How to use this guide
Read the sections in order the first time, then use the headings as a working checklist. Keep one time period, vehicle or fleet definition, and set of units throughout the calculation. Replace examples with actual documents and note the source date when a rate or rule can change.
Save or download a calculator scenario only after reviewing every field. The site performs planning arithmetic; it does not validate the records, determine legal treatment, submit a form, or bind a carrier, customer, government agency, lender, or tax authority.
Define the policy
Confirm when the clock starts, how much free time applies, the billable increment, hourly rate, maximum, exclusions, and who must approve the claim. Carrier, broker, customer, and facility terms may differ. Verbal expectations are harder to enforce than written policy.
Record arrival, appointment, dock, release, and departure times using the documentation required by the contract.
Measure unpaid waiting
Free time is still time. Apply a realistic driver time value to the unpaid portion and consider whether the delay reduces available paid miles or causes a missed appointment. The detention calculator reports billable pay and the annual value of unpaid waiting separately.
Paid detention can still leave a weak result if the rate is far below the opportunity value of the delay.
Do not use pay math as HOS guidance
The calculation does not determine legal driving availability. Review the current FMCSA hours-of-service summary, ELD records, carrier policy, and any applicable exception. Never change duty status to improve a pay result.
Track repeat facilities and lanes so detention experience becomes part of future rate and customer decisions.
Verification and decision checklist
- Define the business question and time period before collecting inputs.
- Use primary records and current official sources where they apply.
- Keep paid miles, all miles, revenue, cash, deduction, tax effect, cost, and profit labels distinct.
- Run a conservative scenario when price, miles, utilization, delay, or tax treatment is uncertain.
- Compare the planning result with the controlling contract, settlement, filing instructions, or professional review.
Update the calculation when a route, quarter, rate, carrier policy, equipment decision, or source document changes. A saved estimate is a snapshot of assumptions, not a live guarantee.
Important limits
This guide is general education, not legal, tax, accounting, payroll, lending, investment, insurance, dispatch, safety, or compliance advice. Do not use it to change duty status, exceed equipment ratings, disregard a warning, or make an emergency decision. Current rules, documents, and qualified advice control.