Detention
Truck detention, recorded and calculated stop by stop.
Detention is the time a truck waits at a shipper or receiver beyond the free time agreed for the load, usually paid by the hour. FleetBlink records when your driver arrives at and leaves each stop, applies that load's own terms, and shows the detention your office can confirm, with the record behind it.
- Terms
- 2 h free · US$75 an hour · from the later of arrival and appointment
- Appointment
- 8:00 AM
- Arrived
- 7:40 AM, early
- Loaded, left
- 11:15 AM
- At the stop
- 3 h 35 min
- Counted from 8:00 AM
- 3 h 15 min
- Detention
- 1 h 15 min
- Amount
- US$93.75, for the office to confirm
Example figures, not a customer's.
How detention is calculated
FleetBlink applies the terms you recorded for that load, the same way every time:
- The clock starts at the driver's recorded arrival or, if your terms say so, at the later of the arrival and the appointment, so a truck that shows up early waits on its own time.
- Free time for that kind of stop comes off first. Pickups and deliveries can each have their own.
- What remains, in whole minutes rounded down, is detention.
- Detention minutes times the hourly rate, divided by 60 and rounded once to the cent, is the amount. A cap per stop, if you set one, limits it.
- If your terms say a late arrival forfeits detention, a truck that arrives more than the grace period after the appointment (the end of its window, if it has one) gets none.
- If your terms have a layover rule, the time the layover covers isn't counted as detention.
Without terms, FleetBlink calculates nothing: no free time, rate or rule is ever assumed.
What FleetBlink records at the dock
Arrival and departure, from the driver's phone
The driver taps “Arrived at pickup” and “Loaded, leave pickup” in the FleetBlink app, then “Arrived at delivery”, and the delivery ends with its proof of delivery. An owner or admin can correct a time; the original stays on record beside the correction. If the driver forgets to tap, the phone can suggest an arrival time for an owner or admin to record, when the stop has a map location and sharing is on with the app open on screen.
Each load's own terms
Free time, rate, cap and counting rule come from your company's defaults or the customer's, and can be changed for one load. Attach the rate confirmation so the terms and the paper agree. Every change is a new version; the old one stays.
Notice before free time runs out
If your terms ask for notice, the Board shows when it is due. From the job, someone in your office sends the customer's contact a detention warning or a detention started notice by email. It states times and terms, never an amount, and goes into the job's notice log.
A charge only your office confirms
Detention becomes a charge when someone in your office confirms it. A confirmed charge doesn't change; a mistake is voided with a reason, and both stay on record.
The record goes with your invoice
The evidence pack shows each stop's recorded time beside its free time. The billing packet carries confirmed charges, stop times and proof of delivery, to send with your own invoice. FleetBlink doesn't invoice or collect.
Why the record matters
In 2018 the U.S. Department of Transportation's Inspector General estimated that detention reduces the earnings of for-hire truckload drivers by $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion, and the net income of for-hire truckload carriers by $250.6 million to $302.9 million a year.
A detention claim comes down to times. Times written down later, from memory, are easy to dispute. Times recorded at the dock, under the terms agreed for that load, are something you and your customer can both check.
- Dwell time
- All the time a truck spends at a facility.
- Detention
- The part of it past the free time, which the contract may pay for.
- Free time
- The time a shipper or receiver gets to load or unload before detention starts.
Questions about detention
What is detention in trucking?
Time a truck is held at a shipper or receiver beyond the free time agreed for the load. Contracts and rate confirmations usually pay it by the hour once free time ends.
How is detention pay calculated?
Hours held past free time, times the hourly rate. In FleetBlink: the time at the stop from the counting start, minus free time, in whole minutes rounded down; those minutes times the hourly rate divided by 60, rounded once to the cent and limited by any cap.
Does waiting count if the truck arrives early?
It depends on your terms. Counted from the arrival, early waiting counts. Counted from the later of the arrival and the appointment, an early truck waits on its own time until the appointment.
How much free time is standard?
There's no single standard: your contract or rate confirmation sets it, often differently for pickups and deliveries. FleetBlink applies the free time you record for each, from 0 to 24 hours, and calculates nothing without it.
Does FleetBlink bill the customer for detention?
No. It records the times, calculates the amount and lets your office confirm the charge. Confirmed charges go into the billing packet you send with your own invoice.
Do I need an ELD integration or GPS hardware?
No. Times come from the driver's taps in the FleetBlink app on their own phone. The phone's position, while sharing is on and the app is open on screen, can only suggest an arrival for an owner or admin to record.
Does it handle TONU, layover and lumper fees?
Yes, as charges on the job under the load's terms: TONU when a load is cancelled after dispatch and before loading, layover by the day or the night, and lumper fees against their receipts. Your office confirms each one.
Which currencies does it use?
US dollars, Canadian dollars, pounds sterling, Australian dollars and euros, set for each load. Nothing is converted.
Record detention on your next load.
Every plan includes it. Pay per vehicle on your board; drivers, office users and jobs aren't counted. Book a live demo and we'll walk you through it.