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The safety of small companies can be problematic. Al- articles. The following databases were used to conduct the
though there are many exceptions, small companies gener- reviews:
ally have higher regulatory violation rates in roadside inspec-
tions. In chapter four, Small Carrier Violation and Crash Rates, · Transportation Research Information Database (TRID),
current and past roadside inspection statistics are reviewed the largest online bibliographic database of transportation
and caveats regarding them discussed. The issue of whether
research.
or not these higher violation rates are associated with higher
· Business Source Premier, featuring the full text for more
crash rates is less clear. The safety and compliance challenges
than 2,200 journals.
faced by small companies will be examined in this report, with
· EconLit, from the American Economic Association's
a focus on management activities. As was stated in one of
the manager quotations, small company safety management electronic database.
functions are likely to be performed by a single individual · Emerald Group Publishing, featuring journals and
who must also undertake other competing and more-pressing books in business, management, social sciences, and
functions such as operational management, sales, adminis- engineering.
tration, and financial management. A shortage of manage- · JSTOR, providing access to articles from more than
ment time is often accompanied by a shortage of money. Small 1,000 journals across the humanities, social sciences,
company vehicles are likely to be older and less well equipped and sciences.
for safety. Small carriers are less likely to employ sophisti- · SciVerse ScienceDirect, from Elsevier publishing, offer-
cated information systems or have elaborate driver training ing access to articles from more than 2,500 peer-reviewed
programs. journals, and chapters from more than 11,000 scientific
books.
On the other hand, small companies have some enviable
characteristics from a safety perspective. Their owner/ These databases were searched using a variety of topic-related
managers have a strong foundation of knowledge and skill; key words and phrases, often in combinations to improve
the average survey respondent in this study has had 25 years
focus. Key words included trucking, safety, small business,
of industry experience. Their managers often have direct,
small trucking firms, safety management, human resource
everyday contact with every driver, vehicle, and customer.
management, risk management, operations management, occu-
Interpersonal relations are stronger in small organizations
pational safety and health, safety culture, safety climate, crash
than in larger ones. Group cohesion contributes to better
employee retention, which in turn fosters safe operations. reduction, driver turnover, driver retention, driver training, and
Some small companies find a comfortable market niche and driver supervision.
are happy to maintain a steady and relatively low-pressure
operation. As a supplement to the academic literature review, a request
for information and commentary was sent to members and
This report explores small carrier strengths and weak- friends of the TRB Committee on Truck and Bus Safety
nesses and identifies potentially effective safety practices for (ANB70) and the Committee on Trucking Industry Research
small motor carriers. Few of the issues discussed and prac- (AT060). In addition, the FMCSA Analysis Division and the
tices identified are unique to small carriers, however. By and U.S.DOT Volpe National Transportation Systems Center
large, the same practices will be effective regardless of car- provided statistics on carrier violations and crash rates.
rier size. Each company's safety outcomes are more reflec-
tive of its own safety practices and operating environment
than whether it is large or small. Major Literature Sources
This report cites scores of studies. Two past studies deserve
METHODOLOGY AND MAJOR SOURCES special mention, as they each collected extensive survey data
on motor carrier safety practices, with survey findings dis-
Project methods included a carrier owner/manager survey aggregated by carrier size.
(described in chapter two), case study interviews with ten
company owners/managers (described in chapter three), and I-95 Corridor Coalition Field Operational Test: Coor-
a literature review (methodology described here). Chapter dinated Safety Management. Volume I of the report (Best
four, Evidence Review, consists primarily of the literature Practices in Motor Carrier Safety Management, Stock 2001)
review but also cites pertinent findings from the survey and addressed best practices by conducting a survey of state
interviews. motor carrier association members in several northeastern
states. The nearly 600 respondents to the survey were said to
Literature Review Methodology represent a sample of the best safety performers. The survey
addressed hiring criteria, retention, in-house and outside
Literature review searches were performed using websites, training, top management commitment, safety meetings and
academic databases, books, trade press publications, and awareness programs, safety incentive programs, driver mon-
