Hi All,While although I'm relatively new to getting back into the truck, Driving the Big Rig is definately something I am quite familliar with as I did so about 15 years ago.During that time, I've learned that in order to locate that "Perfect Job", one must do a little homework about their potential employer. I mean. Hey, That potential employer is going to put us through what might seem as a cavity search, researching just about everything about us. From Where we grew up, reletives, our credit history, medical history, and some goes as far as looking inot what we had for breakfast last fouth of July. While more & more employers are becomming more & more invasive and intruding into what we feel is our privatecy, many times, we feel that we do not have much of a choice as to who we decide to go to work for. NOT TRUE!!With today's modern technology and the internet, when it comes to the CMV Driver, we have a very useful tool at our disposal to, actually get an inside glimps of that potential trucking company to find out: How long have they been in business Who is their main companyHow many trucks / trailers do they have currently in service How many violations have they had over the past few years How do they rank among their competitors How often are their trucks involved in various accidents Company Snapshot SafeStat Online Licensing; Insurance Orders to Cease Operation (OCO)/Out of Service Orders (OSO) And so much more. It's about time that we take control of whom we choose to work for, as there in no sence in going into a new company blindly, especially when most companies try to use smoking mirrors and fantasic unrealistic measures, just to get a warm body behind the seat.Check out these links and begin your research. Findo out where your potential company stands. http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/ http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/CompanySnapshot.aspx
Got that right... drivers can also research companies at www.fleetdirectory.com , as far as checking out company websites goes and comparing that info to the typical recruiter's spiel.
If you look just below "company snapshot", there is the "safestat online" link. Go there, enter the DOT number, and you can see their SEA and ISS numbers. The ISS link is on the first page on the right. You can see if they are inspect, optional, or pass. If they are inspect, as a jobseeker I'd avoid them, or at least bring that up in the hiring process; find out what they're doing to bring that number down. You can also see driver and vehicle numbers. Under the tabs at the top, you can go into those areas and actually see what their OOS violations are, and how many they've had in a combo box at the bottom of those pages. If they have high vehicle numbers, then go look at their OOS violations and see what they are getting dinged for specifically. Might be a company that procrastinates on vehicle maintenance. In the driver section, you can see if that company allows drivers to fudge on logs, or even worries about whether their drivers maintain them. If you find a company with ISS numbers in the 80s or 90s, I'd avoid them for now, because unless they're taking steps now to correct things, they may not be in business long after CSA rolls out.
How does one find a companies DOT # if one doesn't aready work for them? I mean, lets say I'm thinking about checking out TMC, McElroy, US Express, etc. Unless they have it listed on their website, how can you find that Number?
If you go into safestat, you can do a search by carrier name. This may not always work 100%, because if a carrier has a DBA that's different from the business' filed name, then you won't find the DBA in the name search. A simple web search can often uncover the company's real name or DOT #, if they have a DBA. For example, I did a web search on US Xpress (listed in safestat as "U S Xpress"), and their DOT and MC numbers show up on the first page of the search results. US Xpress has an ISS of 91...ouch!
