In the trucking industry, hiring safe, reliable drivers is always a number one priority. Drivers with crash histories are not only costly for your business, but can put lives at risk. It’s imperative to get reliable safety information on your candidates’ crash and inspection records before you hire so you can be confident that every driver you send out onto the road makes it to their destination safely.
The best way to ensure that a driver you sign on is going to meet your safety expectations? Run a quick Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP) and get a comprehensive, eagle’s-eye view of the last five years of crash and inspection history on each prospective hire. One click and 60 seconds later, and you’ll have your answer.
PSP: A Snapshot
"Carriers using PSP were able to reduce their crash rates by 8% and driver out-of-service incidents by 17.2%"
The Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP) started in 2010 as an initiative by the Federal Motor and Carrier Safety Administration with the goal of improving overall highway safety. It allows carriers to make better-informed hiring decisions based on crash and inspection reports for each driver over the past five years. Every time a driver is involved in a crash or has their vehicle inspected, the records of each instance are kept in state databases and periodically submitted to the Department of Transportation. The Department of Transportation then uploads those reports monthly into the PSP system, and makes those records available to carriers, industry service providers, and the drivers themselves. All data handled by PSP adheres to the strict guidelines set forth by the Privacy Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, and all other applicable federal laws. Access to the PSP service is restricted to account holders and drivers, and requests for a PSP report for a carrier or industry service provider has to be submitted with written consent by the driver.
Putting Safety First
The PSP website and this video list three primary reasons for including a PSP check in your recruiting process:
- It provides a holistic view of a driver’s activity
- It helps to confirm previous employment verification
- It demonstrates a commitment to safety to others in your community
A “Voluntary Must”
And we agree! Although the Pre-Employment Screening Program is completely voluntary for carriers, it should be a must for your business. The impact that PSP can and has made in carrier safety is significant.
After implementing PSP, FMCSA conducted a study to see how well their initiative was working at improving highway safety. In evaluating over 5,476 carriers who implemented pre-employment screening with PSP over the course of a year, FMCSA found that their safety ratings improved significantly more than carriers who didn’t take advantage of PSP.
Carriers using PSP saw an 8% reduction in their crash rates and a 17.2% reduction in driver out-of-service incidents. Over the course of the year that the study took place, FMCSA estimated that over 863 crashes and 3,592 driver OOS incidents were prevented. Today, 40% of motor carriers use PSP, making it an industry standard.
Making it Even Easier
Tenstreet offers a convenient integration with PSP that allows carriers to run reports directly from the Xpress dashboard. PSP charges $10 for each report, which includes the driver’s basic information, their name and licenses, and summaries and details for all crashes and roadside inspections. With the Tenstreet integration, each report can be run directly from the subject record (no additional input required), is returned in approximately 60 seconds, attaches to the subject record, and you never have to leave the Tenstreet dashboard. We charge a small processing fee of $2 for each report.
Try PSP Today!
Contact your advisor or email us at [email protected] to give it a try! We’ll be happy to get you going.
