(Grain Valley, Mo., July 1, 2010) – Stop undermining truckers’ ability to drive safely and stop wasting their time. That was the basic message conveyed by Anne Ferro, head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), at a recent speech before representatives of the shipping community.

The Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) applauded her request for shippers to take responsibility for highway safety by addressing the problem of lengthy delays truckers commonly experience at loading docks.

Ferro remarked that a “constant refrain, a constant complaint” heard during the FMCSA’s public hearings on hours-of-service regulations was about the valuable time truckers waste at shipping facilities waiting to be loaded or unloaded. She also said truckers are under increased financial and mental stress when their legal driving hours are eaten up by that time wasted loading docks.

Ferro reminded shippers that they indeed play a unique part in highway safety.

“I ask each of you today to take responsibility in your businesses to increase your stake in motor carrier safety,” she said. “Between now and the end of the year, take the time to reexamine practices that short change the driver’s ability to drive safely.”

Todd Spencer, OOIDA’s Executive Vice President, praised Ferro’s comments.

“Boy, did she get it right,” he said.  “Most truckers are not compensated by the hour but rather by the number of miles driven. That translates into drivers’ time being of little value to shippers or receivers, and into truckers spending a mind-numbing amount of uncompensated time sitting at loading docks.”

The rest of the speech can be read here: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/about/news/speeches/WFTPF.aspx

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is the largest national trade association representing the interests of small-business trucking professionals and professional truck drivers. The Association currently has nearly 155,000 members nationwide. OOIDA was established in 1973 and is headquartered in the greater Kansas City, Mo., area.