FMCSA to study sexual assault and harassment in trucking

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration wants input from truckers as it shapes a study to analyze how common sexual assault and harassment are in the trucking industry.

A Feb. 8 Request for Information states that FMCSA is acting on recommendations of its Women of Trucking Advisory Board “to better understand problems” of sexual assault and sexual harassment, or SASH.

Through the study, the agency seeks to understand possible regulatory or policy actions to improve driver safety and mitigate incidents of sexual assault and harassment. FMCSA further looks to collaborate with industry partners on outreach efforts to boost driver safety through SASH prevention.

FMCSA is seeking to expand on a 2022 study that found harassment and crime against female and minority male truck drivers was “prevalent.”

According to the study, “women truck drivers are particularly vulnerable to crimes that are sexual in nature and are more likely to experience harassment from another truck driver or from trainers.” FMCSA also found that crimes against female drivers are more likely to happen at night.

Although female truck drivers reported harassment incidents more often than their male counterparts, FMCSA said “most respondents said that they did not think reporting harassment would make a difference.”

Comments are due March 11.