The American Trucking Associations on Wednesday, Feb. 7, petitioned the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to amend its safety regulations to promote greater motor carrier use of “employer notification systems.” ATA says this initiative is part of its ongoing campaign to improve truck safety.
Employer notification systems is a term for programs that allow trucking companies to register their drivers with state licensing agencies, which then notify the trucking company when a truck driver receives a traffic violation, conviction or change in commercial driver’s license status. This notification process allows trucking companies to take timely action to address any unsafe driving behaviors.
“These programs address a regulatory loophole that allows some serious traffic convictions to go undetected for several months,” says Bill Graves, ATA president and chief executive officer. “Promoting their use allows motor carriers to monitor driver violations in a timely manner so corrective action can be taken. This is an important step in advancing road safety.”
Currently, motor carriers obtain and review the motor vehicle record of each of the drivers it employs through semi-annual or annual motor vehicle record checks. In the months between these MVR checks, commercial drivers are required to self-report traffic violations, convictions or license status changes to their employer. Unfortunately, these self-reports are not always made by some drivers.
ATA is aware of 10 states that currently have some type of employer notification system. ATA also is aware of commercial programs that provide multistate ENS coverage.
