A Multivariate Time‐Series Examination of Motor Carrier Safety Behaviors

Abstract

Motor carriers’ operational safety affects multiple stakeholders including truck drivers, motor carriers, insurance companies, shippers, and the general public. In this article, I devise and test theory regarding motor carriers’ longitudinal performance for three classes of safety behaviors linked to carriers’ accident rates—Unsafe Driving, Hours‐of‐Service Compliance, and Vehicle Maintenance—tracked by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration as part of the Compliance, Safety, and Accountability (CSA) program. Specifically, I draw on core concepts from sociological agency theory and resource dependency theory to devise middle‐range theory that generates never‐before‐tested hypotheses regarding carriers’ longitudinal safety performance for these classes of safety behaviors after the start of the CSA program. The hypothesized predictions are tested by fitting a series of multivariate latent curve models to four years of panel data for a random sample of 484 large, for‐hire motor carriers operating in the United States. The empirical findings corroborate the theoretical predictions and remain after robustness testing. These findings have important implications for scholars, motor carrier managers, procurers of motor carrier transportation services, and public policy makers.

Effects of Motor Carriers’ Growth or Contraction on Safety: A Multiyear Panel Analysis

“…This has important managerial implications given that decisions regarding carriers' size are under the control of management (Lichtenberg 1988;Penrose 2009). A second way this article contributes to theory is by building on the recent work concerning motor carrier safety that has systematically devised theory concerning how various dimensions of carrier safety (1) display different relationships with hypothesized antecedents (Miller and Saldanha 2016;Miller et al 2017b,c) and (2) exhibit different patterns of change over time (Miller 2017a). Our work contributes to this literature by explaining why carriers' growth or contraction affects driving safety and vehicle maintenance differently in a manner that receives empirical corroboration.…”

“…Given the current state of research on motor carrier safety, we focus our attention on studies that have examined carrier‐level factors that predict why some carriers are safer than others. Limiting our focus to carrier‐level predictors of safety follows Miller's () categorization of these predictors into studies that examine driver‐, haul‐, and carrier‐level characteristics. Moreover, as changes in carriers’ size occur at the carrier level, limiting our attention in this manner is justifiable.…”

“…These definitions are adopted from those proposed by the FMCSA as part of the CSA program and have been utilized in prior studies examining carrier‐level safety (Cantor et al. , ; Miller and Saldanha ; Miller ,; Miller et al. ,,).…”

Electronic Logging Device Compliance of Small and Medium Size Motor Carriers Prior to the December 18, 2017, Mandate

“…The model specified in Equations and represents a two‐piece increment/decrement spline described by Flora () and Miller (). When Size is below a specified value τ , Equation is active such that α 17 represents the effect of an increase in Size for carriers that have fewer power units than τ .…”

“…'s () observations that firms in a variety of industries, including trucking, are unlikely to take actions that result in substantial cash outlays unless there is regulatory enforcement. Thus, while information disclosure in the form of the CSA program appears to have helped reduce the rate of safety violations (Miller ; Miller et al. , ), information disclosure does not serve as a substitute for command‐and‐control (C&C) regulation like the ELD mandate.…”