Many of Trucking Insurance Services' client ask the question: "How will CSA 2010 affect the employment of drivers?" So we asked our friends at National Fleet Services and USDOT to comment. We encourage our clients to visit the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ("FMCSA") website as the official resource for the CSA 2010 program at
http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov
The FMCSA will continue to enforce the CSA 2010 program holding carriers responsible for safety of all operating equipment; practices and procedures; and yes
for the drivers they employ. Nothing has really changed in the FMCSA's position. However, the FMCSA will track and evaluate all inspections and crashes that a driver receives while operating under the authority of a carrier. Therefore, the activities of the driver (unsafe or otherwise) will remain part of the carrier's SMS data for two (2) years unless overturned through the DataQs system, even if the carrier terminate the driver.
So what to do? Do your homework. We suggest working with a compliance consultant to score drivers past operating performance around safety assuming that the drive will continue his/her operating performance in the future. The decisions made today will impact your future scores for many periods to come.
Trucking Insurance Services LLC