While trucking companies cannot completely eliminate the exposure created when an employee or subcontractor operates a company-owned or personal vehicle, there are specific steps they can take to mitigate it. Some fleets may be under the impression that it is either costly or cumbersome to ensure they are hiring the right people, but the fact is, it is far easier than most firms think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Most fleets should already have, as a preliminary matter, a\ndriver policy in place. This could be a formal or informal document. They must\ndictate the criteria they will use to assess whether an applicant represents\ntoo much risk to the organization. These standards should include everything\nfrom minimum age, valid licensing or endorsements, and certain thresholds for\nmoving violations or accidents that appear over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fleets must carefully review their operator safety policies\nand make every effort to ensure they are not just encoded into writing but are\nboth implemented and enforced. Companies that operate commercial motor vehicles\nare subjected to requirements and regulatory standards according to FMCSA\nrequirements. Without follow-through, they may find themselves at the wrong end\nof an investigation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Companies need to carefully review their truck driver safety\npolicies and then, more importantly, ensure they are properly enforced. Over\nthe passage of time it can be tempting to turn a blind eye to policies you have\nso carefully put into place just for the sake of adding people to the payroll.\nRemember, these are standards you have carefully developed. They are designed\nto protect your company from potential litigation, or worse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What it all boils down to is understanding whether you are\nbetter off not knowing about a truck driver\u2019s driving history. The answer\nshould always be a resounding \u201cno.\u201d The risks of not knowing far outweigh any\ndownsides. Ignoring well-written and enforceable standards which resulted in\nunsafe operation of a vehicle can be just as bad as if the company did not have\nstandards employed to begin with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Automating the\nProcess<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the best ways to ensure you hire and retain the right\npeople is to automate the process. Once a company\u2019s standards have been set up,\nthey must be enforced. Finding ways to introduce machine learning or automation\ninto the monitoring process will avoid inconsistent enforcement resulting from\nhuman error. We have discussed before how manual processes are subject to human\nerror. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The\npoint here is not that individuals who fail to meet a particular\nstandard for a safety policy should not be directly terminated or reassigned.\nIt really depends on the extent and nature of the truck driver\u2019s employment\nstatus. Truck driver qualification standards should be much more robust in\nsituations where there are driving restrictions, safety training, or otherwise.\nThis could stand for hazardous materials carriers, bus drivers, cabs, or other\ntypes of company travel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The company must consistently audit their truck drivers to\nensure they remain qualified to operate the vehicles for the company. Has their\ndriver\u2019s license been revoked? Are you even checking to see if it has? Has the\noperator had any moving violations or accidents that may disqualify him or her\nfrom operating your equipment?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Running a new MVR, at least on an annual level, should\ninvolve the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t be an ostrich with your head in the sand if one of your truck drivers is involved in a catastrophic accident and you are unprepared for the fallout. If it comes to light that the company took no action beyond simple qualifying factors to ensure the truck driver remained properly licensed and able to operate the vehicle, the worse could happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are specific C.F.R.\u2019s that relate directly to an\nemployer not allowing someone to drive or operate a commercial motor vehicle if\nit knows or reasonably should know that the truck driver\u2019s CDL has been\ndowngraded. If a state agency is notified and they cite the company under the\nregulation, it can be shown the company had the ability to view the updated\nMVR. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While there are certainly counter arguments, one being that\ncurrent safety regulations do not require trucking companies to continuously\nmonitor a truck driver\u2019s most current MVR. Still, if a company were to choose a\nsolution that allows them to continuously monitor the MVR, they might not find\nthemselves in this position to begin with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Utilizing motor vehicle records the way they should be used,\nto shed light on the risk profile for a truck driver, whether new or\nexperienced, is not new or wrong. It is something every motor carrier with a\nfocus on safety should be taking a good hard look at. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Using Technology to\nYour Advantage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Technological advances and the emergence of advanced truck\ndriver-monitoring systems have set the stage for companies to have near\nreal-time visibility into whether their truck drivers are fully complying with\nthe system they have put into place. Presenting a cost-effective and automated\nway to mitigate risk through technology is one of the best ways to keep\nplaintiffs attorneys at bay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s how this could work. An MVR is an important tool to\nassess a truck driver\u2019s history, except the problem is the MVR becomes outdated\nthe minute after it is pulled. Let\u2019s say the truck drivers license is impacted\nwithin a few days of the MVR being pulled. Either the truck driver would have\nto report it, or the company would have to wait until the next annual MVR\nreview to uncover it. Waiting that long could cause a problem if there is an\nincident on the road. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Driver-monitoring services can provide fleets with real-tie\ndata from federal and state agencies that can be transmitted directly into\nfleet databases. Action can be taken immediately, rather than waiting for a\npotential accident that could cripple the company. Whether it be a license\nsuspension, downgrade, accident, downgrade or otherwise, getting this\ninformation in real-time offers fleets a much better way to manage risk and\nensure positive safety outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Integrated driver-monitoring systems also offer information\nrelated to medical cards and CSA notifications. These types of integrations\ngive fleets a faster mechanism to accessing information that is critical to\ntheir business. The FMCSA has also come out with new guidance contemplating\nallowing a motor carrier\u2019s use of an MVR-monitoring system to satisfy its\nobligations to renew the MVR. Of course, other conditions will have to be met,\nbut the guidance \u2013 specifically part 383, does offer this specific information:<\/p>\n\n\n\n QUESTION 4<\/em><\/strong>: Does the use\nof an employer notification system that provides motor carriers with a\ndepartment of motor vehicle report for every State in which the driver held\neither an operator\u2019s license, a commercial driver\u2019s license (CDL), or permit\nwhen a driver is enrolled in the system and provides information about license\nstatus, crashes and convictions of laws or regulations governing the operation\nof motor vehicles on the driving record satisfy the requirement for an annual\nreview of each driver\u2019s record?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n GUIDANCE<\/em><\/strong>: Yes. Since\nmotor carriers would be provided with a department of motor vehicle report for\nevery State in which the driver held a commercial motor vehicle operator\u2019s\nlicense or permit when a driver is enrolled in the system and the State\nlicensing agency includes information about crashes and convictions of laws or\nregulations governing the operation of motor vehicles on the driving record,\nthe requirements of \u00a7 391.25(a) would be satisfied. Generally, the requirements\nof \u00a7 391.25(b) and (c) would be satisfied if the employer notification system\nrecords the identity of the motor carrier\u2019s representative who conducted the\nreview when the carrier\u2019s representative reviews the information on the driving\nrecord.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The fact of the matter remains: whether a company is subject to federal or state safety regulations, they must ensure that they consistently apply their truck driver qualification standards across the board. There can be no gap or lapse in judgment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even more, fleets should be actively utilizing whatever\ntechnological means at their disposal to ensure compliance. If there are\nservices out there that allow for real-time monitoring of a truck driver\u2019s MVR,\nhow could that hurt? We live in a time where some find in-cab cameras\nintrusive. While that is a safety discussion for another day, there is nothing\nintrusive about knowing what is going on with your truck drivers\u2019 driving\nrecord. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"