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Access Type
WSU Access
Date of Award
January 2024
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Department
Economics
First Advisor
Michael H. Belzer
Abstract
This dissertation explores questions pertaining to driver compensation, motor carrier safety measurement, and truck crashes. It is arranged into three studies. Study 1 analyzes the relationship between interstate motor carrier pay practices and crash incidence. Study 2 explores the relationship between truck drivers’ relative incomes and intrastate motor carrier crash incidence. Study 3 explores the statistical properties of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) existing unsafe driving safety measurement system and the applicability of item response theory (IRT) to intrastate motor carrier (unsafe driving) inspections. In studies 1 and 2, we find evidence that current piece rate pay practices may be unsafe and that compensation is negatively correlated to crash incidence. In study 3, we find evidence that FMCSA’s existing unsafe driving targeting protocols are effective and, without dramatically changing the contents of inspection records, that traditional IRT models are not well suited to unsafe driving inspection response analysis.
Recommended Citation
Ryley, Walter, "Empirical Analysis Of Truck Driver Pay, Unsafe Driving Behavior, And Crash Incidence" (2024). Wayne State University Dissertations. 4028.
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations/4028
