Driven By Diesel - The Trucking Podcast

New Hire to Road Ready: The Truck Driver Onboarding Process Every Fleet Needs

• Tina Jensen, Stephanie Hirsch

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In this episode of Driven by Diesel, Stephanie and Tina break down how motor carriers can build a repeatable, defensible onboarding system that can take drivers from new hire to road ready. Whether you're an owner-operator hiring your first driver or managing a growing fleet, this episode gives practical steps to tighten your process, reduce risk, and hire with confidence.

More information regarding the FMCSA regulations can be found at the following website: https://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/

SPEAKER_00

Driven by Diesel.

SPEAKER_02

If a driver you hired today was involved in an accident 30 days from now, could you confidently defend that hiring decision? Welcome to Driven by Diesel, the podcast fueled by real conversations from the checking industry. I'm Stephanie, here with Tina, and we're with Joe Morton and Sons Insurance Agency. Hey Tina, here we are, episode number two. How have things been going for you in Phoenix since we recorded our last podcast?

SPEAKER_01

Really well. Thank you so much for asking. Our weather is a little hotter than I would like. Sometimes it feels like I'm walking on the, you know, just about the doorstep of hell, but that's okay. You know, it's better than snow.

SPEAKER_02

It is better than snow. Thankfully, here in South Sioux, we're staying away from snow. It looks like we're finally into spring. Yeah. It's definitely good for our drivers too, not having to deal with some of that winter weather and moving on into the summer months.

SPEAKER_01

Absolutely, but we still have to keep them safe from heat stress. So um let's talk about that in a few future podcasts, maybe.

SPEAKER_02

Absolutely. Well, today we're talking about something that can make or break your operation, your onboarding process, specifically how to go from new hire to road ready with a repeatable, defensible system. Because most fleets don't fail at hiring, they fail in what comes after. Tina, let's start here. Why does onboarding matter so much from a risk standpoint?

SPEAKER_01

I think that the biggest challenge I see, especially because we at Joe Martin have a heart for family-owned business. We love family-owned business, and I love family-owned business. I really feel like family-owned business is what keeps our country free. Um but sometimes it can be really hard to treat Uncle Joe and brother-in-law Jim and sister Sarah the same as we treat somebody who isn't related to us. So being consistent, repeat, having a repeatable process, a documented process when we are onboarding a driver and treating everybody the same is the biggest challenge that I think we face. And I think really, probably industry-wide, um, that's what we see as being an issue. Not having a hiring process that is consistent and applied the same to every driver every time.

SPEAKER_02

Today we're really going to talk about why onboarding matters. And we hear a lot about hiring drivers, but not enough about how they're brought into an operation. Tina, where do fleets actually go wrong?

SPEAKER_01

So let's take a little bit of a step back and talk a little bit about recruiting and where folks are going to find drivers. Um, that I think is number one. Are you going somewhere to find drivers or using a um tool or a system that when you have um an application or a driver link out there, are they able to fill out the paperwork from when you're where you're recruiting them from? I think that's really important. But secondly, now you've found a driver, what comes next? So how are you bringing in that driver to your operation? And I think what's really important is identifying who is responsible for the hiring, number one. And so now we know, okay, we're gonna have um, you know, Jan at the front desk do our hiring or Bob in quote safety do our hiring. Great. Now we know Jan and Bob are doing the hiring. Do they have a process that is conducted in the same way every time? Are they using a checklist? Are they auditing themselves around that checklist? So making sure we know who's responsible. And part of this can be found in the safety management cycle that the FMCSA has. There's a little wheel that they use. And so one of the things they talk about is hiring and qualification. So you need to be able to talk about here's how we hire, and here's how we qualify, here's how we monitor and track it, our policies and procedures, and who's responsible for that within our office. Does that make sense?

SPEAKER_02

That does make a lot of sense to me. So basically, what we're saying is that it's not the driver that exposes the problem first, it's the process. Claims, audits, growth, they all can reveal a weak onboarding system.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and I think that that's the first building block of your business foundation, really, is um bringing a driver in and making sure that you're qualifying them before you ever put them in a truck. That's the that's the you know, the qualification part, but you have to have uh the process and understanding who's responsible for qualifying the driver and making sure that driver stays qualified when they're employed with you.

SPEAKER_02

And a word that's come up already in the podcast a few times is repeatable. What does a repeatable onboarding process actually look like?

SPEAKER_01

That's a really great question. Um, again, we want to make sure that we have a procedure around hiring that we can apply to every single driver that comes to uh work for us, or when we recruit, that then comes to work for us, and that that process is the same each and every time. And there's really like two reasons why I think this is super important. Number one, you want to make sure that you are treating everybody the same from a labor law perspective, also just protection protecting your business. But if Bob from Dispatch or Jan from Safety is out and you have a driver coming in, someone should be able to step in and help get that driver qualified so you can put them in the truck faster and not wait for them to get back, you know, from vacation or a doctor's appointment or whatever the case might be. So that repeatable process is something that you do the same every time for every driver.

SPEAKER_02

So just to kind of sum up a little, if your process changes depending on who's doing the hiring, it really isn't a system. It's more of guesswork.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. And also then how do you know? Like if you don't have this process, that would that would indicate to me there's a lot of areas within your organization that probably need to be reviewed. We can't have somebody hiring somebody one way and somebody hiring somebody another way, and then we have two drivers that could be uh opening up risk and liability just because they don't have the proper paperwork in place to prove they're qualified to be in the truck they're driving in.

SPEAKER_02

That's a really good point. I think let's start out with step one of kind of the whole onboarding chain. And let's start the foundation, the driver application. What needs to be included and where do fleets um slip up during the driver application process?

SPEAKER_01

So a DOT driver application is different than a regular old employment application. There's questions that can be asked in a DOT driver application that cannot be asked in a regular employment application. And there's a bunch of stuff that we have to do after they fill out the application to prove they are or have done the things they said they did within the application. Um so making sure that you have a true DOT application for a CDL required driver is very important. I see very often that sometimes there's not an application in a driver file, or it's just an employment application. Um, so it isn't covering the items that need to be covered when we are qualifying a driver. So a driver application is very important. And then how we record keep that is very important as well. So a driver qualification file, one of the things that is required in a driver qualification file is the application, which you have to keep in that file after a termination for three years. So it's really an important piece of the driver qualification.

SPEAKER_02

Tina, who establishes that requirement? Is that the DOT? Is that the FMCSA?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, it's the FMCSA who's telling you what must be uh in an application that meets regulation. So there's a regulation around what you ask in an application for a CDL required drive.

SPEAKER_02

A big point I think we should point out as well is we want to make sure that those applications are complete.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, that's a really great point. And I'm glad you mentioned that. When I do audits for our Joe Morton um insureds, I see sometimes some applications that are not thoroughly completed, or there's parts that are missing, or oh, well, we needed to get them in the truck so we didn't do the yeah, I can't have that. We must have a complete application from top to bottom. Everybody signed. And then I would suggest after you get that application from a driver, you kind of audit the application to make sure you are not missing anything as a carrier.

SPEAKER_02

And this is where discipline really matters. Incomplete application shouldn't move forward, period. That's right. Next up, let's talk about the motor vehicle record or MVR. This is where a lot of fleets say, we'll review it case by case. Why can this be risky?

SPEAKER_01

Well, first of all, it doesn't meet regulation. So um the FMCSA has uh regulations around the motor vehicle record, uh must be pulled before you ever put a driver in the truck, must be kept in the driver file the whole entire term of employment, that initial MVR. Uh, and then you must, by regulation, pull an MVR annually at minimum. Um I personally would like to see a bi-annual pull uh at minimum because there are things that you will catch on an MVR that might have disqualified your driver that they didn't tell you about. And one of those things would be um if you don't pay child support, those states are uh downgrading CDLs. And so you have a driver that should not be in your truck. And sometimes how our carriers find out about that isn't because they pulled the MVR. It's because at the roadside inspection, the driver put, or mean the uh law enforcement officer put your driver out of service because he doesn't have a valid CDL anymore. So now we're talking about we've got a load stuck at a way station and a driver who can't who can't go any further. So the carrier has to get a new driver to that load. We got a ticked-off customer. We got a driver who thankfully didn't, you know, have an accident or something where he was not a qualified driver. So there's lots of reasons why MVRs are super important. And what I really would like folks to do is don't just pull the MVR. You have to have some standards around the MVR. So, what is acceptable to you as a carrier when you are looking at the MVR? What types of violations are absolutely not? We're gonna not hire this driver. Or how many violations do you allow? How many points do you allow? Um, what disqualifies this applicant from being a driver for you? Having that written down and applying it equally to every driver within the organization, very important. And a little bit farther on, we might be talking about, you know, the annual review. But I would say your minimum hiring standards on your MVR are the minimum standards those drivers need to meet when we're doing the annual review. And if you don't have that written down, there's a when we get to the annual review, I'll I'll get into that. But this is really important. What do you allow? And applying it equally to every driver within your fleet from an MVR perspective.

SPEAKER_02

Tina, just to take a step back, a question that may come up with some of our motor carriers, they will say, you know, hey, when you're working on my insurance quote or you're processing my renewal, you're pulling in an MVR, is that sufficient?

SPEAKER_01

No. It is your job as a motor carrier to meet regulation. So the reason why your insurance carrier might be pulling that MVR is different than the reason why you are pulling that MVR. And why you as a carrier are pulling the MVR is number one, it's required by regulation. And number two, you want to ensure the driver meets your minimum standards. Not just meets your insurance minimum standards, but your minimum standards. Does that make sense?

SPEAKER_02

Makes absolute sense. So just to kind of recap, like we said before, regulation requires a motor carrier to do that at least once a year. We would suggest doing that twice a year just to check something that may come up midway through the year that may disqualify your driver. You know, and so instead of opinions, kind of what we've talked about here with the MVR, motor carriers really need written standards when it comes to what they will allow with their drivers, the max violations, points limits, and clear disqualifiers, and need to make sure that they're applying that the same with every single driver that they employ.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, one of the things that I just want to mention that we hear about is negligent hiring as being an issue for uh folks who get in an accident and someone gets hurt or there's a fatality. This would fall under that negligent hiring standard. So we would want to make sure that we have those written standards and we can prove through documentation that we care about following the regulations and putting safe drivers on the road.

SPEAKER_02

Now let's dig in a little bit to the past employer verification or the safety performance history. What should carriers be doing here?

SPEAKER_01

So we talked a little bit about that application being different for a truck driver. And um one of the items that are different is the safety performance history request. So we are actually asking our drivers and CDL holders to give us who they worked for before so that we can reach out to those folks and find out about their performance. Uh, it is required by regulation that when you receive that information from an applicant, you reach out to their former employers and verify their employment information. Um it's a lot easier nowadays than it was when I first started out, you know, back in the early 2000s, um, because we can communicate so effectively, so quickly. I don't have to fax anybody anymore. I don't even know if anybody faxes anymore. Maybe they do, maybe they don't. I sure don't.

SPEAKER_02

We do have a fax machine in our office. I don't know how often it gets used, but there is one located in our So office.

SPEAKER_01

You know, you hear that noise. So, anyway, um here's the thing about your safety performance records request or your history request. When you are reached, you receive this, it is your responsibility as a carrier to ask those previous employers. You can easily email them how you need to do this to protect yourself as a carrier is you need to you need to request this three times in 30 days. So if you don't get a response from the previous employer, the second time you ask, you say, you know, requesting John Smith information, request number two in the subject line, and then request number three in the subject line, because you have to prove that you did your due diligence in requesting the information even if you don't get it in return. And you as a motor carrier need to be uh responding to requests that you receive from your driver or former driver um his application that they are requesting from you. A little story I have around this. Formerly worked with a very large um motor carrier um that provided utility services all across um the United States. And they were in a little teeny tiny town, and they had, I don't even know, probably 2,500 uh drivers, all types of drivers. Some were in CDL required vehicles, some were not in it was a regulated but not CDL required vehicle, and some in sedans. Long story short, they had a competitor in that little tiny town who had, I don't know, maybe 30 trucks doing the same type of business. And the big carrier was not returning those safety performance requests within 30 days. Sometimes it was 35 days, sometimes it was 40 days, sometimes it was 32 days, and every single time they didn't respond within 30 days, that little company reported them to the FMCSA and they got audited because they didn't respond in a timely manner. Do I think that would happen very often? No, but I saw with my own eyes that my customer got audited because they did not respond to those in a timely manner. So make sure, as you would expect someone to respond to you in a timely manner, that you are responding to them in a timely manner as well.

SPEAKER_02

That is a great point. And you know, kind of like what we said, this is big. You know, it's not necessarily about getting the responses, but you want to make sure that you're able to prove that you tried to obtain that information from their previous employers.

SPEAKER_01

And the reason I say three times is that it's not like a written regulation, but what I have seen and everyone that I know who deals in safety and compliance have seen is that is the standard that the FMCSA really is looking for during an audit that you have reached out three times to try to get that information. So I didn't just pull that number out of my you know what, it's actually something that um I have seen from a from a regulatory perspective.

SPEAKER_02

Great point. Okay, so this next step we're gonna talk about isn't technically required, but still considered critical, and that's the pre-employment screening report or PSP report. Why should this be a non-negotiable in your process?

SPEAKER_01

So it's funny that we have this happening right now. I actually met with um one of our insureds today and discussed the PSP pre-employment screen process. This is really important when you are hiring. Um so last, if you didn't get a chance to listen to our first podcast, we talk a little bit about the seven basics and how you get safety scores, warnings, violations, um, any interaction really you have with law enforcement plus crashes is how you get your score. And the PSP report is different than a motor vehicle record. A motor vehicle record is when you are looking at convictions or reasons why that CDL might be downgraded. The PSP report is you as a motor carrier, you pay 10 bucks to the FMCSA, and you are able to see the habits or the performance that your candidate has had. Three years of that performance from a warning ticket, law enforcement perspective, and five years from crash information. So, what this does is really help you understand is this driver a good fit? Maybe he has some bad habits, but through policy, procedure, orientation, trainings, we can turn that bad habit around. Or maybe you can say, oof, I don't want to take this on. So remember, again, last podcast we talked about that you, as a carrier, keep the score for 24 months. One of the things I hear often is, I fired that guy. Why do I still get to keep his score? Well, you hired him in the first place. That's why you get to keep his score for 24 months. So this PSP report is so important because it will help you identify. Whether or not you want to take on the chances of this driver messing up your scores for the next 24 months. So I really believe a PSP is indispensable, super important. I would not um hire anybody until I did that $10 PSP check. Now, we talked a little bit about the MVR and our hiring uh qualifications are minimum standards. You would also want to have those minimum standards around the PSP as well. Simply stating and documenting, these are the things that are non-negotiable that we saw on a PSP. So sorry, you know, you're not going to be a candidate for us. Applying those standards, repeatable standards, to every single person that you hire in the same way.

SPEAKER_02

So the PSP, it's really about visibility when it's coming to crashes and inspections and could potentially help you defend your decision later, your hiring decision.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I think that's a really great point. So also from an insurance perspective, yeah, it's going to help you defend that hiring decision in the case of an incident or an accident where someone gets hurt or there's some significant physical damage or something like that. But also, you know, making sure that you're protecting yourself. I think that that's the key there. The PSP is very important from an insurance perspective. Because if you want to hire a driver that has a crappy PSP, you're taking on some, you know, chances for some significant rate increases because underwriters are looking at that driver performance on the road. And if you're hiring a driver that isn't performing the way they should in the past, why are you going to take that on and maybe increase your insurance rates on top of increasing your risk because this driver has a history of bad habits?

SPEAKER_02

Let's talk about two steps that completely stop the process: the clearinghouse and pre-employment drug testing. What do motor carriers need to get right here?

SPEAKER_01

Well, I think you need, first of all, let's talk about drug testing. By regulation, you are required to have a DOT regulation-based policy that outlines what are we testing for, how are we testing, why are we testing, and what happens if you pop positive on a test. And when I say pop positive, right, you're clearly you've got some sort of impairment. And folks have to have in that policy, um, this is what we will, if you, if you do pop positive, either we will terminate you, or you get a second chance and you go through the uh substance abuse program with a substance abuse professional. And that substance abuse program, um there are tests that are required that that happen randomly, that the um trucker has to pass before they will say, Yep, you can return to duty, you've made it through this program, and we believe you won't, you know, re-offend. I don't know that's the right term, but you get what I'm saying here. So that is the first part, right? The drug testing. We have a policy that policy states we're going to do a pre-employment screening. And that's kind of what we're really going to focus on today. Every driver must have a clean pre-employment drug screen before you even let them do a road test. No one gets in your truck unless they have a clean pre-employment screen. And everybody is treated the same way. This is where it gets dicey when you have family who are driving your trucks for you, and you don't apply your policy the same way to every single driver. I don't care who you are. If you don't have a clean drug screen, you don't get in my truck, even for a road test. So that's the first step. Um, then the clearinghouse. So again, in our previous podcast, we touched on the clearinghouse. Um clearinghouse is the repository repository, a database where all failed, refused, and return-to-duty tests live. So, what does that mean when we're hiring a driver? Not only can a driver not get in my truck without a clean drug test, a driver cannot get in my truck without a clean clearinghouse full inquiry. So when a driver applies to your company, that driver needs to be sure he or she is enrolled in the clearinghouse. And you, as a carrier, have to do that full query where you say, I would like to hire Stephanie. Clearinghouse tell Stephanie I want to hire her, and I have to do that full query. The clearinghouse sends Stephanie an email that says, Tina Jensen wants to check on your clearinghouse uh status. Yes or no. There's a green yes and a yellow no. Stephanie clicks the green yes, and I have a clear clearinghouse query that I'm going to put in her file that qualifies her to get in my truck and do the road test.

SPEAKER_02

So no clearinghouse query, no road test, no negative drug test, no dispatch, no exceptions.

SPEAKER_01

No exceptions. This is super important. If you would like to have a civil penalty, or if you like it the way you look in orange, or if you'd like to lose your business, put a driver who's under the influence in your truck.

SPEAKER_02

Now that we're getting into driver qualification, medical cards, and road testing, what should fleets be paying attention to here?

SPEAKER_01

So let's talk about the road test first. We know we have a driver who doesn't who has a clean test before uh a clean drug test before he's gotten in our truck. We've got the clear the querying the clearinghouse query back. We're gonna hire this driver. You can accept a CDL in lieu of a road test. I feel like that's really dumb because we don't know if this person can drive your equipment up to your standards, which you should have written, and follow a written road test. So when this driver comes to you, he's passed all the tests. Now you're gonna say, I need you to do a road test. I need you to prove that you can drive the truck I'm putting you in. Your road test should have that pre-trip as part of your road test, which we talked about in our past podcast. And then we need to make sure this driver can actually drive our truck. If the driver can drive our truck, awesome. We're gonna sign off on that road test, and that's gonna become part of our driver qualification file. Should be in your checklist. You should have a procedure that discusses how that road test is gonna look, who's gonna conduct it, how that road test is gonna conduct it, gonna be conducted, and you need to make sure that every driver uses the same road test every single time. I can't give Stephanie a different road test than I give Tina. You can't do that. Um that way, you shouldn't do that. The regulations state everybody has to be looking the same every time. Okay. So that's from a road test perspective. As far as your medical card goes, well, they should be bringing you a med card that is um not expired, it is valid, and you need to look at that med card and see um, does this driver, with whatever health challenges he or she might have, fit your business needs? So if we got a guy who's 250 pounds and you're a flatbed hauler and he's gonna be climbing on and off that flatbed and and you know, throwing straps over and cranking straps, that might be a really hard job for that guy. Physically, can he handle it? Making sure that med card meets the requirements of the job, very important. Making sure the med card is valid and has been conducted by a physician on the national registry is required. So before this driver works for you, we need a road test and we need a valid med card that meets your minimum requirements that you have written down and that you are applying to everybody in the same way.

SPEAKER_02

This is where tracking matters. Having expiration date, verified examiners, and documented road test results. For some drivers, there's also entry-level driver training requirements, and then everything comes together in the driver qualification file. What does a complete file actually look like?

SPEAKER_01

So one of the things we didn't touch on that I'm going to touch on really quick is English language proficiency. Um, I'm going to suggest that if you have drivers that English is not their first language, that you conduct an English language proficiency exam. So I know we're talking about, we're we're trying to wrap up like what a final DQ file looks like, but this is a part of qualifying a driver that today is way more important than it ever has been. So I'm just gonna quick go off topic a little bit because Okay. And that's why you're here because you always keep me right back on topic. But I think this is super important. So I'll bring you back in once you finish this because it is an important topic. So again, if English is not your first language, the requirements by regulation state that a driver must be able to be proficient in reading, writing, and communicating, speaking in English. That is because our road signs are in English. Communicating with our law enforcement folks needs to be done in English. And we had always had this regulation on the books, but recently they started enforcing it. So many folks are seeing drivers get put out of service because they don't have English language proficiency. We're not saying they have to be fluent in English, it has to be proficient in English. So one of the things I recommend, and I have a sample test that I provide some of our insureds so that they can conduct this exam before they ever put this driver in their truck. There are a number of questions I have them ask the driver in English that would be similar to questions that they'll be getting from law enforcement. And then the signs. So I think I have, I don't know, 40, I don't know, between 30 and 40 signs on the exam. And these drivers need to be able to articulate what each what each sign is and means in English. So um I had some of our producers once say to me, I feel like that's cheating. No, it is not cheating. It is you doing your due diligence as a carrier, ensuring that your driver is proficient in English. What I recommend is we conduct that test as part of our employment um strategy. And then the date they took the test, we we sign it and date it. The driver signs and dates it. I think it's important for two reasons. One, protection for from risk for ourselves as a carrier. But number two, I have to think if because you know, I only speak English. So if I was going somewhere else and um I knew just enough to be proficient and I I had to, you know, do a test, I probably would be super nervous. So I feel like if you have a driver and they're at a roadside inspection and the officer is conducting this test, and you were able to conduct this test and say they are proficient, I would recommend saying to the law enforcement officer, hey, on this date, I conducted this test and they were proficient. I'm sure they're super nervous and worried. That's a, I mean, that's a lot of stress. Can we give them a minute and can you reconduct that exam? I have to think that the majority, if not all, of law enforcement would completely be on board with that. They don't want to put somebody out of service if they don't have to. So including the ELP English language proficiency test as part of qualifying your driver, English as their second language, is very important. Two, what does a complete driver file look like? Okay. So, real quick, I'm just going to touch on entry-level driver training. That's ELDT. Um now we we have requirements where we would not most likely insure someone who had just gone through entry-level driver training, but you can hire a driver that has just gone through entry-level driver training. There are requirements that they have to meet, and where they got their training has to meet those requirements so that they can get their CDL. Those requirements would be part of your driver qualification file. Because that's something we don't normally deal with. We're just going to say that and move on from there to what the final file needs to look like. So the final file needs to have a complete application that is filled out from start to finish. The application needs to have the MVR initial poll MVR that you keep inside of the file forever and ever. The driver file needs to have the safety performance records request, either with the response from the previous employer or with your three documented tries to get the response from the employer. It has to have, well, it doesn't have to have, but we would love for it to have the PSP report so that you know this is somebody that meets your culture and uh is a driver that you want to take on their habits. The file needs to have the proof of the pre-employment screen that is negative, as well as your clearinghouse query. It needs to have the med card, the initial med card, and either the completed road test or a form that you have signed that says I accepted his CDL in lieu of a road test. So you can't just have nothing. You either have to have the completed road test or the form saying you accept the CDL in lieu of a road test and English language proficiency testing if it applies. Now we've got this file all assembled. Okay. We need to have somebody within our organization audit the file to initial that it has been completed and the file is complete. Once that is done, you can put the driver in the truck.

SPEAKER_02

We did just touch over a lot of items that some are required and some that we highly recommend be included in the file. Would you say that a checklist helps with this?

SPEAKER_01

You must have a checklist because how else do you know if you have completed anything? But the FMCSA did a super awesome job creating a checklist that not only tells you what you need to have in the initial file, but how long you need to keep each thing. And then it has an ongoing update piece of the checklist that says when do you need to pull the MVR and how long do you need to keep that MVR in the file? Or when um can you get rid of a med card? So all the things that need to be in the file, this the FMCSA checklist is what I use to audit our insured's files because if the FMCSA says it needs to be in there, then that's what needs to be in there, right? So from a risk perspective, using a checklist to create a file is super important. And as an aside, I would recommend that we have a driver qualification file with all the things that are required by the FMCSA, and then that we have a driver employment file where we put our signed policies and procedures, training records, their uniform information, their I9 stuff, their payroll stuff, because too often I see driver files that have so much stuff in them that aren't related to keeping the driver properly credentialed to be in the truck. It's way too messy. And you can get audited on the stuff that's in that DQ file. So I'm gonna recommend you keep those two things separate as a protective measure. But um, that is why I think a checklist is very important. This is what's in the driver qualification file. Here's how long I have to keep everything within that driver qualification file and keeping up to date on what those things are. Again, let's go let's go back to repeatable. If you don't have a checklist, how do you know you can apply this repeatable thing the same way to every driver that you hire? Let's call it out.

SPEAKER_02

Where do most motor carriers drop the ball?

SPEAKER_01

I would say that we have incomplete applications. That's number one, which then means that we don't do safety performance record request. But the biggest one that I'm seeing is we are not doing pre-employment drug screens before we dispatch a driver on the road or do clearinghouse checks to make sure they aren't an impaired driver. I would say that those are the areas that I see the most when we're when we're first hiring a driver. When we talk about dropping the ball, it is making sure we're pulling an annual MVR at minimum. Most folks know that, but a lot of times they're just not doing it. And I understand, I always say the urgent gets in front of the important every day. But you cannot have an expired med card out there on the road. This driver could be medically disqualified. And if there's an accident and you don't know that, you are liable as a carrier.

SPEAKER_02

Absolutely. So the incomplete verifications, missing documentation, expired med cards, and of course the classic, we'll get to it later.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, the minute you, the minute you allow, we'll get to it later. Again, like I said, the urgent gets in front of the important. So I know everybody's putting out fires and they're spinning plates and they're trying to get everything done that needs to get done in a day. But you lose everything if you have a disqualified driver driving your truck and he or she gets into an accident. Everything that you are putting fires out for are gone because that driver never should have been in the truck in the first place.

SPEAKER_02

Where do I start when I want to build a standard operating procedure or SOP?

SPEAKER_01

So, first thing I would do is go to the FMCSA's website and look at the safety management cycle. We talked about that a little earlier in the podcast. The safety management cycle is a little cycle with arrows that tell you you start with policies and procedures and you go to training and communication and roles and responsibilities, who is responsible for what within your organization are. So using that safety management cycle to build your SOPs, right? So it will help you define your hiring standards. You as a carrier need to decide what are your minimum hiring standards, and how do you keep how do you ensure that your drivers are meeting those? And making sure everybody within your organization understands there's no room, there's no wiggle room here. I don't care if you've known him for 25 years, he doesn't meet our minimum hiring standards, so he's not getting hired, right? So we need to articulate to ourselves what are what our minimum hiring standards are. Roles and responsibilities. Again, part of the safety management cycle. The FMC expects you're going to have those in as part of your organization. Who's responsible for what? And I would always recommend somebody is cross-trained again, because if you're out and you need to hire a driver, they need to know what they're doing. That's where the checklist comes in handy. Um, um tracking and auditing is very important. So we've hired this driver. Where is he in the process? Do we have the safety performance records request? Has he has he done that pre-employment drug screen? Do we have his clearinghouse information? Is his med card valid? Um, is his driver's license uh CDL? Is it valid? So making sure we're following that checklist um is gonna help you build those SOPs. But I think it's really important that you use that safety management cycle that they are giving you and saying, here's what we expect you have to build those policies and procedures.

SPEAKER_02

And this is key. One person owns the process.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. So who's gonna sit in a deposition chair? Who's gonna be responsible for um, you know, answering the question if there is an accident? Um, or if you have a even your drivers are asking you questions. Who can they go to, right? So I think that's really important. One person owns the process, even though there are more than one who can conduct the process in the case that somebody isn't available when you want to hire a driver, but there's one person who is responsible. Does that make sense? It does make sense. Okay, definitely.

SPEAKER_02

Now let's talk about the final checkpoint, and that's dispatch. When should a driver actually be cleared to hit the road?

SPEAKER_01

So we talked about making sure that driver driver qualification file is complete. We have a complete driver qualification file. We have a negative drug screen, we have the clearing house full query completed. I would also recommend that before we dispatch, we have sent that driver through our orientation whatever it looks like. Who do you talk to if you have questions about payroll? What happens if something goes wrong when you're on the road? Who's the mechanic or who will help um, you know, answer those vehicle maintenance challenge questions. Um, so making sure our drivers have an understanding of, but I remember the old-fashioned way they say who's who in the zoo. My gosh, I heard that for 15 years. Anyway, your drivers need to know that before they ever get on the road. So you want to make sure drivers are completely credentialed properly to be in the truck in which you have them. Then they can be dispatched.

SPEAKER_02

So no truck moves until everything is complete with assigned approval. That's your control point. Absolutely. Now, Tina, as motor carriers grow, this can definitely get harder for them to manage. What should operations be doing to stay ahead of problems?

SPEAKER_01

Okay, so I'm gonna recommend nobody grow until they actually have a foundation in place that includes all the things we've been talking about today. You cannot grow without a foundation because you'd think if I I have four drivers and I've gone to six drivers, now it's only two times the work. No, no, it's like 60% more work. So you need to have um audits, self-audits, where you are every quarter making sure your files are completed, that you're not missing any ongoing updates. Um I would suggest if you're under five, this is probably something you can do with paper, with spreadsheets, with calendars, those types of things. But after that, you're gonna need some uh outside help, probably, whether it is a software program that will help you with alerts when things are due, and you can electronically manage those driver files. Um, I would say that that's one way to do it. Uh again, operations need to follow policy, procedure, and when you're doing those quarterly audits, making sure that you're still able to make those policies and procedures work. You might need to tweak your policies and procedures as well, depending on the needs of your business.

SPEAKER_02

Quarterly audits, random file reviews, and scaling your process as your fleet grows, that's what keeps you protected. That's right. So here's the big takeaway. From new hire to road ready, nothing should be accidental because onboarding isn't just paperwork, it's risk management. If you can defend the hire, you can defend the fleet. And the fleets that grow successfully aren't the ones that move fastest, they're the ones that stay consistent. And before we wrap up, it's time for our diesel tip of the week. Build a no dispatch without approval rule into your operation. Create a simple dispatch clearance form that confirms every onboarding step is complete and require a signature before any load is assigned. It removes guesswork, enforces accountability, and protects you when it matters most. Because the most expensive mistake you can make is putting the wrong driver on the road too soon. And that wraps up this episode of Driven by Diesel. If today's conversation helped you tighten up your process, reduce risk, or rethink how you onboard drivers, be sure to follow the show and share it with someone in your cab or your crew. New episodes drop regularly with practical insight you can actually use. Until next time, drive safe, stay informed, and keep moving forward.

SPEAKER_00

Material is intended to be a broad overview that's provided for informational purposes only.