What You Should Know About Hiring a New Commercial Truck Driver
Are you prepared to hire commercial truck drivers for your trucking company? There are many challenges that come with running any company, but operating a trucking company brings a number of additional considerations and requirements. At the top of the list of requirements that other businesses may not have to deal with is the hiring of commercial truck drivers.
Whenever you hire a new driver, you need to ensure they have the appropriate operating license and have passed a physical, along with other requirements set by the Department of Transportation (DOT). Before you start the hiring process, make sure that you understand the extra steps you need to take to hire a commercial truck driver.
Make Sure that Your Drivers Meet DOT and FMCSA Regulations
There are several steps to hiring a CMV driver for your trucking company. In order to meet DOT FMCSA regulations, you must check several different records:
- DOT physical exam card
- Commercial driver license
- Drug and alcohol testing
- Past employment and driving record
DOT Physical Exam Card
A DOT physical exam is required for all CMV drivers. This ensures that your driver is physically fit to operate a commercial motor vehicle. Every driver must pass a new physical exam every 24 months.
Commercial Driver License
Before a driver can operate a commercial motor vehicle, they must possess the appropriate driver’s license. For most trucking companies, your drivers will need a class C driver’s license. Essentially, any vehicle that weighs more than 26,000 pounds, is transporting hazardous materials, or will be transporting more than 16 passengers, will need to be operated by a driver with a class C driver’s license.
Drug and Alcohol Testing
The DOT requires that every driver pass a drug and alcohol test. This test must be passed prior to your hiring of the driver. If the driver has not been a part of a drug and alcohol testing policy within the past 30 days, they must pass a drug and alcohol test as part of their pre-employment screening.
Past Employment and Driving Record
A driver with a long list of driving infractions, either in a passenger vehicle or a commercial motor vehicle, may not be the best person for the job. Make sure that you review the past employment and driving record of your potential drivers.
Professional Driver Qualification Services
Instead of dealing with the collection and referencing of all these different records, the simple solution is to contact a professional driver qualification service. At Office Tenders, we have a number of different services that can help streamline your operations. Stop dealing with the hassle of collecting and filing different paperwork.
Allow the team at Office Tenders to make sure that each of your drivers has the necessary files on record so that they can get on the road and you can get back to other business tasks.
