Drivers file record number of coercion complaints with FMCSA

A record number of professional truck drivers are filing coercion-related complaints with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, on pace to break records in 2022. As of Friday, close to 500 complaints had been filed by drivers to the FMCSA against employers, shippers and others, according to data provided by the agency.

According to the FMCSA, coercion occurs when a motor carrier, shipper, receiver or transportation intermediary “threatens to withhold work from, take employment action against, or punish a driver for refusing to operate in violation of certain provisions of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs), Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMRs), and the Federal Motor Carrier Commercial Regulations (FMCCRs).”

The agency passed the Coercion Rule in 2016. Below are a few examples of what the FMCSA considers coercion:

• A motor carrier, shipper, receiver or transportation intermediary asks a driver to perform a task that would result in the driver violating certain provisions of the FMCSRs, HMRs or FMCCRs.
• The driver informs the motor carrier, shipper, receiver or transportation intermediary of the violation that would occur if the task were performed, such as driving over the hours-of-service limits or creating unsafe driving conditions.
• The motor carrier shipper, receiver or transportation intermediary makes a threat or takes action against the driver’s employment or work opportunities to get the driver to take the load despite the regulatory violation that would occur.

The issue of driver coercion and fatigue was brought up on Capitol Hill. U.S. Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-N.J., said, “Treatment of drivers by management is one of the reasons that doesn’t get enough attention — specifically demands put on some of them to continue to drive when they’re too tired to drive safely.”

These comments appeared to be influenced by a recent episode of comedian John Oliver’s HBO show “Last Week Tonight.” It highlighted conditions affecting truck drivers and included a video clip of a dispatcher threatening to dock a driver’s pay if he failed to deliver a load — after the driver told him he was unsafe to drive because he needed rest. A clip of that episode was played at a hearing last week on the National Transportation Safety Board’s FY2023 budget request by Malinowski.??

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Trucking companies routinely deal with challenges related to driver hours of service and the impacts supply chain delays have on driver rest and well being. For many large trucking companies that operate on a “force dispatch model,” any load assignment made to the driver is generally regarded as required, but the carrier must make a good-faith effort to determine remaining hours of service and transit at the time of load assignment.?

Where the coercion rule gets complicated is when drivers reject load assignments based on various factors including fatigue. Further challenges include whether there truly is fatigue or if the driver is attempting to refuse loads due to characteristics such as lower mileage or length of haul, or an unfavorable market location. Additionally, dispatchers and operations staff may be poorly trained and could inadvertently coerce a driver by stating negative repercussions if the driver does not complete a delivery or task which could result in dwell or waiting on a reset delivery appointment.?

One factor that can improve driver well-being and reduce coercion potential is establishing trailer pools at large-volume facilities to reduce the amount of live loading or unloading that takes up costly time as some facilities may detain a driver from two to four hours compared to around 45 minutes for a drop delivery.?

Ultimately, the best way to reduce driver coercion reports is practicing sound operational strategies including adjusting load characteristics based on driver profile and communicating any concerns or delays as early as possible to set up drivers for success on the road. Failure to take into account each driver’s style of driving or utilization of hours may cause further issues down the road.?