Joplin, Mo. — The message rolling out of this weekend’s Guilty By Association Truck Show was blunt: if federal regulators want to make trucking safer and more sustainable, start by valuing drivers’ time. In a listening session captured by FreightWaves, owner-operators and company drivers pressed the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to prioritize compensation for all on-duty work — detention, drop-and-hook, lineups at gates — instead of entertaining changes that effectively stretch the workday. They framed it as both a fairness issue and a safety issue, arguing that underpaying time spent not driving pushes fatigue and turnover.
The exchange came as FMCSA officials held open Q&A with drivers at GBATS on Friday morning, signaling the agency’s willingness to be in the room while frustrations are aired. The biennial show drew hundreds of working trucks and thousands of drivers to 4 State Trucks’ campus; organizers expect an 800‑plus truck convoy to cap the weekend. The in‑person forum matters: comments delivered face-to-face tend to be more specific — and harder to ignore — than docket filings.
What drivers asked for wasn’t “more hours.” It was money that matches the job as it’s actually performed today. That means detention billed from the first hour, clearer pass‑through of accessorials, and pay structures that don’t count the day as productive only when the wheels are turning. Several noted that proposals billed as “flexibility” can become unpaid padding that simply enables shippers and receivers to consume more of a driver’s day. The throughline: compensate the clock to reduce the incentive to outrun it.
Regulatory crosswinds could amplify that argument. On Friday, DOT and FMCSA unveiled an aggressive crackdown on non‑domiciled commercial driver licensing, projecting that new requirements will push a large share of those CDL holders out of the industry over the next two years. If realized, that would tighten driver supply and put upward pressure on wages, strengthening drivers’ case that compensation — not longer duty windows — is the policy lever with the biggest safety and retention payoff. Carriers operating in states flagged for compliance problems were told to prepare for stepped‑up enforcement and potential pauses in issuing non‑domiciled CDLs.
Why this matters for fleets and shippers right now: first, the venue. GBATS is a working‑trucker show, and FMCSA’s presence there on Sept. 26 means these are the voices likely to shape whatever comes next. Second, the economics. If licensing rules squeeze the labor pool at the same time drivers insist on being paid for all on‑duty time, the cost of “free” detention rises fast. Shippers that modernize yard operations, hit appointment windows and pay detention promptly will be more attractive to carriers; those that don’t will increasingly pay a premium — or struggle to cover freight.
What to watch next: FMCSA’s official readouts and any follow‑on listening sessions from this weekend’s engagement; whether carriers move ahead of regulators to codify paid time standards (detention from minute one, guaranteed minimums, or hybrid hourly/mileage models); and how the new CDL policy reshapes recruiting pipelines and wage offers over the next 3–6 months. In a market still finding its footing, the path of least resistance may be the one drivers laid out in Joplin: pay for the work that already happens, and the safety benefits will follow.
Sources: FreightWaves; Overdrive Online (GBATS coverage); Overdrive Online (non‑domiciled CDL rule)
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