An organization’s drivers often form the backbone of an operation. In addition to transporting goods, they embody an organization’s brand reliability. So, recruiting and hiring drivers must be done with care and precision.
Compliance in both the hiring process and subsequent employment is a critical part of sound risk management. Failing to follow Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) safety standards can have deadly results and lead to costly lawsuits and regulatory action.
In 2021, a trucking company faced lawsuits due to accidents linked to violations of FMCSA regulations regarding driver qualifications and hours of service. It was ruled that the company’s failure to ensure drivers adhered to federal safety standards contributed to a fatal crash. The company also faced a multi-million-dollar lawsuit.
Another trucking company in 2022 faced a lawsuit after a fatal crash involving one of its trucks and a motorcyclist. The company was accused of violating FMCSA regulations related to inadequate review of motor vehicle records. The driver was discovered to have a prior commercial DUI arrest and personal vehicle violations. The case resulted in a multi-million-dollar settlement.
Compliance may not eliminate risk entirely, but it lays a critical foundation for any successful fleet safety program. In the event of accidents or claims, robust hiring practices and well-maintained driver files serve as evidence of a company’s due diligence and commitment to risk management. Plaintiff attorneys may levy unsubstantiated claims of negligence related to driver hiring, training, supervision and retention practices. When this is included in a legal complaint, firms must be able to defend their standard of care against alleged deficiencies.
Hiring is first step to safety compliance
The transportation industry is confronting a perfect storm of pressures—an acute shortage of qualified drivers, a graying workforce on the brink of mass retirements, and surging demand fueled by booming e-commerce and expanded delivery networks. These pressures shouldn’t be allowed to influence hiring a marginal employee.
For organizations, compliance should start early—even before hiring drivers. Companies should check with their insurance providers to see if they have any specific hiring guidelines. Many insurers have requirements that drivers must meet to be insurable. The driver hiring process should then be designed to screen out unsafe or high-risk candidates before they ever get behind the wheel.
Invest the time to find a qualified and reliable candidate, because making the right hire now could reduce the risk of costly accidents, legal expense, and operational headaches in the future.
Maintaining driver qualification files
Ensuring that commercial truck drivers meet the FMCSA qualification standards is vital for fleet managers, motor carriers, and owner-operators. Central to this process is the Driver Qualification (DQ) file, which is a mandatory compliance record under the FMCSA regulations. Every motor carrier must compile and maintain a separate DQ file for each commercial driver it employs, documenting that the driver is both legally authorized and medically qualified to operate a commercial motor vehicle.
Many organizations struggle to keep pace with evolving documentation requirements, annual reviews, and retention requirements—especially when also managing a fleet of contracted owner-operators. Overlooking DQ file regulations can leave companies vulnerable to increased liability following an accident, as well as fines, compliance audits, and potential safety rating downgrades. Common compliance violations include missing or incomplete documents, failure to conduct annual motor vehicle record reviews, and failure to update medical certificates.
In an age of nuclear verdicts involving CDL drivers, additional focus on compliance can not only improve safety performance, but it can also help minimize claim severity and impacts to a company’s bottom line. Driver recruitment should be treated as a critical pillar of an organization’s safety program—not a rushed decision driven by operational pressure. Invest the time to find a qualified and reliable candidate, because making the right hire now could reduce the risk of costly accidents, legal expense, and operational headaches in the future. Once a sound hiring process is established, companies should ensure their due diligence and driver qualification files are well documented and compliant.
For more information on driver qualifications and file compliance, read AXA XL’s report, Building your team: a smarter approach to driver recruitment, hiring and compliance.
About the authors
Josh Wilson and Chris O’Neill are AXA XL Risk Consulting, Senior Consultants, supporting Property & Casualty customers in the Americas-Environmental unit.
