Table 1 - uploaded by Michael H. Belzer
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Context 1
... data used in the study are summarized in Table 1. The sample consists of all full time drivers who are employees and paid by the mile. ...
Context 2
... 3.36 for Table 8 For Table 9, it is 0.1007/0.033 or 3.05 for Table 10, it is 0.0973/0.033 or 2.92 and for Table 11 (the turnover model it is 0.052/0.033 ...
Context 3
... competing explanations exist, such as the behavioral effect that citations for moving violations may have on drivers. Most coefficients estimated for this model (Table 10) remain similar to results presented previously except for: ...
Context 4
... estimated, as shown in Table 11, suggest that driver turnover risk decreases monotonically with age until age 43 and then begins to increase (for graphical depiction see Figure 14 below). We estimate that a driver who is 25 years old has the same turnover probability as a driver 65 years of age, all other characteristics held equal. ...
Context 5
... during the peak period of activity for truckload operations (September through November) is related to a 48.6 percent higher turnover probability (see Table 11). Better opportunities in the industry or in other industries (such as construction) and heavy workloads may explain this result. ...
Context 6
... heteroskedastic corrected covariance matrix was used to ensure that the estimated standard errors are consistent. Results of the probit estimation are reported in Table 13. One notable difference between these results and those reported at the firm level is the lack of statistical significance for many of the variables. ...
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Citations
... Things picked up again in 1998, when the Office of Motor Carriers of the Federal Highway Administration funded the first major US-based large-scale research on the relationship between truck driver compensation and safety. The project's report was the first to establish a general connection between compensation and truck safety outcomes in the US (Belzer et al 2002). Since then, this relationship has been replicated multiple times and in multiple countries. ...
... Private carriers haul their company's materials to facilitate its broader operation. Whether carriers operate privately or on a for-hire basis can systematically affect driver responsibilities, route structures, cargo, vehicle type, regulatory exemptions, and compensation (Belzer et al 2002;Burks et al 2004). To control for this, we include a private carriage indicator variable. ...
... The coefficient itself is approximately −0.48, which, using the semi-elasticity formula discussed above, implies that, all else constant, private operating authority is associated with 48% fewer crashes. While some of the most sought-after trucking jobs are in private carriage, on average private carriers tend to pay less (Belzer et al 2002;Burks et al 2004). However, private carriage also comes with a higher likelihood of non-piece-rate pay, shorter hauls (e.g., local delivery), more regular routes, and more home time. ...
The United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) has recently incorporated driver pay into its guidelines on the promotion of safe and decent work in road transport. ILO guideline 73 states that ‘the remuneration of … CMV [commercial motor vehicle] drivers should be sustainable and take into consideration the attractiveness and sustainability of the industry’. In the spirit of this, we explore the relationship between truck drivers’ relative income and intrastate motor carrier safety performance. We utilise the United States (US) Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage data for heavy and tractor-trailer truck driver median annual incomes and the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey estimates of median household incomes to construct county level relative income ratios for truck drivers. This information is merged with public safety data to analyse the relationship between truck drivers’ relative pay and motor carrier safety performance. We find that, all else constant, carriers located in counties where driver earnings are relatively high tend to experience fewer crashes. This provides evidence that safety performance is better when driver pay is more attractive in the truck driver labour market and, consequently, validates the ILO’s assertion under guideline 73.
... One research project in the United States used multiple proprietary and public data sets to analyse the correlation between driver pay and crash rates (Belzer et al 2002;Rodríguez et al 2003, Rodríguez et al 2006. Particularly, utilising Cox proportional hazards event history analysis, Rodríguez et al (2003) suggest that the increment of drivers' pay reduces the probability of driver crashes by 6% for each 10% increase in pay rate. ...
... Additionally, a cross-sectional analysis using data from 102 transportation companies in the United States found that the likelihood of a crash decreased by 9.2% for every 10% higher wages (Belzer et al 2002) In 1997, every 10 cents more in pay was associated with 1.76% lower crash probability. (Monaco and Williams 2000). ...
... In other words, drivers refrained from working extremely long hours following the increase in actual pay rates. While the short implementation period and lack of sufficient data make it impossible to look directly at the impact of safe rates of pay on the number of truck crashes, our results are consistent with studies that have found a correlation between increased pay and lower crash frequency, including Belzer et al (2002), Rodríguez et al (2003) and Rodriquez et al (2006), in as much as we demonstrate a positive impact on factors that increase the risk of crashes. Our research also suggests that with a longer period of observation and better disaggregation of crash data, we would observe results similar to Peetz (2022), who demonstrated reduction of articulated vehicle crashes and crash fatalities as a result of the regulation of driver pay in the state of New South Wales. ...
The regulation of road transport supply chains has recently become a subject of international concern. A significant body of research shows that ensuring minimum rates of pay for truck drivers is important, not only to workers’ health and safety but also to achieving improved road safety outcomes and other policy objectives related to the viability of the road transport industry. For this study, we used an empirical analysis to quantitatively demonstrate the impact of South Korea’s Safe Rates System on factors of the work environment and driver behaviours that affect road safety. Specifically, we looked at the impact of the system on market structure, truck drivers’ monthly net income, average working time, time spent on maintenance, and the frequency of overloading, speeding, and drowsiness while driving. Our results suggest that increased rates of pay for owner truck drivers resulting from the implementation of the Safe Rates System led to a reduction in the average number of contracting steps between client companies who ship goods and the truck drivers who transport them, improvement in the level of market transparency, increased monthly income, decrease in total time worked, decrease in the frequency of overloading, speeding, and drowsiness while driving, and increase in time spent on vehicle maintenance. The level of compliance with the system by clients and transport companies also had an overall positive impact on the industry structure. By empirically demonstrating the system’s impact, our results provide statistical evidence useful to the debate on reintroduction of the Safe Rates System in Korea.
... While previous research has primarily focused on examining the correlation between compensation levels and driver safety, with studies demonstrating associations between higher pay rates and safer driving behaviors, as well as reduced crash occurrences for truck drivers (Belzer et al., 2002;Rodríguez et al., 2003Rodríguez et al., , 2006, little attention has been directed towards investigating the influence of compensation methods. However, compensation methods can significantly impact occupational road safety. ...
... In addition to the BASICs, we believe it is essential to add earnings to the model, as studies have found statistical evidence that higher pay incentives correlate to fewer crashes or lower probability of a crash or violation (Belzer et al 2002;Rodriguez et al 2006;Faulkiner and Belzer 2019;Kudo and Belzer 2019). ...
... The sign of hourly pay is negative and statistically significant at the 1% level (the most statistically significant coefficient, controlling for BASICs). This estimation is consistent with our expectation and aligned with findings in the current literature: experienced drivers will react to the pay increase and drive more safely as the opportunity cost of crashes increases, and income gets closer to their target level (Monaco and Williams 2000;Belzer et al 2002;Rodriguez et al 2006;Belzer and Sedo 2018;Faulkiner and Belzer 2019;Kudo and Belzer 2019). For WAGE, the expected change in log(crash) for a one-unit increase in wage is -0.0504. ...
... The Economic and Labour Relations Review fewer hours and follow the HOS regulations(Belzer et al 2002;Belzer and Sedo 2018;Kudo and Belzer 2019). This pay rateabout US$0.75 per mile (2022 U.S. dollars)might be considered a 'safe rate' in the US context, adhering to the spirit of the regulations limiting drivers to 60 hours of work. ...
Most truck drivers experience economic pressure in the form of low pay rates, no pay for non-driving work time, and long work hours. Unpaid working time, leading to low effective pay rates, encourages drivers to work excessive hours to pursue target earnings, which leads to fatigue and working time violations, and ultimately raises crash rates. This paper explores the complex relationship between regulatory violations, pay incentives, and crashes, to determine the effects of economic forces on carrier safety. We use data from 13,904 intrastate trucking companies in the United States, as well as median hourly truck driver wages from data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. We find that controlling for observed regulatory violations (hours of service, unsafe driving, and substance abuse), at the mean, 1% higher driver wages are associated with 1.04% fewer crashes. Stated differently, a 10% wage increase would be 5 times as effective as a 10% reduction in ‘unsafe driving’ or 2.5 times as effective as a 10% reduction in ‘driver fitness’ violations. This unit elasticity between driver pay and crashes suggests that higher compensation will bring direct and commensurate worker and public safety benefits. Every unit in higher pay, at the mean, will lead to a corresponding unit improvement in safety. Our findings suggest that the most effective way for regulators to pursue their mission to reduce crashes, fatal or otherwise, would be to collect firm-level data on truck driver compensation and allow their methodology to follow sound science.
... Economic theory and empirical research suggest that the level of driver pay should positively predict the calibre of drivers attracted to job postings, driver retention, morale, and safety. Indeed, multiple studies have found evidence linking driver experience (Lin et al., 1993;Monaco & Williams, 2000;Rodriguez et al., 2006), retention (Miller et al., 2017), and compensation to safety (Belzer et al., 2002;Kudo & Belzer, 2019a;Monaco & Williams, 2000;Quinlan & Wright, 2008). ...
... This contract funded the first major systematic US research on what is now known as 'safe rates'. The project's report was the first in the US to establish the general relationship between commercial motor vehicle driver compensation and safety, with a specific focus on trucking (Belzer et al., 2002). ...
... For comparison, study one in Belzer et al. (2002) uses the 1998 edition of the NSDW, MCMIS, and a supplemental carrier survey to study the effect of solo employee driver compensation on crash incidence. They report an average starting mileage pay of USD 0.4405 15 for drivers with three years of previous experience, an average minimum driver contribution to family health insurance of USD 257, and an average expected life insurance payout of USD 23,884. ...
Commercial motor vehicle driving is one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States. The production of most trucking services takes places on public roadways, which makes commercial motor vehicle safety a topic of concern for industry stakeholders, supply chain operations, policy makers, and the general public. This study explores the relationship between new employee driver compensation and for-hire interstate truckload motor carrier crash incidence. The results suggest that, all else constant, higher benefits are associated with fewer crashes. While mileage pay rates predict crashes, we find that higher mileage rates can be correlated with either higher or lower crash frequency – depending on the carrier’s existing starting pay level. This may be due to pernicious incentives created by piece-rate pay structures, because drivers who have more unpaid non-driving work time may earn a slightly higher mileage pay rate, which only partially compensates them for unpaid labour time. Regardless, these results suggest that compensation is an important predictor of safety and the existing pay practices in the industry may be unsafe. It also suggests that the role of compensation in motor carrier safety performance deserves further exploration with better quality data–especially full documentation of hours of work and pay rates.
... For instance, in the U.S., while trucks account for only 3% of registered vehicles and 7% of vehicles mile traveled, they account for 11% of all road fatalities. 3 It is been well-recognized that drivers' behaviors and actions account for many causes of crashes, 4 where various methods such as educational and enforcement programs could be employed to address those behaviors. Traffic enforcement is especially important due to its direct impact on traffic violations, and consequently crash risk. ...
Abstract The U.S. economy depends on trucking industry for timely delivery of goods and product. However, the performance of the industry has been crippled by the tremendous costs of crashes. Despite the efforts in studying factors leading to truck crashes, a comprehensive study considering enforcement efforts on the safety of the trucking industry is very limited. Thus, this study contributes to the body of knowledge by studying underling factors causing truck crashes, while considering various types of citations. To account for subjectivity of the highway patrol in allocating their resources to specific locations, such as adjustment of their locations to better capture the violators, we considered the interaction terms between citation types and various geometric characteristics. That is especially important as the majority of past studies ignored the endogeneity of highway patrol in allocating the resources to particular locations. Also, to account for both aspects of truck crashes, including severity and frequency, equivalent property damage only were used as the response. The results highlighted, for instance, that interaction terms between commercial motor vehicle citations and presence of horizontal curve, or the interaction between the curve length and speed‐related citations are factors impacting the safety of truck‐related crashes. The results provided evidence that indeed highway patrol allocates their resources to locations with particular geometric characteristics, and ignoring those interaction terms is likely to result in biased point estimates. We discuss the implications of the findings that solely highlighting that the enforcement resources are negatively or positively correlated with crashes could not provide much information, and the inclusion of particular enforcement types with related interaction term could help highway patrol to amend their performance based on their discretion.
... Uncited references Belzer et al., 2002 ...
This paper empirically examines the personal characteristics of truck drivers that are associated with a greater probability of driver turnover. Exploration of this phenomenon is significant in part because knowing who is likely to leave a trucking company helps decision makers in trucking firms identify effective measures needed to reduce driver turnover. Estimation results of a discrete driver quit choice model along with findings from estimating a driver wage equation, are used to predict the driver compensation needed to mitigate high driver turnover. These findings show that at the mean, drivers who stay on the job receive 2836.20 annually and is 6.02% percent above the mean wage of drivers who leave their job. The value of this annual wage differential is less than the mean value of the conservatively low estimate of $3654.72 (2018 dollars) computed in past research as the per driver cost of truck driver turnover. We interpret these results to suggest that it is cost effective for trucking companies to increase driver compensation. Indeed, truck driver wage trends do show a recent pattern of wage gains.
... But in the transport industries, such a compensation method could increase safety risks. For instance, truck drivers tend to work long hours when the compensation is low but increases with number of hours, thereby inducing more safety risks [25]. There remains scant literature that systematically explores the association between compensation methods and service quality and safety of urban bus services. ...
This paper explores how operational models and compensation methods are associated with bus drivers' incentives and consequently bus service quality and safety in Bangkok. We cross-analyze data on bus drivers' compensation collected from a structured interview survey with data on passenger complaints and bus accidents compiled from governmental databases. Recognizing that the official statistics on bus accidents in Bangkok are undercounted, as the government includes only accidents with severe damages and injuries, we use passenger complaints as the proxy for safety levels. We find that private joint-service operators provide their drivers with far less compensation and benefits than the state-owned operator. The private operators also tie drivers' compensation and benefit levels to the numbers of working hours and trips, especially on routes where private operators can compete freely. These compensation methods incentivize drivers to work long hours beyond what is permitted by law, inducing fatigue and potential accidents. The key policy implication is that the bus policy aiming to improve service quality and safety should improve drivers' compensation and working conditions.
... Truck drivers operate in a work environment with a number of factors that can be associated with increased fatigue and stress because they can be away from home for days or weeks at a time; have long work hours, irregular work schedules, and time pressured delivery schedules (Sieber, et al, 2014;BLS 2020); are required to wait for access to a loading dock; are stuck in traffic (Chen et al., 2015b;FMCSA, 2007, Bunn et al., 2009, 2005Stevenson et al., 2010); and are paid by miles driven instead of by hours worked (Belzer, 2012;Belzer and Rodriguez, 2002;. Quinlan and Wright, 2008). ...
... Paying drivers by the hour for loading and unloading time is among the top 5 most wanted safety needs identified by LHTDs. Researchers and organizations have also recommended better pay (including paying drivers by the hours worked) for better truck safety in the United States and Australia (Belzer and Rodriguez, 2002;Belzer, 2012;Belzer and Sedo, 2018;Quinlan and Wright, 2008;Quinlan, 2016;Thompson and Stevenson, 2014). There are several factors that may influence drivers' compensation: (1) whether drivers are paid by the miles or by the hours; ...
Objectives
The study objectives were to examine U.S. long-haul truck drivers (LHTDs)’ opinions on their safety needs and to assess the associations of driver reported unrealistically tight delivery schedules with: (1) their opinions on their compensation, maximum speed limits, and Hours-of-Service (HOS) regulations, and (2) their behaviors of noncompliance with these safety laws and regulations.
Methods
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health analyzed data from its 2010 national survey of LHTD health and injury. A total of 1,265 drivers completed the survey. Logistic regression was used to examine the associations between driver reported unrealistically tight delivery schedule and their opinion on safety and unsafe driving behaviors.
Results
Drivers who reported often receiving an unrealistically tight delivery schedule (an estimated 15.5% of LHTDs) were significantly more likely than drivers who reported never receiving an unrealistically tight delivery schedule to report that: (1) increasing the current maximum speed limit on interstate highways by 10 miles per hour (mph) would improve safety (odds ratio (OR) = 2.1); (2) strictly enforcing HOS rules would not improve safety (OR = 1.8); (3) they often drove 10 mph or more over the speed limit (OR = 7.5); (4) HOS regulations were often violated (OR = 10.9); (5) they often continued to drive despite fatigue, bad weather, or heavy traffic because their must delivery or pick up a load at a given time (OR = 7.5); and (6) their work was never adequately rewarded (OR = 4.5). When presented with 11 potential safety strategies, the largest percentage of LHTDs (95.4%) selected that building more truck stops/parking areas would improve truck driver safety.
Conclusions
Driver reported unrealistically tight delivery schedules are associated with drivers’ beliefs in safety laws/regulations and risk-taking behaviors. LHTDs see building more truck stops/rest areas as the most wanted safety need among the 11 potential safety strategies that were asked about in the survey.
... These studies mainly focus on cash compensation. Certainly, Belzer et al. (2002) use individual level data and drivers' health insurance status, but they analyze other fringe benefits. Moreover, the data that they employ were collected between 1997 and 1999. ...
This study analyzes how truck drivers' compensation affects their safety performance, using moving violations as a proxy for safety. In addition to drivers' pay per mile driven, we employ fringe benefits as independent variables. The result suggests that the rate of pay per mile driven, and employment-based health insurance, significantly decrease the probability of moving violations. The result provides support for the hypothesis that high compensation for drivers improve drivers' safety performance, though other forms of compensation are not significantly related to the incidence of moving violations.
