Safety

Experts advise caution as speeding, distracted driving, cargo theft rises on Labor Day weekend

Sept. 1, 2023

Historical data analyzed by Cambridge Mobile Telematics and CargoNet indicates that carriers should exhibit heightened safety awareness this holiday weekend as risks rise.

Scott Keith

Experts advise motor carriers to be extra cautious this Labor Day as research shows that speeding, distracted driving, and cargo theft historically heighten over the holiday weekend.

Cambridge Mobile Telematics analyzed distracted driving and speeding trends the 30 days before and after Labor Day from 2020 through 20222, spanning 20 million trips.

Speeding increases 34% on Labor Day weekend

CMT found that its users spend two minutes and 56 seconds of every hour driving on Labor Day speeding. This is a 34% increase from the average time speeding before and after the holiday, 2 minutes and 11 seconds of each hour.

Distracted driving due to screen usage also increased slightly on Labor Day. During the 30 days on either side of the holiday, screen distraction averages two minutes and one second per hour of driving. On Labor Day, that distraction bumps up to two minutes and six seconds—a 4.6% rise.

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CMT’s distracted driving research shows that for every 10% increase in distraction, crash rates increase by 1.4%. By the CMT’s estimates, the 4.6% Labor Day increase has resulted in 750 additional crashes, three deaths, and $18 million in economic damages over the past three years when applying the 4.6% increase to NHTSA data on distracted driving.

Screen interaction has increased on Labor Day every year since 2020, according to CMT’s analysis. Labor Day 2022 saw 2 minutes and 11 seconds of screen interaction, 11% higher than 2020.

The National Safety Council provides a fatality estimate for many major holidays. In 2022, it estimated that over 450 people would be killed on the road during Labor Day weekend. In 2020, the last year it has data on Labor Day fatalities, 506 people were killed. The increase in distracted driving and speeding contributes to these roadway tragedies.

Cargo theft risk rises on Labor Day weekend

Labor Day weekend also carries higher risks of cargo theft, according to CargoNet. The loss prevention and risk analysis company indicated that danger is already rising ahead of the holiday as it reached the year’s second-highest level of theft reports last week.

CargoNet examined theft trends around the previous five Labor Day holidays—156 events with an average cargo value of $151,726 per event. Theft was highest in 2022, where CargoNet recorded 44 events. In previous years, cargo thieves preferred to steal televisions, computers, and major appliances. Thefts were most common near major supply chain hubs in Southern California, Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago, Memphis, and Atlanta.

Though there were no fictitious pickups—thefts in which criminals use fraudulent identities to steal loads—reported in this analysis period, CargoNet warns that these kinds of thefts are the leading threat carriers should look out for this year.

Shipment misdirection schemes, a kind of fictitious pickup, are the most pertinent threat to carriers, according to CargoNet. The company has recorded over 600 shipment misdirection attacks or attempts since November 2022. In these schemes, attackers impersonate a motor carrier to gain authorization to transport a shipment and then hire a motor carrier to deliver the shipment to a location they can access to steal the cargo. Attackers often impersonate two or three different companies to disguise their identities and deceive their victims.

These attacks target a plethora of goods, but the most common targets have been solar panels, energy drinks, alcoholic beverages, motor oil, and consumer electronics. CargoNet also warns of increased targeting of shipments of building materials such as shingles, lumber, and power tools in response to extreme weather events in the Southeast.