After an investigation into a fatal truck-train accident that happened a year and a half ago, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended that federal regulators should create a mechanism to more effectively gather truck driver employment and driving history information to help carriers better screen applicants.
The driver that caused the truck-train collision did not fully disclose all of his prior violations and employers; his previous employers numbered 30 during the 10 years before the crash. The investigation revealed that the driver had been cited for more than a dozen moving violations, had at least three accidents, and had his drivers' license suspended or revoked at least four times.
The board concluded that despite some driver screening programs already in existence, there "is currently no means by which a company can verify the completedness of information provided by a driver applicant.
Deborah Hersman, NTSB chairwoman, said she was well aware of the challenges for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to establish a failsafe system of accurately tracking a driver's history. Even the agency's Pre-employment Screening Program does not offer complete information on a driver's past, she said. "At the end of the day, we don't have a system that works,", she said.
NTSB has issued 19 recommendations, including these three primary recommendations relating to trucking:
- Create a mechanism to gather and record commercial driving-related employment history about all drivers and make this information available to all prospective motor carrier employers.
- Require motor carriers to conduct and document investigations into the employment records of prospective drivers for the 10 years that precede the application date.
- Require motor carriers to retrieve records from the Commercial Driver's License Information System and the National Driver register for all driver applicants so that they can obtain a complete driving and license history of prospective drivers.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
Rumors continue to circulate that the FMCSA is discussing the idea of including drivers in the ranking system under CSA, and making that driver safety data public.
The FMCSA is said to be seeking the necessary authority to rate CDL drivers as part of the next highway bill.
A source within FMCSA stressed that making public the driver percentile rankings in the CSA BASICs “has always been the long-term vision.” Currently, drivers are not ranked against their peers in the BASICs, and data from drivers’ inspection histories is only accessible officially by prospective employers through the Pre-Employment Screening Program.
A recently released five-year plan (2011-2015) was released by the FMCSA. It made no specific mention of the concept of ranking drivers, suggesting achieving this goal could be more than five years away. However, the plan does refer to continuing development of “a methodology to assess the safety fitness of drivers to further identify unsafe drivers who should not be in the industry.”
Making driver safety data and rankings public may be a bigger project than FMCSA and Congress will feel is worth the trouble, says Joe Rajkovacz, government affairs specialist with the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA).
Regardless of the outcome, this is certain to be an extremely contentious topic.
I encourage you to express your thoughts on the subject by commenting on this post.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
Throughout the trucking industry, 2010 proved to be a year full of safety and regulatory changes – from driver distraction and a ban on texting to CSA 2010 and a mandate for electronic logs.
This Year in Review highlights some of the most widely followed topics throughout the year.
CSA 2010
Distracted Driving
Electronic Onboard Recorders (EOBRs)
Hours of Service (HOS)
Pre-employment Screening Program (PSP)
Sleep Apnea
Various
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
The FMCSA’s new safety program, CSA 2010, will be officially kicking off at the end of November. If you’re a professional CDL driver, it’s important to be reminded of some of the program’s basics to ensure you’re prepared.
The best place to begin is at the FMCSA’s CSA 2010 website (http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/), the official resource for information about this new safety program.
The FMCSA has produced a few great tools specifically for CDL drivers:
- A presentation titled “CSA 2010 for Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Drivers” is designed to educate professional drivers about CSA 2010. In addition to covering what CSA 2010 means to CDL drivers, the presentation is designed to clarify misinformation concerning professional drivers under CSA 2010. "If you are a driver or need to educate drivers, check out this presentation," FMCSA says.
- A two-page document called “CSA 2010: Just the Facts” is intended to dispel myths and misconceptions surrounding CSA 2010. “Just the Facts” identifies 15 facts about the program that are commonly misunderstood.
- CDL drivers, as well as carriers, now have access to another great tool - the new Pre-employment Screening Program, or PSP. Although not technically a part of CSA 2010, the information collected in the PSP is the same data that’s used to calculate and measure compliance under the new program – roadside inspection and crash data.
If you feel comfortable with your understanding of CSA 2010, and you’d like to see how you rank in your CSA 2010 knowledge, you can try your hand at CCJ’s CSA 2010 Quiz. Good luck!
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
One of the many developments in the trucking industry this year is the new Pre-employment Screening Program, or PSP.
This national-level program, which was launched in May 2010, allows employers access to prospective drivers’ roadside inspection history – information from the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) that’s not available on a Motor Vehicle Record (MVR).
A PSP record contains up to five years of driver crash data and three years of inspection data, regardless of the state or jurisdiction. Access to this information can help employers review the crash and serious safety violation histories of prospective drivers as part of the hiring process. The new program is voluntary, and a carrier must obtain the driver’s written consent to access their PSP record.
Prospective employers aren’t the only ones who have access to this data, though – drivers are able to see their own records as well. There’s no registration or subscription fee for individual drivers, but there is a $10 charge to retrieve their PSP record. To access your PSP, go to http://www.psp.fmcsa.dot.gov. This site also includes a list of frequently asked questions.
Drivers are encouraged to look at their records to ensure accuracy. Incorrect information can be challenged through the FMCSA’s DataQs system: https://dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov/login.asp.
It’s only a matter of time before the PSP record becomes a necessary part of every company’s hiring process. Until then, drivers who run their own record and share it with potential employers could be in a better position to negotiate a potential job opportunity. It will go a long way in helping them to “stand out”, especially if the PSP record is free from any serious safety violations.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
Last week, Driving Ambition, in conjunction with the Tennessee Trucking Association, hosted and sponsored A 3rd CSA 2010 / FMCSA Seminar featuring former FMCSA Administrator John Hill and FMCSA TN Division Administrator Jon Dierberger.
The seminar was held in Nashville, TN at the Airport Marriott. Both Hill and Dierberger spoke to a full house of nearly 100 people about CSA 2010, as well as a handful of other FMCSA initiatives that we can expect to see this year.
Driving Ambition will be hosting and sponsoring a 4th Seminar – again in Indianapolis, IN on July 27th. For more information on this upcoming Seminar, click here.
To view a .pdf of each of the PowerPoint Presentations from the Nashville Seminar, click on the respective links below:
John Hill - PowerPoint Presentation
Jon Dierberger - PowerPoint Presentation
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
Due to the popular demand after holding two sold-out seminars in Indianapolis and Cincinnati earlier this year, Driving Ambition is proud to be hosting and sponsoring two additional CSA 2010 / FMCSA Seminars featuring former FMCSA Administrator John Hill:
Thursday, July 15, 2010 - Nashville, TN (in conjunction with the Tennessee Trucking Association)
Tuesday, July 27, 2010 - Indianapolis, IN (in conjunction with the Indiana Motor Truck Association)
These seminars are designed to educate motor carriers on the broad implications that CSA 2010, as well as many other FMCSA initiatives will bring. For more information on the upcoming seminars, and for testimonials from previously held seminars, click here.
If there is one seminar you attend all year, this is it!
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
The FMCSA will be hosting a webinar on the new Pre-Employment Screening Program - providing an overview of the PSP program, and demonstrations of both the motor carrier and commercial driver online services. The webinar is scheduled for June 23, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern time.
The Pre-Employment Screening Program is a new, national-level program designed to offer motor carriers and commercial drivers electronic access to drivers' records from the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS).
A PSP record contains a driver's crash and inspection history to help motor carriers make more informed hiring decisions. It allows carriers to take the crash and inspection history of drivers into account when deciding on hiring new employees.
The new program is voluntary, and a carrier must obtain the driver's written consent to access.
How to Register
You can register by going to http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/facts-research/art-webinars-future.aspand clicking on the heading "Pre-employment Screening Program Online Service Demonstration." You will be emailed a confirmation notice within 24 hours of registration that will provide information on how to participate.
If you are unable to participate in the FMCSA's webinar, HireRight (USIS/DAC Services) will be hosting a PSP webinar the following day, on Thursday, June 24, at 2 p.m. Easter time. To join the HireRight's webinar, go online to https://hirerightevents.webex.com/ and put in event number 924046459.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
On Tuesday, May 11, the FMCSA launched its
Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP), which allows commercial motor carrier companies to electronically access driver inspection and crash records.
The program provides real-time data, in the form of access to up to five years of driver crash data and three years of inspection data regardless of the state or jurisdiction, to help motor carriers review the crash and serious safety violation histories of prospective employees as part of the hiring process.
PSP is populated monthly by FMCSA's Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS). MCMIS is comprised of driver performance data including inspection and compliance review results, enforcement data, state-reported crashes, and motor carrier census data - the same information that is used by agency staff and state police for enforcement.
The FMCSA has contracted with NIC Technologies to provide data electronically to carriers with the drivers' written consent. The carrier must enroll to participate in this program. Although participation in the program is voluntary, it's predicted that it will become standard practice in the hiring process. "It will become the standard of care in pretty short order...pretty soon it will become the de facto driver qualification verification", said former FMCSA Administrator John Hill.
Some key points to PSP:
*Registration is free but there will be a charge to use the system. Carriers with fewer than 100 power units must pay a $25 annual subscription fee and $10 for each record retrieved. Companies with more than 100 power units must pay a $100 subscription fee, plus the $10 per-record fee. Both are limited to 10 users. The agency will not charge a carrier that comes into the system through a third-party provider, although presumably the provider will charge its own fee. Individual drivers will not have to pay a subscription fee but will have to pay the $10 charge to retrieve their record.
*The data is protected by a number of federal laws, including the Privacy Act of 1974 and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. FMCSA will audit the program to confirm driver and company identity, and the accuracy of driver permission forms.
*The agency encourages drivers to look at their records. Incorrect information can be challenged through the agency's DataQs system: https://dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov/login.asp.
To register for the program, go to www.psp.fmcsa.dot.gov. The site includes a list of frequently asked questions. For specific questions about enrolling in the PSP program, please e-mail PSPenrollment@nicusa.com.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
On March 11, 2010, the Indianapolis Traffic Club (ITC) held their first major event of the year. Former FMCSA Administrator John Hill spoke to a sellout crowd in Indianapolis as he discussed CSA 2010 and other FMCSA initiatives we can expect in the year ahead.
Driving Ambition, Inc. and National Transportation, Inc. co-sponsored the seminar that kept nearly 100 attendees captivated as John Hill gave his unique perspective on the FMCSA's goals in 2010.
Trucking companies as well as CDL drivers will benefit from the information presented by Mr. Hill. To view the entire presentation, please click here.
Left to right: Jeremy Reymer, President & CEO of Driving Ambition; Former FMCSA Administrator John Hill; Ryan Walter, Corporate Rental Manager of Palmer Leasing Group.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.