit www.roadscholar.com today to learn more and to get a rate.

Have you ever been the victim of detention?  What do you think should be done about it and why has this grown to become such a problem?

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New Bill Would Help Reduce Detention Time, Holding Shippers/Receivers Responsible

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011

The House of Representatives was introduced to a new bill yesterday that would help reduce the amount of time house of representativesdrivers spend at docks waiting to be loaded/unloaded, costing drivers time and money.

The bill, H.R. 756, would call for “a regulatory rulemaking on detention times and compensation” and hold “shippers and receivers accountable for their contribution to the lack of productivity in the transportation supply chain” (http://www.layover.com/news/article/truckers-say-detention-legislation-would-improve-p-16564.html).  In other words, there would be a set number of detention hours allowed before compensation must be paid.

One of the main reasons for this is the new hours of service proposal.  With a reduction in the number of hours a driver is allowed, drivers and companies cannot afford to waste those hours sitting at a dock.

Imagine having another shipment or two on that same truck that is being detained.  Those shipments will now be late for their pickup/delivery as well affecting everyone else on that truck.

According to the Owner Operator Independents Drivers Association, drivers spend up to 40 hours a week in detention, layover.com notes, costing $6.5 billion a year.

Don’t get held up in detention, visit Road Scholar Transport today at www.roadscholar.com to talk to a live transportation expert about our expedited shipping options.

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