The trucking industry’s longstanding driver detention challenge hit the news again in September when the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) released a new report titled “Costs and Consequences of Truck Driver Detention: A Comprehensive Analysis”. ATRI’s research intent was to quantify detention costs in terms of lost productivity, driver income, and carrier revenue/costs. ATRI also worked with researchers at North Carolina State University (NCSU) to conduct a separate detention-related safety impact analysis.
ATRI’s analysis, based largely on a survey of 587 drivers conducted online and in-person at 2024 Mid-America Trucking Show, found that 39% of surveyed drivers reported being detained for more than two hours during deliveries in 2023. Interestingly, the frequency of detention for women drivers was higher at 49%, and drivers operating in the spot market reported being detained 43% of the time. Studied drivers reported being detained between 117 and 209 hours per year, depending on the industry sector. In for-hire trucking alone, the total time lost to driver detention exceeded 135 million hours (about 15,000 years) in 2023.
While the report’s primary focus was the economic impacts of detention, it’s the reported safety impacts that piqued our interest. The NCSU research team analyzed the relationship between detention and the pre-and post-detained truck speeds. ATRI’s database of truck GPS data was used, along with geofenced customer facilities. This analysis looked to test the theory that detained truck drivers make up for lost time by driving faster.
To determine the impact of detention on truck speed, NCSU researchers analyzed truck speeds by length of detained time and by customer types. Safety metrics were then presented for detained versus not detained truck drivers across three periods: (1) the 24-hour period before a facility visit; (2) 24-hrs before and 24-hrs after a facility visit; and (3) the 24-hour period after a visit. Researchers found that detained drivers operate faster than non-detained drivers across all three periods. For example, 24 hours after a facility visit, detained drivers averaged 49.7 mph versus 43.2 mph for non-detained drivers. Average speeds were very similar in the other two periods, and the difference in these average speeds was statistically significant.
Average speeds for detained versus non-detained drivers were also compared by customer facility types visited (e.g., distribution centers, food processing facilities, chemical plants, and semiconductor facilities). Detained drivers at distribution centers had 7.6% higher speeds than non-detained drivers, and those detained at food processing facilities had 37.6% higher speeds than those at those facilities. Both differences were statistically significant.
Only four pages of ATRI’s 48-page report included safety impact data, and that’s because the NCSU safety impact analyses are still ongoing. More to come on safety and detention.
The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute is also studying the safety impacts of excessive detention time. Their study focuses on analyzing post-detention safety events by understanding industry trends in detention time, what the driver is doing while detained, and what the safety impacts of that detention might do. It will do this by collecting new empirical data. For more information or to participate, click here.
Lastly, the ATRI report included a brief description of 5 strategies for reducing driver detention. If you’re a professional truck driver or with a fleet that experience detention on a regular basis, we encourage you to download the ATRI report to review its findings and consider the strategies highlighted.