Sitting Down with FMCSA Chief Counsel Brian Stansbury:
A Day in the Life of a Truck Driver
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Chief Counsel Brian Stansbury recently rode from Dayton, OH to Baltimore, MD with Daniel Clark, a professional truck driver for Classic Carriers of Versailles, OH. Stansbury joined Clark’s route delivering a load of pork products in a refrigerated truck to gain a better understanding of the day-to-day work as a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) driver.
The two met at a recent Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) event where Clark was named one of the safest drivers of the year. Clark, a CMV driver for more than 16 years with over two million safe driver miles logged, received the TCA Professional Driver of the Year Award in both 2022 and 2023.
Here’s our conversation with Chief Counsel Stansbury about his ride-along experience.
Why did you choose to take part in the ride along? What prompted your interest?
I chose to do the ride-along when I was invited because I could think of no better way to increase my understanding of the industry that we regulate. You can learn a lot by reading statutes, regulations, and rulemakings, but nothing compares with being on the front lines and seeing the reality of the profession with my own eyes.
What did you know about Daniel Clark and the truck driving experience before the ride-along?
I met Daniel earlier in the year at TCA’s fall business meeting, which is how we got connected. But I didn’t know much else about what the ride would entail. I flew into Dayton, OH, the night before our ride-along, and the next morning we left from a meat packing facility nearby to deliver a refrigerated load to a warehouse north of Baltimore, MD.
What were some of the more eye-opening experiences of the ride-along?
Truck drivers spend significant time on the road and away from their families. I also saw that some of the facilities they use for showering and other self-care may not be at a standard most people are used to. Our economy and our lives would not function without these drivers, and despite few healthy food options while on the road, drivers maintain the physical qualification standards FMCSA requires to safely perform the demanding job of a professional driver.
I don’t think I really internalized how much waiting around there is in truck driving and how much delay there is. Drivers have to be mindful of their hours of service limits to make sure they can get to where they need to before the maximum on-duty period of hours ends; so, waiting around for hours at a time is challenging for drivers. [“Hours of service” refers to the maximum amount of time drivers are permitted to be on duty including driving time, and specifies number and length of rest periods, to help ensure that drivers can stay focused on the road.]
Whether you’re waiting for gas refueling or for loads to be ready, the time spent taxes you. Daniel did say that this was a smoother trip than usual because the load was ready to be picked up when we arrived; so, detention time was minimized.
When Daniel and I went to the weigh station the first time and refueled, there were no lines. But during certain points later in our trip, I remember seeing long lines just to get gas. The waiting eats into not just the time of drivers, but also their profits.
Detention time concerns are not new to FMCSA, and we have a research project underway to study the impact of driver detention time on CMV safety. The findings from this study will contribute to a more complete understanding of the issues and help the private sector decide how best to reduce detention time and improve safety and supply chain efficiency.
Were there any recurring topics of conversations throughout the trip?
Truck parking came up constantly throughout the course of our ride. And there were many times throughout the journey where Daniel would point to an empty or underutilized space along the road and say, “This would be a good location for additional truck parking.” And since then, every time I’m on the road, I’m constantly assessing, “Where can we add truck parking?”
Before I started at FMCSA, truck parking was an issue I hadn’t really thought about. And now I realize it’s an issue that is central to the safety, health and dignity of truck drivers. When you can’t find parking, you have to either keep driving around to find it, which eats up fuel, or wait around. And while you’re waiting, you have to stay with your vehicle; so, it delays the time you have to rest or eat.
Enhancing access to safe truck parking is on the list of FMCSA’s top priorities. And thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we do have more resources that are being put towards this work. In fact, we saw a 65 percent increase in funding over last year through our high priority grants program. This money is helping to expand truck parking and enhance critical efforts to support truck drivers and improve safety.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has also amended state freight planning requirements to provide adequate parking facilities and rest facilities, like constructing commercial vehicle parking facilities next to truck stops and travel plazas and making capital improvements to convert seasonal public CMV parking facilities to year-round facilities.
What was the most surprising thing you observed or experienced during the ride-along?
Seeing cars just pull in front of us and hit the brakes made me wonder just how much people valued their own lives or even think about sharing the road safely. Watching the way other cars behave around trucks, I witnessed incredibly dangerous, risky behavior from other motorists. I felt Daniel was a model driver in terms of how he oriented himself. Our weight with the load we were delivering was 71,000 pounds, and we were going 65 miles per hour. Given just how massive they are and the speeds that they go, based on physics and the time it takes for them to slow down, it takes great skill to control a load that heavy; so, passenger car drivers need to be more cognizant of that risk and think about how to create a safe environment for themselves and CMV drivers.
Sharing the road safely with large trucks (and buses) is something we all should do, and it is at the heart of FMCSA’s Our Roads, Our SafetyⓇ campaign.
What other issues did you discuss, and what kind of solutions is FMCSA working on now to resolve those problems?
We talked about the dynamic between truck drivers and brokers, which can be charged. There is a lack of trust between the two parties, for things as simple as a load pick-up time, that needs to be resolved. FMCSA recently finalized a rule that will cut down on unpaid claims to motor carriers from brokers, and we also initiated a rulemaking pertaining to broker transparency.
Was there anything fun or interesting that you experienced? Did you gain a better understanding of what draws people to this profession?
There’s challenge after challenge that drivers have to deal with that require a great deal of patience. So, there is camaraderie that develops among drivers at truck stops to bond over experiences other professions may not have, either talking to each other through CB radio or meeting each other in the yard, which is very important for morale.
What is the main takeaway you gained from riding along with a truck driver?
This is a very, very difficult job. I’ll echo what Daniel told me during our ride-along: during COVID-19, society finally recognized that truck drivers are essential workers and there was greater respect shown to them, but that “honeymoon period” has faded, and we are back to a world where truck drivers are not given the respect they deserve for the essential role they play.
Safety is at the core of our mission at FMCSA. And while we do regulate truck drivers and are responsible for ensuring that they meet certain standards of driving and behavior that help promote safer roads for all, we want all CMV drivers to know we care about their personal safety and truly appreciate the vital work they do. We as an agency always need to be thoughtful about what we can do to make it a better, safer job. It’s a hard job. It’s an important job. And we always want to find ways to make it a more enjoyable job and ensure that the people doing that job are getting the respect they deserve. My hat’s off to Daniel and all the truck drivers out there!
