The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) is reaching out to motor carriers for help with a new study examining how entry-level driver training impacts safety and retention rates.
ATRI explained, “The study is an update to research published by ATRI in 2008, and this latest study will focus on the efficacy of FMCSA’s Entry-Level Driver Training requirements.”
What Kind of Data ATRI Needs
Carriers that choose to participate will be asked to provide specific information about their new-entrant drivers, including:
- Demographics such as CDL training provider, days employed, and total miles driven.
- Safety-related details such as crash history, selected violations, and telematics events.
For this research, a new entrant is defined as a CDL driver who has been working professionally for three weeks to 24 months, and whose first professional trucking job was with the reporting carrier. Any driver meeting this definition since March 2022 qualifies for the data request.
Carriers will also be asked to share fleetwide averages related to training and retention. This may include details such as the average number of hours new drivers spend with a trainer and how often they can spend nights at home.
To be eligible, carriers must have hired at least 25 new-entrant drivers between March 2022 and August 2025.
Confidentiality of Submitted Data
ATRI has emphasized that all information provided will remain confidential. Data will be anonymized and aggregated before publication, and ATRI is willing to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement to reassure carriers about privacy.
Carriers interested in supporting this initiative can complete the motor carrier questionnaire directly through ATRI.
This project comes shortly after ATRI’s most recent survey of industry stakeholders, which asked trucking professionals to identify their top concerns.
Source: The Trucker
