The Science of FMCSA Compliance and the Art of Fleet Safety

This course focuses on the why of fleet safety, examining the rising cost of insurance for vehicle fleets, not just for trucks and truckers. The cause of those increases, such as: ‘nuclear’ verdicts, increase in claims frequency, and the increased cost of claims, are reviewed. Instructors look at both Direct and Indirect costs of claims.

The definition of what constitutes a Commercial Motor Vehicle is described and the implications of that categorization toward liability concerns. Driver Qualifications are discussed in relation to background checks, both from FMCSA requirements and “best practices” perspectives. FMCSA requirements for successful Driver Road Tests are listed.

Additional topics covered in the course are FMCSA requirements and industry best practices for: DOT Medical Cards, Electronic Logging Devices-Telematics, Federal Annual Vehicle Inspections, and Daily Vehicle Inspections.

Learning Objectives:

Upon successful completion of this course, the learner should be able to:

• Describe the reasons that cause increases in fleet insurance rates
• List FMCSA driver qualification requirements for DOT Medical Cards
• List FMCSA requirements and best practices for driver background checks
• Define what constitutes a Commercial Motor Vehicle
• Describe the requirements for the use of Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs)
• Describe actions needed to meet Vehicle Inspection requirements

Instructors for this course are Steven Bojan, Director of Fleet Management and Crash Prevention at Unigroup and Michael Kratzer, Compliance and Safety Manager at Unigroup.

This presentation was originally recorded at EHS Today’s 2021 Safety Leadership Conference, held November 9-11, 2021, in Cleveland, Ohio.