When you own a moving company, there aren’t many things more important than making sure your drivers live up to your company’s standards of integrity. Obviously, there are federal rules and regulations in place for your drivers to adhere to while operating your commercial vehicles. However, what if they have a less than desirable personal driving record that you know little about? If an employee gets into an accident that results in a liability claim being filed on your moving company insurance, you may wish you had an internal policy in place.
Having an internal policy regarding employee personal driving records is important for any moving company because it allows owners to gauge when the time is right to part ways with an employee. The FMCSA requires that all businesses that use CMVs to implement annual driving record reviews to take note of any tickets or citations they incurred using their personal vehicle. An employee may have gotten five speeding tickets last year, and without an annual review, you may never know this. This makes the annual review all the more important. When it comes time toperform an employee driving record review, here are some incidents to look out for that may impact your driver’s status:
• Excessive speeding tickets: Over the last twelve months, one of your employees may have gotten a lot of speeding tickets. Would you want this person continuing to operate your vehicles? While they may have never gotten a speeding ticket operating your vehicles, it probably means they just haven’t been caught yet.
• Driving to endanger: Driving to endanger can mean anything from doubling the speed limit, switching lanes dangerously or getting too close to another vehicle. Driving to endanger is a misdemeanor in Massachusetts and result in penalties such as tickets, fines and even jail time depending on the circumstances.
• Driving under the influence: While it’s likely that you would find out if an employee was pulled over for driving under the influence outside of work hours, it is possible something like this could slip through the cracks. By going over your employee’s driving record, you will be able to see any citations or instances of a possible DUI – even if they were not convicted.
• Hit and run: A hit and run can either be a minor or serious offense depending on the situation. However, whether or not your driver hit a pole or parked car and drove away or struck a pedestrian, a hit and run is not something you’ll want to see on their driving record. Hit and run shows that a person lacks responsibility when it comes to being involved in an accident.
Having internal standards for employees in place is necessary for any company that utilizes CMVs to conduct business. By having an internal policy in place, you’ll be able to effectively manage your drivers and what they do on the road, whether it’s operating your company vehicles or their own. For more questions on annual driving record reviews, feel free to contact our movers insurance agency today.