SAFETY DAWG Chris Harris
The Importance of Safety Scores Did you know that every company has a licence, and that the licence has a point system? Most things that drivers do on the road are recorded and can add points to the company’s licence. Unfortunately, the points added are a bad thing. If your company receives enough points, it can cause any power unit driving for them to be inspected more often while on the road. So, too many points will always get a power unit more attention while driving on the highways. When an enforcement officer pulls you over, and decides to inspect you at the scale, they usually have access to your history, the truck, the trailer, and the history of the company. They know what your last violation was, what the last inspection revealed about your power unit and trailer, and they also know the entire history of the trucking company. They know just about everything and they tend to investigate power units licenced to trucking companies who have lots of points and issues. So, this article is about safety scores and how important they are to both you and
18 • OVER THE ROAD
your company. Especially when you are looking for a new driving position. When I was a recruiter, not once was I ever asked about my company’s CVOR score or DOT rating. Not once. And yet, today it is vital to an applicant. You all know that tickets are expensive. Many tickets are more than a day’s pay. So why would you want to work for a trucking company that has a poor rating and that may get you inspected more frequently? It doesn’t make sense to me. And carriers, why would you want to hire a driver with a poor record? Drivers, you should know that points acquired from a previous driving job do not get transferred when you go to a new driving job with a new company. When you are driving for one company and you get a violation, or convicted for a ticket, the points stay with that trucking company for two years (24 months). This is the reason companies get upset with a driver when they get a violation. And I do mean a violation. Any “X” on your Commercial Vehicle Inspection Report (CVIR) will put points onto the company’s CVOR or DOT profile. Yes, almost all violations carry points. If the company gets too many points, it may cause increased
MARCH 2021
