North American Risk Management, Inc. Loss Control

Commercial Vehicles may include owned, leased, borrowed, or non-owned vehicles. A non-owned vehicle is a vehicle operated by employees of a company, but is not owned by the company. Typical examples might include an Administrative Assistant using her personal auto to make bank and post office runs, or commission salesmen who use their own cars to make calls on customers.

Part, or all of a Commercial Vehicle Fleet may be said to be "incidental". This means that the driving itself is not the main portion of the employees' work duties, but is only "incidental" to it. A common example of this would be plumbers, electricians, heating and air contractors who travel to customers' homes to make repairs. They are mainly trade persons, and not drivers. This is contrasted with a trucking company, for whose employees the driving portion of their jobs is the primary work duty.

In all cases, and configurations of driving exposures, business owners and managers need to apply adequate controls to ensure that the driving exposure is controlled. The nature, size, and degree of exposure of a business's Commercial Vehicle Fleet will dictate the nature of, and extent of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Program, and in some cases, the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) will specify what should be done. But in all cases, some elements of a Commercial Vehicle Safety Program should be implemented.

*This outline is presented as a typical guide for most fleet operations. Due to the numerous variations in fleet compositions, operating situations, equipment options, and other variables, not all possible program elements are necessarily presented here. Larger, more complex fleet operators / managers should consult with Department of Transportation regulations for specifics applying to them.

Once you receive a driver's MVR, a consistent, fair criteria should be applied to evaluate it. This document suggests some criteria that can be applied.

Some business owners and managers have heard of The Federal Drivers' Privacy Protection Act, and fear that the act prevents them from obtaining a copy of a driver's MVR. This is not the case, if the MVR is obtained for valid business "safety" use, and the driver's consent is obtained in writing. (see next item) This is the text of the Federal Drivers Privacy Protections Act).

When requesting MVR's from state agencies, to help ensure compliance with the Federal Drivers Privacy Protection Act, it is recommended that written consent be obtained from the driver, with a copy retained in file, and a copy sent to the issuing agency. This document is a general consent release form that can be used for this purpose**.

(** Some states require specific forms, and/or procedures. You should check with your state agency for information as to what is required for this purpose.)

Periodic, routine inspection of a vehicle's condition should be made, and documented. A checklist helps speed and document the process. This document is an example of such a checklist, and should be modified to fit your vehicle(s). (Note: Larger, heavier vehicles, such as semi tractor-trailer units have a specific inspection program requirement. Please see DOT regulations for information on these vehicles).

In the evaluation of vehicle accidents and incidents, it is necessary to apply a consistent, fair criteria for assessing the severity of the infraction, and implementing remedial action. This matrix suggests some standardized criteria that can be used for this purpose.

The U.S. Government Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration produces public reports on various Motor Carriers it regulates, including safety ratings. These ratings can be accessed through this interactive link.

(Note: Individual files can be downloaded by right clicking on link and choosing "Save Target As". Files require Acrobat Reader to view, which can be downloaded for free by clicking on icon .)






		COMMERCIAL VEHICLES The term "Commercial Vehicles" covers all road vehicles (including towed trailers) used by a business. A Commercial Vehicle fleet may be a huge fleet, spread out all over the country, or a single vehicle. A Commercial Vehicle may be anything from a typical passenger auto to heavy, special-purpose vehicles like a transit-mix concrete truck, semi-tractor / trailer combinations, and everything in between. Commercial Vehicles may include owned, leased, borrowed, or non-owned vehicles. A non-owned vehicle is a vehicle operated by employees of a company, but is not owned by the company. Typical examples might include an Administrative Assistant using her personal auto to make bank and post office runs, or commission salesmen who use their own cars to make calls on customers. Part, or all of a Commercial Vehicle Fleet may be said to be "incidental". This means that the driving itself is not the main portion of the employees' work duties, but is only "incidental" to it. A common example of this would be plumbers, electricians, heating and air contractors who travel to customers' homes to make repairs. They are mainly trade persons, and not drivers. This is contrasted with a trucking company, for whose employees the driving portion of their jobs is the primary work duty. In all cases, and configurations of driving exposures, business owners and managers need to apply adequate controls to ensure that the driving exposure is controlled. The nature, size, and degree of exposure of a business's Commercial Vehicle Fleet will dictate the nature of, and extent of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Program, and in some cases, the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) will specify what should be done. But in all cases, some elements of a Commercial Vehicle Safety Program should be implemented. COMMERCIAL VEHICLE SAFETY PROGRAM: The basic elements of a typical Commercial Vehicle Safety Program are as follows:* I. Management Statement of Policy II. Driver Qualifications, Training, Supervision A. Driver selection / license / regulatory compliance 1. Training a. Routine b. Special Equipment / Cargoes c. Remedial 2. Supervision III. Vehicle Maintenance A. Preventative Maintenance 1. Scheduling B. Breakdown Maintenance C. Inspection 1. Operator daily / trip 2. Periodic 3. Regulatory D. Inspection & Maintenance Record Keeping IV. Accident/ Incident Reporting and Analysis A. Post-Accident Procedures B. Accident Reporting Responsibility C. Maintenance of Accident/ Incident Records D. Analysis of Accident /Incident Events This outline is presented as a typical guide for most fleet operations. Due to the numerous variations in fleet compositions, operating situations, equipment options, and other variables, not all possible program elements are necessarily presented here. Larger, more complex fleet operators / managers should consult with Department of Transportation regulations for specifics applying to them. This link will take you to an example of a fleshed-out program outline. DRIVER IMPROVEMENT & TRAINING: Link to The Smith System, an excellent short course. The National Safety Council offers a number of in-house, video, and other training products, including the Defensive Driving Course. (DDC courses are offered through local chapters; please reference your local chapter on the web site, and contact them for training schedules, prices, and availability). DRIVER QUALIFICATION:* This document outlines some of the requirements for proper documentation of a commercial driver. This link will take you to the DOT document showing the information currently required to be in a commercial Motor Carrier's driver file. MVR: Some basic MVR information is contained in this information sheet: (MVR Information Sheet) Once you receive a driver's MVR, a consistent, fair criteria should be applied to evaluate it. This document suggests some criteria that can be applied. Some business owners and managers have heard of The Federal Drivers' Privacy Protection Act, and fear that the act prevents them from obtaining a copy of a driver's MVR. This is not the case, if the MVR is obtained for valid business "safety" use, and the driver's consent is obtained in writing. (see next item) This is the text of the Federal Drivers Privacy Protections Act). When requesting MVR's from state agencies, to help ensure compliance with the Federal Drivers Privacy Protection Act, it is recommended that written consent be obtained from the driver, with a copy retained in file, and a copy sent to the issuing agency. This document is a general consent release form that can be used for this purpose. ( Some states require specific forms, and/or procedures. You should check with your state agency for information as to what is required for this purpose.) PROGRAM, FORMS, GENERAL INFORMATION: A Commercial Vehicle program should include a seat belt use policy. Here's an example. Periodic, routine inspection of a vehicle's condition should be made, and documented. A checklist helps speed and document the process. This document is an example of such a checklist, and should be modified to fit your vehicle(s). (Note: Larger, heavier vehicles, such as semi tractor-trailer units have a specific inspection program requirement. Please see DOT regulations for information on these vehicles). In the evaluation of vehicle accidents and incidents, it is necessary to apply a consistent, fair criteria for assessing the severity of the infraction, and implementing remedial action. This matrix suggests some standardized criteria that can be used for this purpose. The U.S. Government Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration produces public reports on various Motor Carriers it regulates, including safety ratings. These ratings can be accessed through this interactive link. 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