How to Use a Checklist to Avoid Costly Driver Hiring Mistakes

Any driver hired could represent a multi-million-dollar negligent hiring lawsuit. You can reduce that risk by using a hiring checklist to avoid pitfalls in five key areas.

1. Driver application

The regulated driver application is an investigative roadmap for new hires.

Common application errors include:

• The application is missing, partially completed, or not compliant with 391.21. This happens most often with drivers who are:
  • Long tenured,
  • Part of an acquisition,
  • Leased from a temporary agency,
  • Office employees who fill in occasionally, or
  • Transitioned from a non-regulated role like a warehouse person.
• The driver did not sign the application before the first dispatch.
• Omissions of critical information like regulated employers or prior residences in the prior three years.

2. Driver background investigation/Safety performance history

Avoid these prior employer investigation mistakes:

• Failure to inform a driver of their due process rights to review information found in the new-hire screening process. Notification up front is critical if you receive adverse information and choose not to hire the person.
• Failure to question the driver about greater than 30-day employment gaps. These periods could be due to alleged self-employment, a license suspension, or incarceration.
• Not obtaining the safety performance history within 30 days after the hire date.
• Making only one attempt to verify prior employer dates of employment and accidents.
• Disregarding the driver having several employers in 3 years during a driver shortage.

3. Motor vehicle records (MVRs)

An expert should review MVRs. The person must know the state codes and the differences between various states’ MVRs. If they are not knowledgeable, they may overlook the following items:

• Improper licensing for the driver’s assigned vehicle or operation, such as:
  • Intrastate restriction for an interstate driver,
  • Wrong license class,
  • Missing endorsement, or
  • Restricted/suspended/revoked license.
• Failure to transfer the license to a new state of residency within 30 days.

4. Medical certification

Common mistakes when documenting a driver’s medical certification include:

• Not verifying the medical examiner's listing on the National Registry for new hires when a current medical card is accepted, as well as after each exam (CDL and non-CDL).
• Failing to request a CDL MVR at the time of hire or within 15 days of each DOT exam.
• Incorrect CDL driver self-certification for the type of driving and medical certification. For example, the MVR may show as "Excepted Interstate," but the driver is not exempt from medical certification requirements.

5. Road test

Road tests are a carrier's seal of approval that a driver can operate their commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safely. Errors or omissions when assessing a potential driver’s skills include:

• No remedial training to correct skill deficiencies noted during the test.
• A missing road test certificate and/or evaluation sheet.
• Tests are part of, not before, the first dispatch, such as while delivering loads.
• The test was not in a vehicle like the one the driver was assigned, such as testing in a straight truck when driving a combination tractor-trailer is part of the driver’s role.
• Inconsistent enforcement of testing standards between applicants.

In closing, reduce the risk of negligent hiring claims by using a hiring checklist for every driver who will operate a CMV for your company.