Driver facing camera

Share the numbers.

 

Insurance costs is the reason fleets self insure, and the fact the trucks can sit without paying exhorbitant insurance, it has nothing to do with accidents, heck I know farms and private folks that self insure. I would myself if I could afford it.

I will sure admit the country is in one heck of a state, but blaming it on boomers, is a stretch, just think what kind of state it would be in if we implement the policies of todays nutcases.

 

Almost all large fleets self insure. The ones that don't are so anal retentive on hiring a person has to almost walk on water to get hired. Insurance covers the risks. A carrier can park a tractor and there is no risk. Once placed on the road that risk is back. Accident costs have to be paid. This means making the not at fault vehicle/s whole as well as fixing your own equipment. This also means cleanups. I have seen a bill for a clean up in California that was almost 25K. The insurance underwriter eats all of these costs. In trucking this underwriter most times is the company. That right fender, fuel tank or that right side front panel that a driver takes off during a back that did not GOAL has to be paid for. Most carriers have some form of a body shop. My point is accidents has everything to do with the cost of doing business. Notice I said right side? This seems to be where the majority of tractor damage is done. Walk in most any truck stop parking lot and you will see all kinds of right side damage. You go back 40 years you did not see this, granted these guys were in cabovers, but the principle is the same. Of course, there are good safe drivers operating CMVs today. My argument is as a whole this percentage is MUCH smaller than it was 40 years ago.

I took the time to ask a friend of mine that works in a top 10 megacarrier about this insurance cost thing. What I heard was, Mike if you break down our CPM (cost per mile) using regular underwritten insurance vs us underwriting, the costs were almost triple. They simply can't not underwrite and stay in business. Yes carriers do buy regular insurance. However, these carriers can't employ these problem drivers. <<<Is one of the true reasons that in some parts of this business there is a real driver shortage.

 

Basically what I am saying, it is the cost of insurance that drives companies to self insure. Any mega has a 1000 or more trucks sitting on any given day, if they were not self insured they would be paying insurance on these. That is the only reason lease companies like landstar can let oo's do there own thing and take time off, and I assure you they will not put bad risk drivers on.