Waynes World - April 2008
PHONEY DOT LETTER SCAM, MANDATORY
IDENTITY CARDS ARE COMING, AND...
GET YOUR TRAINING
PROGRAM COMPLIANT
by Wayne Schooling
PHONEY DOT LETTER SCAM REVEALED
Well, they are at it again! Phishers are scamming the U.S. DOT ranks again by sending bogus letters to trucking companies asking for financial information. The letter is signed by Julie P. Weynel, supposedly a senior procurement officer. If your company gets one of these letters, disregard it. Here is a portion of the text from the bogus letter: “Our records show that you currently registered as a prospective contractor for procurement issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation. However, after reviewing your record, we have noticed that you have not submitted your financial information release form. Your financial institution’s privacy policy may not allow it to release your financial information, even to government institutions, without your consent; therefore, we must have such form on file before we can move on with any procurement decisions.” This is a case of “forewarned is forearmed” – be on the alert for this scam. Legitimate inquiries of this type would NEVER be conducted in this manner.
IS YOUR SAFETY TRAINING PROGRAM COMPLIANT?
The FMCSA’s Large Truck Causation Study found that in crashes involving a car and a truck, the car’s driver was at fault 56% of the time. That means a truck driver was at fault 44% of the time. I find it appalling that professional, trained, experienced truck drivers cause almost half of all car-truck crashes! Our industry just cannot be proud of these statistics. A 44% rate should instead be a wake-up call. Professional drivers are rightly held to a higher standard of driving behavior over car drivers. Few people realize that as part of a compliance review, the FMCSA safety inspector conducting the review will ask the motor carrier some basic questions about its operation. Often, the carrier is asked about its training program, to which they say, “What training program!” Well, as Gomer Pyle often said, “Surprise, surprise, surprise!” Section 390.3(e)(2) of the FMCSR’s states that every driver and employee must be instructed regarding, and must comply with, all of the applicable regulations. In fact, in the same section, it states that every employer shall be knowledgeable of and comply with all the regulations applicable to that motor carrier’s operations. In the past, the only way to answer this training-related question was by either hiring a qualified safety director or hiring an outside company to maintain your training records. But even if you utilize the services of independent contractors, you still have to either provide this training or assure yourself that your independent contractors have been trained, otherwise you could be held liable for some type of negligence. Negligence is where the big money is after an accident. Negligence is the failure to use ordinary care in particular factual circumstances. There is comparative negligence, concurrent negligence, contributory negligence, gross negligence, negligent conduct and negligence per se. The only way to minimize negligence is through the proper training of your drivers. And if you use independent contractors, you must be assured that you are not accused of the negligent hiring of these drivers.
DO-IT-YOURSELF SAFETY TRAINING PROGRAMS
If you’re going to set up your own training programs, you need to set up a training outline, a training log and an evaluation system for each topic. The outline should be detailed enough that someone who reviews it has a clear idea of what was covered in the session. You can also use this outline as a reference when planning refresher training. A training log helps you keep track of attendance. You may want to include driver signatures as a way to verify attendance. This type of log allows you to compare a driver’s training record to his/her assigned duties and/or job description. It can also help remind you when it’s time for refresher training. Finally, as well as serving as a review of your session, a quiz is a good way for you to determine your drivers’ understanding of the topics presented. Return the graded quizzes to your drivers and review the incorrect answers, but keep copies of the quizzes as documentation of the training. However, this is only half the battle. If you have an accident, be prepared to have yourself raked over the coals in court regarding your training program and your training experience by the opposing party’s attorney in any accident case. I don’t want to burst your bubble of becoming one of the best trainers out there, but it takes time and expertise. Every safety supervisor should have documented training in all the phases of trucking. Each state association offers some type of training but the fees usually prevent the smaller carriers from taking these courses. But the ultimate training can only come from the people who make the rules and regulations. The Transportation Safety Institute (TSI) in Oklahoma is the teaching arm of the U.S. DOT. They offer certificated courses on many subjects. Yes, what better way to add to your resume than to have several certificates issued by the U.S. DOT’s Transportation Safety Institute hanging on your wall? These courses have been mandated to have lower fees than you will find elsewhere. To give you an idea, I recently received a call from an independent that was looking for hazmat refresher courses. He had been getting a group of guys together and splitting the training costs at $80 each. The same course taken through TSI would have only been $39.95. The courses are online, meaning you can take them any time, 24/7. These courses can be found on the NTA website (www.ntassoc.com) under the “NTA Online Institute” option. This institute offers driver courses, management courses and a lot more. Check it out and get compliant!
IDENTITY CARDS WILL BECOME MANDATORY
The TWIC (Transportation Worker Identity Card) will become mandatory on September 25, 2008, as proof of identification for all personnel, including truck drivers, entering seaports in the U.S. The program will require a full background check prior to issuance of the I.D. card.
~ NTA remains a name you can trust. Our website is your official U.S. DOT Internet Training Site and we are administrators of a Nationally Accredited Drug and Alcohol Program. If you have any questions, visit us at www.ntassoc.com, call us at (562) 279-0557 or send an e-mail to wayne@ntassoc.com. Until next month, “Drive Safe – Drive Smart!”