To conduct a study on the effects of excessive commuting on safety and CMV driver fatigue.

On December 4, 2015, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, 2015 (FAST Act) was signed into law. Section 5515 of the Act directs the Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to “conduct a study on the safety effects of motor carrier operator commutes exceeding 150 minutes.” The Act further specifies that a report containing the findings of this study should be submitted to Congress no later than 18 months after the date of enactment of the Act.

In order to meet the statutory timeline requirements, the study will identify, and request data from, nine large motor carriers (five trucking and four motorcoach carriers) to better understand commuting patterns of CMV drivers. The carriers will be asked to provide information on their drivers’ home locations and work terminal locations, as appropriate, to estimate commuter distances traveled, time zones crossed, estimated time spent commuting, methods of transportation used, and the impacts of excessive commuting times on CMV crashes.The study agent has conducted a literature review to determine what research exists on the impacts of excessive commuting on truck safety and CMV driver fatigue (and in similar safety critical occupations). The study will survey CMV drivers’ to better understand their commuting practices and any related motor carrier policies. Additionally, the study report will highlight the FMCSA regulations, policies, and guidance regarding driver commuting.

A report to Congress containing study findings.
 

FY16 Funding: $286,093

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) information collection approval in process. Project currently behind schedule.

For more information, contact Nicole Michel of the Research Division at (202) 366-4354 or nicole.michel@dot.gov.

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