You filed all those forms, acquired insurance, and got your equipment. The unfortunate news is that in addition to keeping up with renewal filings, and insurance requirements, there are more compliance regulations to be aware of as your trucking company begins operating. Within the first 18 months of receiving operating authority trucking companies are entered in the New Entrant Safety Assurance Program. During this time, new trucking companies are closely monitored to make sure they are operating safely, maintaining current records, and will pass the new entrant safety audit within the first 12 months to receive permanent authority with the FMCSA.
The most common questions we get from our clients are about the safety audit, specifically, about what is required for the new entrant safety audit. Because there are so many separate documents, forms, and certifications required, the most effective way of providing detailed information is to separate the new entrant safety audit into sections.
To help answer those frequently asked questions and give you helpful resources to make preparing for the audit less stressful. A completed Driver Qualification File is one of the most tedious portions of the new entrant safety audit. The difficult part of the DQF is that trucking companies must know the driver qualifications file requirements to pass a safety audit, and there is a lot to know! To cut down on the confusion, we will not only explain each driver qualification form requirement but also provide you with a checklist and other resources to include in your DQF.
But, we will simplify and explain the requirements needed below. In addition, drivers who left the company for more than 30 days must undergo a new drug test.
In addition to these necessary items for your driver qualification files, you will also want to have the following critical items accounted for as they can be requested during an audit:.
Managing this checklist for your fleet is a taxing process. Use the A-Suite to automate collecting, building and tracking your DQ files. Get back to more important tasks than paper pushing by trying the A-Suite Free today:. Get the latest articles on all things transportation delivered straight to you inbox.
Back to Blog. Scott Rea August 9, If you are unsure if a previous employer was a safety sensitive position or not, always error on the side of caution. If so, were they drug tested? Did they test positive? Did they refuse to be tested?
Did they have other DOT test violations? Many states, for example, require occasional road tests to track driver skill over time. Be sure to add a copy of this form to the DQF. In order to drive a commercial vehicle, drivers must take a road test and receive a certificate showing that they passed. Be sure to include a note in the DQF verifying that the examiner is listed in this registry.
Simply follow the same process you did when getting the MVR for the first time, or use an employment screening provider to handle this process. Pay special attention to any indicators of reckless driving, like speeding, having accidents or driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Remember, if you let a driver with disqualifying incidents keep driving, your company could be held responsible. Maintaining the proper information in each non-CDL driver qualification file can get complicated. A commercial motor carrier business has a lot of moving parts. Regular motor vehicle records checks, medical exams, and violation reports for drivers are required on an ongoing basis. A provider that offers ongoing background checks, including motor vehicle checks and employment verification checks, can make your life easier by gathering information the DOT needs.
To find out how we can help you, contact us for a quote. The resources provided here are for educational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice.
0コメント