National Academies Press: OpenBook
Page i
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Operational Differences and Similarities Among the Motorcoach, School Bus, and Trucking Industries. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13809.
×
Page R1
Page ii
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Operational Differences and Similarities Among the Motorcoach, School Bus, and Trucking Industries. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13809.
×
Page R2
Page iii
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Operational Differences and Similarities Among the Motorcoach, School Bus, and Trucking Industries. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13809.
×
Page R3
Page iv
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Operational Differences and Similarities Among the Motorcoach, School Bus, and Trucking Industries. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13809.
×
Page R4
Page v
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Operational Differences and Similarities Among the Motorcoach, School Bus, and Trucking Industries. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13809.
×
Page R5
Page vi
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Operational Differences and Similarities Among the Motorcoach, School Bus, and Trucking Industries. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13809.
×
Page R6
Page vii
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Operational Differences and Similarities Among the Motorcoach, School Bus, and Trucking Industries. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13809.
×
Page R7

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

T R A N S P O R T A T I O N R E S E A R C H B O A R D WASHINGTON, D.C. 2005 www.TRB.org COMMERCIAL TRUCK AND BUS SAFETY SYNTHESIS PROGRAM Synthesis 6 Research Sponsored by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration SUBJECT AREAS Operations and Safety • Public Transit • Freight Transportation Operational Differences and Similarities Among the Motorcoach, School Bus, and Trucking Industries LANCE R. GRENZEBACK SANDI LIN AND JACOB MEUNIER Cambridge Systematics, Inc. Cambridge, MA

COMMERCIAL TRUCK AND BUS SAFETY SYNTHESIS PROGRAM Safety is a principal focus of government agencies and private-sector organizations concerned with transportation. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) was established within the Department of Transportation on January 1, 2000, pursuant to the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999. Formerly a part of the Federal Highway Administration, the FMCSA’s primary mission is to prevent commercial motor vehicle-related fatalities and injuries. Administration activities contribute to ensuring safety in motor carrier operations through strong enforcement of safety regulations, targeting high-risk carriers and commercial motor vehicle drivers; improving safety information systems and commercial motor vehicle technologies; strengthening commercial motor vehicle equipment and operating standards; and increasing safety awareness. To accomplish these activities, the Administration works with federal, state, and local enforcement agencies, the motor carrier industry, labor, safety interest groups, and others. In addition to safety, security-related issues are also receiving significant attention in light of the terrorist events of September 11, 2001. Administrators, commercial truck and bus carriers, government regulators, and researchers often face problems for which information already exists, either in doc- umented form or as undocumented experience and practice. This information may be fragmented, scattered, and underevaluated. As a consequence, full knowledge of what has been learned about a problem may not be brought to bear on its solution. Costly research findings may go unused, valuable experience may be overlooked, and due consideration may not be given to recommended practices for solving or alleviating the problem. There is information available on nearly every subject of concern to commercial truck and bus safety. Much of it derives from research or from the work of practitioners faced with problems in their day-to-day work. To provide a systematic means for assembling and evaluating such useful information and to make it available to the commercial truck and bus industry, the Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program (CTBSSP) was established by the FMCSA to undertake a series of studies to search out and synthesize useful knowledge from all available sources and to prepare documented reports on current practices in the subject areas of concern. Reports from this endeavor constitute the CTBSSP Synthesis series, which collects and assembles the various forms of information into single concise documents pertaining to specific commercial truck and bus safety problems or sets of closely related problems The CTBSSP, administered by the Transportation Research Board, began in early 2002 in support of the FMCSA’s safety research programs. The program initiates three to four synthesis studies annually that address concerns in the area of commercial truck and bus safety. A synthesis report is a document that summarizes existing practice in a specific technical area based typically on a literature search and a survey of relevant organizations (e.g., state DOTs, enforcement agencies, commercial truck and bus com- panies, or other organizations appropriate for the specific topic). The primary users of the syntheses are practitioners who work on issues or problems using diverse approaches in their individual settings. The program is modeled after the successful synthesis programs currently operated as part of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) and the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP). This synthesis series reports on various practices, making recommendations where appropriate. Each document is a compendium of the best knowledge available on mea- sures found to be successful in resolving specific problems. To develop these synthe- ses in a comprehensive manner and to ensure inclusion of significant knowledge, avail- able information assembled from numerous sources, including a large number of relevant organizations, is analyzed. For each topic, the project objectives are (1) to locate and assemble documented infor- mation (2) to learn what practice has been used for solving or alleviating problems; (3) to identify all ongoing research; (4) to learn what problems remain largely unsolved; and (5) to organize, evaluate, and document the useful information that is acquired. Each synthesis is an immediately useful document that records practices that were acceptable within the limitations of the knowledge available at the time of its preparation. The CTBSSP is governed by a Program Oversight Panel consisting of individuals knowledgeable in the area of commercial truck and bus safety from a number of perspectives—commercial truck and bus carriers, key industry trade associations, state regulatory agencies, safety organizations, academia, and related federal agencies. Major responsibilities of the panel are to (1) provide general oversight of the CTBSSP and its procedures, (2) annually select synthesis topics, (3) refine synthesis scopes, (4) select researchers to prepare each synthesis, (5) review products, and (6) make publication recommendations. Each year, potential synthesis topics are solicited through a broad industry-wide process. Based on the topics received, the Program Oversight Panel selects new synthesis topics based on the level of funding provided by the FMCSA. In late 2002, the Program Oversight Panel selected two task-order contractor teams through a competitive process to conduct syntheses for Fiscal Years 2003 through 2005. Published reports of the COMMERCIAL TRUCK AND BUS SAFETY SYNTHESIS PROGRAM are available from: Transportation Research Board Business Office 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 and can be ordered through the Internet at: http://www.national-academies.org/trb/bookstore Printed in the United States of America CTBSSP SYNTHESIS 6 Project MC-07 ISSN 1544-6808 ISBN 0-309-08821-6 Library of Congress Control Number 2005922127 © 2005 Transportation Research Board Price $15.00 NOTICE The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program conducted by the Transportation Research Board with the approval of the Governing Board of the National Research Council. Such approval reflects the Governing Board’s judgment that the program concerned is appropriate with respect to both the purposes and resources of the National Research Council. The members of the technical committee selected to monitor this project and to review this report were chosen for recognized scholarly competence and with due consideration for the balance of disciplines appropriate to the project. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied are those of the research agency that performed the research, and, while they have been accepted as appropriate by the technical panel, they are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, or the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Each report is reviewed and accepted for publication by the technical panel according to procedures established and monitored by the Transportation Research Board Executive Committee and the Governing Board of the National Research Council.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished schol- ars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. On the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and techni- cal matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Acad- emy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achieve- ments of engineers. Dr. William A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, on its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Acad- emy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both the Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. William A. Wulf are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council. The Transportation Research Board is a division of the National Research Council, which serves the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. The Board’s mission is to promote innovation and progress in transportation through research. In an objective and interdisciplinary setting, the Board facilitates the sharing of information on transportation practice and policy by researchers and practitioners; stimulates research and offers research management services that promote technical excellence; provides expert advice on transportation policy and programs; and disseminates research results broadly and encourages their implementation. The Board’s varied activities annually engage more than 5,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individuals interested in the development of transportation. www.TRB.org www.national-academies.org

COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS STAFF FOR CTBSSP SYNTHESIS 6 ROBERT J. REILLY, Director, Cooperative Research Programs CHRISTOPHER W. JENKS, Manager, Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program EILEEN P. DELANEY, Director of Publications HILARY FREER, Editor CATHY FRYE, Contract Editor NATALIE BARNES, Editor COMMERCIAL TRUCK AND BUS SAFETY SYNTHESIS PROGRAM OVERSIGHT PANEL STEPHEN CAMPBELL, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, Washington, DC (Chair) REBECCA M. BREWSTER, American Transportation Research Institute, Smyrna, GA KENNETH CAMPBELL, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN THOMAS M. CORSI, University of Maryland, College Park DENNISON COTTRELL, New York State DOT MARK L. EDWARDS, Consultant, Longwood, FL NICHOLAS J. GARBER, University of Virginia, Charlottesville THOMAS D. GILLESPIE, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor ALEX GUARIENTO, Greyhound Lines, Inc., Dallas, TX SCOTT MADAR, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Washington, DC WILLIAM MAHORNEY, American Bus Association, Washington, DC JAMES W. McFARLIN, ABF Freight Systems, Inc., Fort Smith, AR WILLIAM C. ROGERS, Motor Freight Carriers Association, Washington, DC JOHN SIEBERT, Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, Grain Valley, MO LARRY F. SUTHERLAND, HNTB Consultants, Columbus, OH DAVID K. WILLIS, Texas A&M University, College Station DAVID SMITH, FHWA Liaison Representative ALBERT ALVAREZ, FMCSA Liaison Representative DOUG McKELVEY, FMCSA Liaison Representative MARTIN WALKER, FMCSA Liaison Representative DUANE PERRIN, NHTSA Liaison Representative GREG HULL, APTA Liaison Representative JOE OSTERMAN, NTSB Liaison Representative LEO PENNE, AASHTO Liaison Representative CHRISTOPHER ZEILINGER, CTAA Liaison Representative CHARLES NIESSNER, TRB Liaison Representative RICHARD PAIN, TRB Liaison Representative

This synthesis will be useful to commercial truck and bus carriers, state agencies, and others interested in improving commercial vehicle safety. This synthesis discusses the operational differences and similarities among the motorcoach, school bus, and trucking industries. It provides a single resource for information on industry profiles, safety statistics, and general business operations. Information for this synthesis was obtained through a literature review that included Federal Motor Carrier Safety Admin- istration (FMCSA) databases, industry association publications, industry trade maga- zines, internet searches, and documents from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau. This information was supplemented by interviews with staff of various relevant government and industry organizations. Administrators, commercial truck and bus carriers, government regulators, and researchers often face problems for which information already exists, either in docu- mented form or as undocumented experience and practice. This information may be frag- mented, scattered, and underevaluated. As a consequence, full knowledge of what has been learned about a problem may not be brought to bear on its solution. Costly research findings may go unused, valuable experience may be overlooked, and due consideration may not be given to recommended practices for solving or alleviating the problem. There is information available on nearly every subject of concern to commercial truck and bus safety. Much of it derives from research or from the work of practition- ers faced with problems in their day-to-day jobs. To provide a systematic means for assembling and evaluating such useful information and to make it available to the com- mercial truck and bus industry, the Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Pro- gram (CTBSSP) was established by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to undertake a series of studies to search out and synthesize useful knowl- edge from all available sources and to prepare documented reports on current practices in the subject areas of concern. Reports from this endeavor constitute the CTBSSP Syn- thesis series, which collects and assembles information into single concise documents pertaining to specific commercial truck and bus safety problems. The CTBSSP, administered by the Transportation Research Board, was authorized in late 2001 and began in 2002 in support of the FMCSA’s safety research programs. The program initiates three to four synthesis studies annually that address issues in the area of commercial truck and bus safety. A synthesis report is a document that sum- marizes existing practice in a specific technical area based typically on a literature search and a survey of relevant organizations (e.g., state DOTs, enforcement agencies, commercial truck and bus companies, or other organizations appropriate for the spe- cific topic). The primary users of the syntheses are practitioners who work on issues or problems using diverse approaches in their individual settings. This synthesis series reports on various practices; each document is a compendium of the best knowledge available on measures found to be successful in resolving spe- FOREWORD By Christopher W. Jenks CTBSSP Manager Transportation Research Board

cific problems. To develop these syntheses in a comprehensive manner and to ensure inclusion of significant knowledge, available information assembled from numerous sources is analyzed. For each topic, the project objectives are to (1) locate and assemble documented information; (2) learn what practices have been used for solving or alleviating prob- lems; (3) identify relevant, ongoing research; (4) learn what problems remain largely unsolved; and (5) organize, evaluate, and document the useful information that is acquired. Each synthesis is an immediately useful document that records practices that were acceptable within the limitations of the knowledge available at the time of its preparation.

1 SUMMARY 2 CHAPTER 1 Introduction 3 CHAPTER 2 The Motorcoach Industry Introduction, 3 Industry Size and Extent, 3 Safety, 4 Economy and Finances, 5 Sources and Methods, 11 13 CHAPTER 3 The School Bus Contractor Industry Introduction, 13 Industry Size and Extent, 14 Safety, 16 Economy and Finances, 16 Sources and Methods, 21 24 CHAPTER 4 The Trucking Industry Introduction, 24 Industry Size and Extent, 24 Safety, 27 Economy and Finances, 27 Sources and Methods, 35 36 CHAPTER 5 Industry Comparisons Size and Extent, 36 Safety, 36 Economy and Finances, 36 47 CHAPTER 6 Data Limitations CONTENTS

Next: Summary »
Operational Differences and Similarities Among the Motorcoach, School Bus, and Trucking Industries Get This Book
×
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

TRB’s Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program (CTBSSP) Synthesis 6: Operational Differences and Similarities Among the Motorcoach, School Bus, and Trucking Industries is designed as a single resource for information on profiles, safety statistics, and general business operations for these three commercial vehicle industries.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!