At its recent meeting in Des Moines, Iowa, the American Transportation Research Institute Board of Directors, led by Chair Derek Leathers of Werner Enterprises, reviewed and approved the 2025 Top Research Priorities. The research priorities were identified by ATRI’s Research Advisory Committee (RAC) at its annual meeting held March 4-5 in Washington, D.C.
ATRI’s RAC selected a diverse set of research priorities designed to address some of the industry’s most critical issues, including rising insurance costs, driver training, improving safety performance, and addressing cabotage violations. ATRI's top research priorities for 2025 are as follows:
Rising insurance costs and self-insurance motivations
Prior ATRI research identified the impact of rising insurance costs on motor carriers, which included carriers lowering coverage levels, raising deductibles, and increasing safety technology deployment. This new research will expand that methodology to document current commercial auto insurance trends and investigate the growing role of insurance captives and self-insurance retentions.
Efficacy of entry-level driver training on safety outcomes
FMCSA’s 2022 Entry-Level Driver Training mandate requires that new entrant truck drivers complete a structured program of theory and behind-the-wheel instruction before taking the commercial driver’s license skills test. While the ELDT was designed to improve safety outcomes, concerns persist about the effectiveness of training programs in preparing drivers for real-world challenges. Prior ATRI research examined the relationship between driver training curricula and safety outcomes. This new research will build on that work by expanding the use of safety data and statistical models to determine the safety impacts of the mandated ELDT regimen.
See also: Are Mexico's drivers hurting the U.S. trucking market?
Safety impacts of in-cab monitoring
With continued advances in technology focused on in-cab monitoring, more fleets are turning to these systems to better understand driver behaviors in the cab. Prior ATRI research focused on driver perspectives of these systems, specifically driver-facing cameras. This new research will collect confidential in-cab technology data to identify any statistical relationship between in-cab monitoring systems and improvements in safety outcomes. The research will also map carrier and driver strategies for managing in-cab data that improve safety outcomes.
Capitalizing on telematics data
Telematics technologies have been available to the trucking industry for several decades for asset tracking and driver communications, but today’s telematics deliver expanded functionalities, including vehicle performance and maintenance as well as safety and compliance monitoring. However, not all carriers are equipped to leverage evolving telematics data to improve operations. This research will create a compendium of data tools and applications for carriers of all sizes to better use telematics to improve operational performance.
Understanding the prevalence and impact of cabotage violations
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement permits limited cross-border freight transportation between the U.S. and its trading partners in Mexico and Canada, provided that non-U.S.-domiciled truck drivers limit their operations to dedicated deliveries of Mexican/Canadian goods to a U.S. shipper. Cabotage violations occur when non-domiciled carriers engage in multiple point-to-point deliveries within the U.S. These cabotage violations can result in unfair competition by undercutting pricing and taking jobs away from U.S.-based trucking companies. This research will seek to quantify the frequency, scale, and impact of these cabotage violations.
