By Kristin Walters
The cure for the driver shortage is emphasizing safety and turning “churners” into reliable, loyal drivers, industry representatives Jeff Davis and Kevin Burch told attendees Wednesday, June 6, at the CCJ Spring Symposium in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
“The safety department has traditionally been the termination tool,” said Davis, vice president of safety for Jet Express, a 300-truck fleet based in Dayton, Ohio. “What we’ve tried to do is turn safety into a retention tool. We put emphasis on our corrective action program and try to retain that driver.”
Jet Express employs a program to take “problem” drivers – ones who have three to five moving violations in the past three years – and instead of firing them, help them become better, safer drivers.
“When we hire a churner and don’t intervene with the safety process, we just add to the churning,” Davis said.
Improving safety has multiple benefits for the company, Davis said – increased compliance, reduction in accidents, reduced operating costs and increased retention levels.
Each month, the company analyzes data on its drivers – particularly the Motor Vehicle Record – to choose candidates for the safety intervention program. Drivers who have three or more moving violations in a three-year period are each assigned a mentor in management, who works with them on a written plan for improvement, which may include speed governors.
