Feds Will Study Factors Affecting Commercial Driver Safety

The DOT's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration chief, Anne Ferro, wants the agency to study "to what extent driver compensation practices, and detention time at shippers' loading and receiving docks affect drivers' ability to drive safely." One study "will explore whether long waiting times in a parked vehicle at a shipper's dock -- which as of Feb. 27 became "off-duty time" under the new driver hours-of-service rule -- would contribute to driver fatigue and influence performance, Ferro said in a keynote speech April 20 at the annual Spring Forum of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals' Columbus (Ohio) Roundtable." The other study "would examine whether a link exists between the way drivers are compensated-either by the load or by the mile -- and driver behavior behind the wheel, according to Ferro."  Read more.