Detention Time: Collect For It, Or Pay For It
Resentful shippers are one thing; resentful drivers could cost you even more.
The old saying that “Time is money” has never been more true. The new hours of service rules are putting pressure on everyone – from truck drivers and fleet managers to shippers and receivers – to squeeze every minute of running time from those drivers and rigs.
Now, not only does driver waiting time at docks count toward the new 14-hour workday; so does time they spend eating, fueling and even on restroom breaks. And drivers we’re hearing from are feeling pushed and resentful.
“Just a simple trip to the bathroom, that most people take for granted as a few minutes duty, takes a trucker a minimum of a half hour,” says Sandy Marsh, whose husband Tim is a veteran driver. “It takes time to park and walk – usually quite a distance – to the restroom.”
Other truckers worry that waiting at a lunch counter or the fuel desk is taking cash out of their pockets, too.
It all comes down to money, and drivers are becoming very conscious of how valuable their time is. In view of all this, some hard in-cab decisions confront them. Should they skip taking breaks? Run in bad weather when they shouldn’t? Keep going even when they know they’re fatigued?
We could equip every rig with a relief station, and maybe a mini-kitchen, but the time saved there would be a drop in the bucket compared to what can – and should – be saved at the docks.
The bright side of all this is that the HOS rules may be the force that finally reduces widespread shipper and receiver abuse of truckers’ time. Suddenly carriers have clout, and they’re using it: Delay my trucks and you’ll have to pay.
So far we’ve heard charges of $60 to $100 an hour for detention time, with the money clock usually starting to run after the first hour of waiting. Owner-operator Henry Albert charges $15 for each 15 minutes he sits after the first hour.
The charges are apparently sticking, according to several fleets, because shippers and receivers are getting the message. Detention time (which always hurt carriers and drivers) is now going to hurt them, and the fleets aren’t going to take the hit for them.
It’s about time that message got delivered, and apparently the only way to get it delivered was to hit some pocketbooks. If you’re a carrier who’s not willing to take a stand on detention time, prepare for your own demise.
But back to the drivers, whose time is now so valuable to everyone: They are sharing in the detention time payments being assessed against abusive shippers and receivers, and that is as it should be (if they’re not, shame on the carrier).
Here’s another thought: The U.S. Department of Transportation’s latest statistics show an 11% decrease in fatalities in large truck accidents (2002 compared with 2001). That’s progress, and trucking was the only highway user group to record a decline in fatality-involved crashes. It’s an admirable trend that all should applaud.
But under the new HOS rules, will that trend reverse itself as drivers push themselves past their physical limits to make a living?
The answer to that question is in the hands of our shippers and receivers. They need to do the right thing. And you, the carrier, need to help them along.
It’s much more than a matter of money.
Doug Condra
President
E-mail Doug Condra at dcondra@truckinginfo.com, or write PO Box W. Newport Beach, Calif. 92656.
