7 Stats on How Detention Times Impact Drivers

In a recent study by The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), drivers reported a 27% increase in delays of six or more hours. The study was first conducted in 2014 and was updated in 2018, showing detention problems are only getting worse.

With detention increasing in both frequency and length, fleets are losing valuable drive time and productivity. However, lost drive time isn’t the only downside to detention. Read on for other surprising findings on detention time, including HOS issues and a disproportionate impact on female drivers. 

Detention causing HOS issues, especially for female drivers:

1. 79% of drivers say they have run out hours of service while waiting at a facility.
2. 28.8% of dwell times, or the time a driver spent in the same spot lasted two or more hours.
3. Drivers report losing $865 to $1,500 each week from uncompensated detention time.
4. Women truckers are 83.3% more likely than men to be delayed six or more hours.
5. 36.5% of women compared to 23.6% of men drive refrigerated loads, and refrigerated trailers are far more likely experience delays over 4 hours compared to bulk and dry loads.

Underlying issues at docking stations making detention worse

Respondents to the survey in both 2014 and 2018 expressed several negative comments about dock workers at shippers and receivers. In addition to the facilities being understaffed: 

1. Nearly 20% of drivers complain that their preloaded trucks were not ready at arrival time.
2. Between 2014 and 2018, respondents indicate facilities haven’t made improvements to their staffing across the 4-year period.

Learn how you can make dispatching more efficient when detention issues come up by requesting a demo of our Fleet Management Software.

SOURCES:

• Commercial Carrier Journal
• American Transportation Research Institute
• Heavy Duty Trucking
• Heavy Duty Trucking
• Land Line