CSA 2010: The data

I believe most of you are referring to the new pre-employment screening program and not CSA. Roadside inspection data and traffic citations will stay with you for 3 years, and crash data for five. I am not sure if equipment violations (missing mudflap) are even reported on this, but let's assume they are. I saw nothing on the PSP site about any type of point system. It appears only be a way to obtain your driving record.

http://www.psp.fmcsa.dot.gov/Pages/FAQ.aspx

CSA ranks CARRIERS in 7 different areas, and intervenes when a carrier is deficient in one of these areas. No "score" is established for drivers under CSA. If the DOT is already taking enforcement action against a carrier, individual drivers that are particularly/acutely deficient in one of these areas MAY also receive enforcement action.

There is no way to view individual driver information from other companies. Prospective employers would have no way to view your violations on the CSA site.

If I hire a new driver, I absolutely do not inherit their violations over the past 2 years. The only violations that I am concerned with are those that occur while someone is working for me.

You can read all of this for yourself at http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/Documents/CSA2010_DriverFactSheet.pdf.

It is great that drivers are taking this program seriously. I think many drivers and some companies are going a bit overboard with their reactions. No laws have been changed in conjunction with CSA. They have only changed what they do with the data. Also remember the focus is the behaviors that cause crashes. The facts are on the CSA website. Get your information there, not at the truckstop.

Also, I don't really appreciate the implication that I don't understand this because I work in an office and not in a truck. I have 50 trucks to worry about. I have 50 drivers that I have to coach to do things correctly to keep my CSA score in line. I am not some fly by night unsafe company. In fact, my company will be honored at the TCA conference for the lowest accident frequency among companies our size.

http://www.truckload.org/index.asp?bid=10&nid=213&archiveyear=2011

We do not have a computer telling us which drivers to hire. All drivers are screened and then interviewed. We have low turnover and try to add only one or two drivers a month. We closely watch their progress over the first 6 months of employment. It is not uncommon for a driver to fail to make it 6 months either because they feel we are too strict, or we feel they are not performing.

Don't assume all companies have no regard for their drivers or their safety record. I would never instruct a driver to do something that would put them or another motorist in real danger. Driving 5 miles without a mudflap is not dangerous.

 

Well, according to them, it is. Everything is. They have very broad categories. For mudflaps specifically, they are there to prevent rocks and debris from being thrown up. If I run over a rock, it hits someone's windshield, and they wreck as a result, I'd call that dangerous. Unlikely, but dangerous. Hell, there was a young mother killed when a chunk of concrete run over by a little Toyota went through the windshield of the pickup she was riding in just recently. You better believe that if that was a truck that threw that chunk up, they'd be looking for a reason to prosecute the driver. If he happened to have no mudflap, they'd nail him, and if they found out you told him to drive without it, they'd nail you just as hard.

 

I am not disagreeing with what you are saying. However, running a business, being a truck driver, pretty much anything you do involves a mental calculation of risk and reward. If I only look at possible outcomes, and not likelihood, I certainly would not own a trucking company. It is possible that one of my trucks will be involved in an accident every time they leave the yard. It is not very likely that they will get in an accident so we do everything in our power to ensure this doesn't happen, and send them on their way. Look beyond crazy worst case scenarios.

 

I can't get reimbursed even for a stupid License plate light bulb ($1.29 at the TA) I have to get them to call in a PO...I asked today if I could get a couple extra on said PO ... Nope....

The "is not" "is too" "is not" "is too" conversation with ol' desk jockey would make me laugh if I weren't too busy crying. We drivers have to get "safety updates" every 9 months or so. The company safety director and logging guru and shop chief spend about 4 hours haranguing us about safe and legal, and then the driver manager/desk jockey pulls this stuff on the real side of things.

Just as an aside.... of the lights I had out in my original question, one was the front top clearance...needed a ladder to change, and one was just a bulb ... coulda done it if I'd had a bulb.... and one was the whole fixture was broken...probably coulda done that one too, if I'ld had the fixture.

And...finally, I have replaced a mudflap with a bath rug and duct tape.... it passed!

 

It is ridiculous if your company makes it difficult for you to make repairs your are capable of such as changing lights. I prefer drivers to carry spare lights and tools.

 

Do you think it is up to the driver to decide on the safety issues or do you believe the company should be the final say?

 

That is a little tricky to answer without a specific issue. I think carriers need to find drivers that share their outlook on safety, and vice versa. Hopefully, this will avoid differences in opinion. That being said, the driver ultimately has the final say coming from the ability to refuse to drive. If a driver wants the final word on all situations, they should definitely buy their own truck and possibly get their own authority.

Roadmedic--from earlier threads I believe you are an ind cont, but I could be wrong. If your choice was to run 5 mi without a mudflap on your truck, or pay $300 for a service call what would you do? This is sometimes a difficult scenario for company drivers to understand because it is not their money.

I do get where drivers are coming from and the wisdom in protecting your CDL. I know a lot of you feel that your company doesn't care about you and that is unfortunate. It really turns into an us against them mentality. We see our drivers as part of a team and respect their opinions. They are definitely more than a steering wheel holder to us. It makes it a little difficult to understand some of the opinions that are decidedly anti management. I am not trying to somehow take advantage of my drivers.

 

I am an independent. I have worked with several companies as one of their company drivers.

It is a simple question.

It is up to the driver to determine whether the vehicle is safe to be driven.

I was stopped by a Texas trooper because I lost a mudflap. He ticketed me and told me I had to immediately fix it. This was back in 2006.

If the driver determines in their mind, that the lights on the trailer are a safety issue, then it should be serviced by the company. The same with a mud flap.

I see where you are coming from as well, but the driver should be the one to determine the risk of the ticket and other issues. It is my source of income, just like the truck and trailer are yours.

Saying that you will pay the ticket means nothing with the way things are today.

Sorry to be this way, the government and their enforcement program is the reason I will risk nothing to save a buck for the company. My license and job history is very important.

I will never move a trailer I determine to be not safe.

 

As I said, I understand that position. Being independent ensures you have that option. We also don't do much drop and hook. So most of our trailers are in the yard. Fortunately, we don't run into these problems too often.

As a side note, this type of discussion is exactly why I joined this forum. I get to know what other drivers experience. Also, my drivers might be hesitant to make waves with the boss. It is good to hear about these things from a different perspective.

 

Yes, I am now an Independent. I have worked as a company driver with several different companies.

The last one, I was picking a trailer up at the shipper dock. I hooked up and pulled it out and shut the doors. Pretrip found no brake lights.

The company said, bring it in. It had been scavenged. It would have been easier to have them come to me for the risk to the driver. But they rather have the driver bring it in.

I have nothing against companies, but I feel most do whatever they can and care nothing about what the risk the driver takes.