Driver Turnover Rates

I'm actually looking at DOT foods too (Ardmore) and I've heard their "low" turnover rate numbers and they seem unusually low in the trucking industry even though they are more like a "private carrier".

A company that has taken care of their drivers and has grown slowly, but steadily over the course of 5..10 years could possibly manage 8.6%. To the student hiring, like was said, I think a lot of companies figure they can "mold" younger employees to their way of doing things ... for better or for worse.

Plus I think DOT foods would do a lot of breaking down products and throwing a lot of pallets which is would be better suited to "younger, stronger backs" which at a healthy 50, I'm not sure how long I could do that day in and day out. I suspect they have a "very intensive" physical strength and agility pre-screen process that culls out many up front.

 

The ATA usually keeps track of turnover rates for this industry. The last time that I can recall the turnover rate they published was 136%. That would be primarily for larger carriers since those are the ones most likely to be members of the ATA.

 

And where in that does does it display a driver's CSA score to a hiring carrier?

 

It doesn't. However, part of CSA is the Pre-employment Screening Program (PSP) report. It's always available to you (for $10 quickly or free under a FOIA request - much longer,) but part of any employer's paperwork will be an authorization for them to access your PSP as part of the background check.

It won't be much longer until there isn't a carrier that doesn't know about this...

 

I've looked at my PSP ... I wonder if a driver would get "credit" for driver/vehicle/hazmat inspections and their were NO violations? i.e. is it in a driver's [future] best interest to roll across an inspection hoping (assuming) he/she will "pass"?

If they are just going to be looking for violations, and don't give the driver credit for inspections with NO violations, this going to cause a lot of drivers to sit and wait or find a way around known inspection stations that are open to avoid the "future hiring risk" if something is found in violation and written up. And we all know there is not a truck/driver log out there that could not be in violation, somewhere, if a cop was diligent enough or wanted to be a hard-###.

 

I've looked at my PSP ... I wonder if a driver would get "credit" for driver/vehicle/hazmat inspections and their were NO violations? i.e. is it in a driver's [future] best interest to roll across an inspection hoping (assuming) he/she will "pass"?

If the potential hiring carrier is just going to be looking for violations, and doesn't give the driver credit for inspections with NO violations, this going to cause a lot of drivers to sit and wait or find a way around known inspection stations that are open to avoid the "future hiring risk" if something is found in violation and written up. And we all know there is not a truck/driver log out there that could not be in violation, somewhere, if a cop was diligent enough or wanted to be a hard-###.

 

Don't put much stock into what a recruiter says...

DOT could very well be a good company I have no idea but if they are recruiting students with no experience that should tell you something..

 

ironpony,
Thanks for the backup. I was trying hard to tell him how serious the CSA scores are to a driver. Maybe he doesn't want to hear it, but I am certain others here may.

STexan,
Yes, clean inspections help better your score and I believe hits on your record grandfather out after 3 years. The following notes are from the FMCSA website FAQs-

http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/FAQs.aspx

Question 102-
How does time severity work in the Driver Safety Measurement System (DSMS)? Answer
The violations in DSMS are impacted by time severity; that is, more recent violations are weighted more heavily than older violations that occurred within the last year count three times, violations that occurred between one and two years ago count twice, and violations between two and three years old count only once.

Question 122-
Do inspections that find no violations count in the Safety Measurement System (SMS)? Answer
Yes. All roadside safety inspection findings count in the SMS, regardless of whether or not the safety inspection report contains violations. Roughly one-third of the 3.5 million inspections that are uploaded to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) database each year have zero violations. Safety inspections without regulatory violations serve to improve a motor carrier's evaluation in the SMS.
Carriers and drivers should be aware that not every law enforcement stop is a safety inspection; law enforcement may stop a vehicle to conduct a pre-inspection screening to determine if a vehicle or driver warrants closer examination. A pre-inspection screening may take many forms and may include, but not necessarily be limited to, a cursory check of the vehicle. These cursory checks are commonly confused with a complete safety inspection. If a law enforcement officer conducts only a pre-inspection screening, then a safety inspection report will not be generated. If a driver feels that a safety inspection has been conducted, FMCSA encourages the driver or motor carrier to ask for a copy of the report to document the safety inspection.

Happy trails.

 

Good inspections can help the carrier but according to what I have been told, they do not take away points from the driver's score. That is a problem with CSA and drivers. Bad inspection hurt you but good ones don't help.

 

Yup... good inspections don't have a "ticket" or "warning" on the inspection form, so they don't get entered into the drivers record. They do get entered into the carriers history though, assuming the jerk-off DOT officer actually makes a "good inspection" report. Often they don't and that's a problem too.