American Transportation Research Institute Top Priorities in 2023

American Transportation Research Institute Top Priorities in 2023

The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) Board of Directors has listed their 5 Top Priorities for 2023.

The Number 1 priority on their list is a shortage of truck parking spaces. According to the ATRI, the lack of available truck parking is constantly ranked by drivers as their primary concern. “The ATRI’s leadership says amid the ongoing issues related to truck parking, its board has approved a study specifically looking at the cost and impact of expanding truck parking facilities at public rest areas as its #1 focus”.

ATRI President Rebecca Brewster stated, “If states would examine their footprint at public rest stops, it could just be as simple as putting down more pavement at a location where there is already a facility. It’s land that states already own.” She suggested that the land may already be present at rest areas for expansion. “Can we add 50 more spaces at an existing rest area? Hopefully, this type of study will turn the light on for state DOTs.”

Their research will aim to identify, and map truck driver needs to rest stop attributes, develop best practice case studies and utilize truck driver data to identify strategies for expanding truck parking capacity available at public rest areas.

The Federal Highway Administration's recent survey noted there are 313,000 truck parking spaces nationwide. The American Trucking Association and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association estimate one parking spot for every 11 drivers.

The Number 2 priority was Identifying Barriers to Entry for Female Truck Drivers. Female truck drivers are less than 10 per cent of the driver workforce. However, the ATRI research documents that female drivers are safer than male drivers.

Other industry numbers suggest that the percentage of women in the trucking industry is increasing, and the advocacy group Women In Trucking Association estimated 13.7% of drivers in 2022 were women. That represents an increase of almost 30% over the 7.9% seen in the WIT Index in 2018. The gain came after an industrywide push to hire more female drivers. (These are U.S. numbers).

The ATRI research will identify gender issues and proactive steps the industry can take to make truck driving careers more appealing to women.

The Number 3 priority is the Complete Streets Impact on Freight Mobility.
Complete Streets is a U.S. DOT program designed to make transportation accessible for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists and transit riders.
These changes are taking place and the impacts they may have on freight deliveries as municipalities remove and reroute interstate highways that were often built in minority communities more than half a century ago. One such change is to take place in Syracuse, N.Y., as a part of Interstate 81 downtown is set to be demolished.

Proposals in many locations to close interstates that still have to have freight delivered. Regardless of where you live, freight still needs to be delivered to the grocery store or the hospital. If you start closing those interstates, the freight is going to go onto the side streets and your local routes. Citizens are not going to like the result of that.
ATRI research will help city planners and others understand how freight is delivered and what the impact could be of shutting down or demolishing roads.

Priority Number 4 is research on the consequences of the ongoing shortage of diesel technicians and what can be done to improve conditions for young men and women considering careers in this field.
Demand for new entrants in the diesel technician field is high, and 177,000 new entrants are needed between 2022 and 2026 from both new demand and existing positions. Industry challenges in recruiting and retaining technicians are acute, just as is the driver shortage. Research with the government and industry will help to identify the factors underlying the shortage.

Priority Number 5 is the cost of driver detention when drivers often must sit for hours, sometimes not being paid. While they wait for their trucks to be loaded or unloaded. Often drivers report detention times of up to hours, sitting there and not getting paid. This impacts the whole industry and is also a driver retention issue. This research, supported by shipper groups, will include quantitative data collection to identify detention impacts, costs, and strategies for minimizing detention.

The ATRI Top 5 List is in addition to the nonprofit's regular research concerning truck congestion and the cost of operating a truck.