Survey Intro Letter, Questionnaire Email Invitation, Follow-up remind for nonresponse or incomplete questionnaire, Thank you ema

Attachment K

Survey Introductory Letter, Questionnaire Email Invitation, Follow-up remind for non-response or incomplete questionnaire, Thank you email, Online Questionnaire and Process Logic Flow

[OFFICIAL LETTERHEAD]

CMV Carrier Company Name

Attn: Contact Name or Generic Title

Contact Address 1

Contact Address 2

Contact City, State, Zip

Dear [Contact Name or Generic Title]:

The primary mission of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) of the US Department of Transportation is to reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities involving large trucks and buses. Recent reports show declines in both truck and bus crashes over a ten-year period. While these findings are encouraging, much work needs to be done to prevent commercial motor vehicle-related fatalities and injuries. An important group FMCSA works with to improve highway safety is the motor carrier industry. FMCSA works with companies like yours to advance our mutual goal of maximizing the well-being of your drivers and others who share the nation’s highways.

FMCSA has contracted with Street Legal Industries, Inc. (Street Legal), to conduct a study to determine if there is a correlation between safety and the way drivers are paid and we are asking that you consider participating. Street Legal is conducting a two-part survey as part of the study. FMCSA will use study findings to develop guidelines commercial motor vehicle carriers can use in determining best practices for compensating drivers and to provide information that will be useful to FMCSA as policy issues are considered. The study report will be made available to the public on the FMCSA website.

Your participation in the study is voluntary. Data collected by Street Legal will be coded and your answers will be kept in strict confidence. The resulting report and dataset provided to FMCSA will be reported only in the aggregate. Personally identifiable information and information identifiable by participating company will not be provided to FMCSA.

The method for collecting data will be a two-part survey. The first round will consist of a short phone interview to determine how your company pays drivers. Depending on your response to that item, you may be asked additional questions. The total time anticipated for completing the first interview is anticipated to be less than ten minutes.

You may be asked to participate in a second round of data collection. Should you be selected to participate in the second round, you may be required to pull information from drivers’ records. Depending on your recordkeeping system, it may take up to an hour complete the collection of driver information. You will have the option of receiving a second phone call to respond to interview questions or to complete an online, web-based form to complete a short questionnaire. It is anticipated that the interview or completing the online questionnaire will take no longer than fifteen minutes.

Should you have questions about the research study described in this letter, please contact the FMCSA contracting officer for the project:

US Department of Transportation

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Office of Acquisition Management

ATTN: Ms. Theresa Hallquist

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE

W66 – 6^th Floor

Washington, DC 20590-0001

Thank you in advance for your participation in this important research.

Sincerely yours,

[NAME OF APPROPRIATE DOT OFFICIAL]

[TITLE OF DOT OFFICIAL]

Email Message Inviting CMV Carriers to Participate in the Impact of Driver Compensation on Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Survey

Dear CMV Carrier Representative:

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recently sent you an email message to tell you about a study that Street Legal Industries (SL) is administering for FMCSA. As you may recall from that message, the study is being conducted to determine the ways in which CMV carrier companies pay their drivers and whether pay methods correlate to driver safety.

We would like to invite you to participate in this important study by completing an online survey questionnaire. Should you participate, your information will be kept in strictest confidence. Data obtained from the survey will be coded and reported in the aggregate. Individuals completing survey questionnaires will not be identified and no individual company’s data will be reported.

The survey questionnaire and instructions for completing the questionnaire can be accessed at <WEBSITE ADDRESS HERE>. The survey is presented in two parts. Every survey participant will fill out the Part 1 questionnaire. Part 1 of the questionnaire should take no longer than thirty (30) minutes to complete.

Depending on your response to certain items on Part 1 of the questionnaire, you may be asked to complete Part 2. Filling in Part 2 will also take less than thirty (30) minutes, but you will be asked to provide demographic information about your company’s drivers such as average age and the numbers of drivers who are paid using various methods. The amount of time it will take for you to research information required for Part 2 will depend on your accessibility of your company’s driver information.

Note that you will be able to complete part of the questionnaire, save it, and return to the survey website to complete the survey at a later time. There is an email link at the survey website to send questions about questionnaire items to the research team. You will also have the option of sending questions to the FMCSA about the study to Ms. Terri Hallquist, FMCSA <WHAT TITLE SHOULD GO HERE?> through another the email link available at the survey website.

We certainly hope that you’ll participate in this important study. Thank you for your consideration.

< SIGNATURE HERE>

FMCSA Project Manager

Email Follow-Up Message Encouraging CMV Carriers to Participate in the Impact of Driver Compensation on Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Survey

Dear CMV Carrier Representative:

We recently transmitted an email message to you containing an invitation to participate in a study that Street Legal Industries (SL) is administering for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The study is being conducted to determine the ways in which CMV carrier companies pay their drivers and whether pay methods correlate to driver safety.

We urge you to participate in this important study by completing an online survey questionnaire. Should you participate, your information will be kept in strictest confidence. Data obtained from the survey will be coded and reported in the aggregate. Individuals completing survey questionnaires will not be identified and no individual company’s data will be reported.

A few reminders about the survey:

• The survey questionnaire and instructions for completing the questionnaire can be accessed at <WEBSITE ADDRESS HERE>. The survey is presented in two parts. Every survey participant will fill out the Part 1 questionnaire. Part 1 of the questionnaire should take no longer than thirty (30) minutes to complete.

• Depending on your response to certain items on Part 1 of the questionnaire, you may be asked to complete Part 2. Filling in Part 2 will also take less than thirty (30) minutes, but you will be asked to provide demographic information about your company’s drivers such as average age and the numbers of drivers who are paid using various methods. The amount of time it will take for you to research information required for Part 2 will depend on your accessibility of your company’s driver information.

• You will be able to complete part of the questionnaire, save it, and return to the survey website to complete the survey at a later time. There is an email link at the survey website to send questions about questionnaire items to the research team. You will also have the option of sending questions to the FMCSA about the study to Ms. Terri Hallquist, FMCSA <WHAT TITLE SHOULD GO HERE?> through another the email link available at the survey website.

We certainly hope that you’ll participate in this important study. Thank you for your consideration.

<SIGNATURE HERE>

FMCSA Project Manager

Email Thank You Message to CMV Carriers Who Participated in the Impact of Driver Compensation on Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Survey

Dear CMV Carrier Representative:

We are sending this email message to you to thank you for your recent completion of the survey questionnaire for the Impact of Driver Compensation Motor Vehicle Safety Survey that Street Legal Industries is conducting for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Your participation will help FMCSA in its mission to advance safety in the commercial motor carrier industry.

We anticipate that the results of our study will be available <ANTICIPATED APPROXIMATE PUBLICATION DATE HERE>. The report of the study will be available to download from the FMCSA website at <FMCSA WEB ADDRESS HERE>.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions or comments concerning the study.

< SIGNATURE HERE>

FMCSA Project Manager

Online questionnaire item set and process logic

The following includes information that is automatically populated from MCMIS and prompts the respondent to verify. The respondent will be provided the opportunity to update and save contact information.

Carrier Name: Carrier DOT#:

No. of Power Units: No. of Full-time Drivers:

Principle Place of Business (POB) Street Address:

POB City: POB State: POB Zip:

Phone: Fax:

First Name: Last Name: Suffix:

Title/Position:

Direct Phone: Email:

Question 1: By now you should have received a notice from the FMCSA explaining the purpose and importance of this survey. If you have not seen the letter from FMCSA would you like me to read it to you?

□ Yes □ No

Question 2: Which of the following method or methods do you use to pay your drivers? (check all that apply):

□ Pay by the mile □ Pay by the hour □ Salary □ Pay by percentage of load

□ Pay by revenue □ Pay by delivery or stop □ Other

If “other”: Please specify the method:

_______________­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­_______________________________________________________________

Question 3: You indicated that you have multiple methods by which you pay your drivers. Please provide an estimate of the percentage of drivers working for your company and the operation type the method applies to:

Method of Compensation	Percentage	Average Annual Total Compensation
Pays by the mile
Pays by the hour
Pays by salary
Pays by percentage of load
Pays by revenue
Pays by delivery or stop
Other (List Other):

Question 4: Has your company changed the way it pays its drivers within the past five years?

□ Yes □ No

If the participant answers “yes,” complete Items 5 and 6. If “no,” skip to Item 7.

Question 5: If “yes”: Please describe the change your company made to pay its drivers:

________________________________________________________________________

Question 6: Why did your company change the way it pays its drivers?

________________________________________________________________________

Question 7: Which of the following best describes your trucking operation? (check all that apply)

□ Short-haul □ Long-haul □ Line-haul

Question 8: Earlier you indicated that you pay by multiple methods of compensation. This question deals with how your pay methods break down by type of operation. What percent of your operations does each pay method apply?

Note: ask the respondent to complete the applicable operations and pay types from questions 2 and 7:

	Pay by the mile	Pay by the hour	Salary	Pay by percentage of load	Pay by revenue	Pay by Delivery or stop	More than one pay method	Other	TOTAL
Short- Haul
Long-haul
Line-haul
								Total (100%)

Question 9: You indicated you pay some or all drivers by the hour. Do you pay overtime?

□ Yes □ No

If yes, do you pay overtime based on:

□ More than 8 hours worked per day or shift?

□ More than 40 hours worked per week?

□ Some other criterion? Please List: ____________________________________________

Question 10: You indicated you pay some or all of your drivers by the mile, by load and/or by revenue. Do you pay these drivers for time beyond regular pay?

□ Yes □ No If yes, do you pay excess time based on:

□ For on-duty hours not driving beyond the 14 hour driving limit?

□ For sleeper berth time?

□ For on-duty not driving time?

Question 11: Do you pay for on-duty time during which a driver does not drive?

□ Yes □ No

If “yes,” which of the following do you pay for (check all that apply)?

□ For excess mileage driven □ Detention time/staging □ Loading/unloading

□ Repair time □ Training □ Paperwork

□ Other? List: ____________________________________________

Question 12: What is the average number of drivers that worked for your company over the last 24 months?

Full-Time	Part-Time	Leased/Contract

Question 13:

You indicated that you have # drivers that worked for your company within the past 24 months. Please indicate the number of safety related events associated to drivers by compensation type during that period:

	Number of Events
Type of Safety Event	Drivers Paid by Hour	Drivers Paid by Mile	Drivers Paid by Revenue	Drivers Paid by Other
At-Fault Recordable crash (Driver and Vehicle related cause)
At-Fault Non-recordable crash (including single vehicle and property damage crashes)
Hours of Service violation (including 70-hour for 100-air mile drivers)
False Record Of Duty violation
Out-of-Service violation (Vehicle and Driver)
Moving violations (e.g., Speeding, lane change, following to close, etc.)
Other safety related violations (please indicate below)

Please list other safety-related violations indicated above:

Question 14: What is the average annual total compensation of your full-time drivers?

□ Less than $20,000 □ $20,000–$29,999 □ $30,000–$39,999 □ $40,000–$49,999

□ $50,000–$59,999 □ $60,000–$69,999 □ $70,000 or more

Question 15: Which of the following benefits are provided in full or in part to your company’s drivers?

□ Medical Insurance □ Life Insurance □ Long -term disability

□ Short -term disability □ Retirement Plan □ Educational assistance

□ Paid vacation □ Paid sick leave

Question 16: Do you provide bonuses for any of the following?

□ Safe driving □ On-time delivery □ Revenue □ Other

If “other”: What other criteria do you use for providing bonuses?

_____________________________________________________________________

Question 17: What is the average age of all drivers working for your company?

□ Younger than 25 □ 25‒34 □ 35‒44 □ 45‒54 □ 55‒64 □ 65‒74

□ 75 or older

Question 18: What are the average years of experience of all drivers working for your company?

□ 1-5 years □ 6-10 years □ 11-15 years □ 16-20 years □ 21-25 years □ 26+

Question 19: Do you offer a higher starting pay for drivers with experience? □ Yes □ No

Question 20: What is the average retention rate for drivers working for your company? (For a one year period calculate the Employees Quit or Fired-Total employees/Total employees X 100 = Retention rate):

□ 0- 10% □ 11‒25% □ 26‒50% □ 51‒75% □ >75%

Question 21: What processes or programs do you employ to encourage retention?

□ Selective Recruitment □ Higher Pay □ Performance Bonuses

□ Tenure Incentives □ Training or Education □ Other, please list:

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Question 22: Which best describes your commercial operation?

Choose one: □ For-hire □ Private

Choose one or more: □ Truckload □ Less-than-truckload □ Regional

□ Tanker □ Other

If “other,” please describe:

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Question 23: Are you an owner-operator?

□ Yes □ No

Question 24: If yes, are you contracted to one company?

□ Yes □ No

Question 25: How many power units are there in your company’s fleet?

□ 1-5 power units □ 6- 50 power units □ 51‒500 power units □ More than 500 power units

Question 26: Do you use safety monitoring systems or processes for your drivers:

□ On-board recorders □ GPS units □ Speed limiters

□ Other: (please list) ______________________________________

Question 27: What is the average annual miles driven for your company? _______________________ miles

Question 28: On average, approximately how many annual miles do your drivers drive a commercial vehicle for your company?

□ 0‒25,000 □ 25,001‒50,000 □ 50,001‒75,000 □ 75,001‒100,000

□ 100,001‒125,000 □ 125,001‒150,000 □ Over 150,000 □ Unknown

Question 29: What is the average length of haul for drivers working for your company?

□ 1‒49 miles □ 50‒99 miles □ 100‒199 miles □ 200‒499 miles □ 500 or more miles

Question 30: Which of the following are primary commodities that your company typically hauls? (Check all that apply):

□ General freight/truckload □ Forest products

□ General freight/less-than-truckload □ Farm fresh products

□ Building materials □ Household goods

□ Hazardous chemicals □ Retail store—grocery delivery

□ Processed foods □ Raw petroleum products

□ Heavy machinery □ Bulk—dump truck

□ Refined petroleum products □ Parcels

□ Automotive parts or vehicles □ Mine ores

□ Other: please describe:

NOTE: If the participant indicated in Item 4 that the company uses only one method to pay its drivers, thank the individual for participating in the survey and ask if they have any questions.

If the participant indicated in Item 3 that the company uses more than one method to pay its drivers, continue the survey beginning with the following statement:

Question D1: Was ______________________________________ working as a driver for your company within the last 12 months?

□ Yes □ No

Question D2: On average, approximately how many annual miles did this driver drive a commercial vehicle for your company?

□ 0‒25,000 □ 25,001‒50,000 □ 50,001‒75,000 □ 75,001‒100,000

□ 100,001‒125,000 □ 125,001‒150,000 □ Over 150,000 □ Unknown

Question D3: What type of operation does this driver typically drive? (Check all that apply):

□ Short-haul □ Long-haul □ Line-haul

Question D4: How is this driver paid?

□ By salary □ By the hour □ By the mile □ By percentage of load

□ By revenue □ By delivery or stop □ Other

If “other,” please specify method of payment:

Question D5: In what age group does this driver belong?

□ Younger than 25 □ 25‒34 □ 35‒44 □ 45‒54 □ 55‒64 □ 65‒74

□ 75 or older

Question D6: What is this driver’s approximate gross average annual income?

□ Less than $20,000 □ $20,000–$29,999 □ $30,000–$39,999 □ $40,000–$49,999

□ $50,000–$59,999 □ $60,000–$69,999 □ $70,000 or more

Process Logic for Question Response

The online questionnaire will be facilitated online using an interactive web form that develops a question set based on progressive responses. This logic is illustrated below:

Respondents will be provided opportunities to save and return to the questionnaire to be completed as time permits.