Hiring a truck driver today can be challenging for your trucking company. I have included 13 Steps To Hire A Truck Driver the Right way to help any trucking company with hiring their first truck driver.
Follow the 13 Steps below to hire your first truck driver.
1. Completed driver application w 10 years of driving history. Any gaps in driving have an explanation explain.
2. PSP (Pre-Employment Screening Program) Inquiry required by DOT audit investigator.
Run PSP inquiry and match against the application. (You can find the truth at times or omissions - possibly deliberate). Make sure they sign the form first for you to run the PSP report. The Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP) provides carriers, individual drivers, and industry service providers access to commercial drivers' safety records from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS). https://www.psp.fmcsa.dot.gov/psp/Public
3. Conduct follow-up with previous employers about Drugs and Alcohol.
4. Look at MVR
5. Look up all previous employers on the safer system and print off and try to contact them. If OOB. Paperwork from Safer System will show and give credence to your due diligence in hiring a truck driver.
6. Once all that is checked. You can send for Pre employment drug test (I tell the person taking the test. Pay $75 cash for the test. (That has stopped 2 potential truck drivers from wasting our time- I believe that was a good thing for me and them)
If they pass, I give them back 85. No need for me to waste money on someone who is just wasting my time
Make sure you have separate file cabinets for drug test info and driver files. And drug test cabinet can be locked
7. Back to Drug & Alcohol. Make them sign off on D & A clearinghouse registration.
8. Have an internal form where you can list their medical examiner. And you can notate whether they are active and compliant as a medical provider.
9. Get a copy of the Medical long form. Have the driver sign a medical release form allowing you to contact the provider if you need to inquire (also works if they are sent to a hospital so that you can check on them - had this happen when the driver was involved in an accident - had I not had a medical release form, they would not have told me his condition).
10. Give them a copy of Federal Regulations (order book from JJ Keller) have them sign the front page and keep in the file.
11. Have the truck driver sign off receiving information on their pay and describing the pay system and when the truck driver's pay occurs (solves issues down the road)..
12. Have the truck driver sign off on any items issued to them for company use. I.e. fuel card. Safety glasses. Safety vest. Hard hat (that way they can never say they did not receive the items and they can pay for the replacement when they lose it).
13. Employer handbook - have one made and have them sign that they have read and have a copy.
I hope this helps a few folks Also check out "How To Check CSA Score"