Driver Monitoring Critical in Light of CSA Scoring

Recently, an Indiana-based tanker truck driver was charged with several criminal and moving violation counts after causing an accident that killed a young man, among which were reckless homicide and causing death when operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. Police discovered the driver had been previously cited three times for operating a vehicle while intoxicated and was driving with a suspended license—all unknown to the motor carrier that employed the driver.

With the new carrier rating system under the FMCSA’s CSA 2010 initiative, it is more important than ever for carriers to regularly monitor the performance of their drivers. While ratings for individual drivers are not yet being implemented under CSA 2010, every violation by every driver will negatively impact the carrier’s BASIC rating.

Although drivers are required to report traffic violations within 30 days and CDL suspensions within one day, few do so because the fundamental fear of losing a job is stronger than the commitment to “play by the rules.” This puts carriers in a difficult position, having drivers on the road without full knowledge of their safety records and license status until the annual MVR review. To use an extreme example, a driver could have a major moving violation the day after his annual review and the carrier would not know about it for the next year…leaving that driver on the road as a potential liability.

HireRight has been on the leading edge of this issue since 2006, when it developed its Driver Violation Alert (DVA) program. Currently available for 30 states, with more to be added this year, DVA provides a monthly report of traffic violations and changes in CDL status (in most states) for all fleet drivers who are licensed in the covered states.

DVA is a proactive risk-mitigation tool that enables the carrier to quickly identify potentially unsafe drivers and take corrective action or offer driver safety training. Another benefit is the reduction of the carrier’s administrative time spent monitoring driver records. In addition, a number of states offer Employer Notification System (ENS)/ Driver Monitoring programs, and carriers can work directly with those states to monitor the records of their drivers who are licensed in those states. The costs of using state programs vary, and the coverage is not as broad as HireRight’s DVA.

Driver monitoring can assist motor carriers in maintaining a higher CSA score by remaining alert to any changes in a driver’s MVR. These alerts provide a critical “heads up” when a violation could potentially impact a carrier’s CSA score. Since motor carriers cannot use the Pre-Employment Screening (PSP) report on current drivers, driver monitoring can serve as a predictor for how a carrier’s score might change as a result of the violations, once the carrier establishes a scoring baseline.

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