The Benefits To Fleets Being Proactive in DOT Safety Compliance

All fleets should be proactive, not reactive, when it comes to DOT compliance and safety management

Fleets that say they care about putting “safety first” but still struggle with safety issues often have passive safety strategies.

These strategies do not provide enough fleet safety data to know what is going or the data is collected after something happened.

As a carrier governed by FMCSA regulations, it is not good practice to wait until you get audited by the FMCSA, but rather to be ready at all times.

For this reason, passive safety programs are inadequate and can lead to increased fines and fleet risk, especially when it comes with DOT compliance and driver management.

According to FMCSA closed enforcement cases for the last five years, carriers’ average costs of non-compliance was settled for $7,000 per carrier! On top of this, it can cost a carrier an additional $870 of downtime when a driver was placed out-of-service for 10 hours.

Ensuring drivers are following FMCSA regulations and company policies can be overwhelming when trying to manage commercial driver licenses (CDLs), endorsements, physicals, daily vehicle inspection reports (DVIRs) and training certificates manually.

This is where being proactive is key.

Proactive safety management means you and your company are working hard to be safe, compliant and stay ahead of the FMCSA.

 

Reasons to invest in a third-party proactive DOT compliance program

Regardless of what you haul or what industry your fleet is in, being proactive in safety management is crucial in keeping compliance fines and driver management costs low.

Your fleet should consider a third-party compliance partner if your company:

• Is growing and you are trying to save money
• Is trying to stay compliant with the FMCSA
• Has grown and you need a Safety Director or a Safety Department, or
• Wants to lower your CSA scores

Carriers being proactive will put them in a better position to mitigate risk, improve efficiencies, reduce costs, and spend more time with their drivers in an effort to manage a safe and compliant fleet. 

With proactive safety, carriers will be more organized and will have a measured plan to lower motor carrier Safety Measurement System (SMS) scores.

When partnering with a third-party program, your fleet has a team of experts that costs much less than hiring a safety director or team and can receive constant monitoring to keep your operation FMCSA compliant. Driver management will be simplified and the driver hiring process will shorten.

While data and paper management can be crucial, using a third-party partner will help you be prepared for audit representation, provide document storage, and offer up-to-date company policies and handbook of FMCSA rules and regulation changes.

Not only will proactive safety help your fleet with DOT compliance, but it is proven to lower insurance premiums as you will have documented ways to show a reduction in risk.

 

Are you ready to be proactive?

Our safety management programs are perfect for combining multiple services and can be tailored to fit your needs, whether you are a new owner operator or a seasoned trucker or business owner.

At CNS, our DOT Compliance Programs focus on Proactive Safety Management (PSM), a mindset that will ensure your fleet’s safety and compliance is always in order and ahead of the FMCSA.

Our PSM Motor Carrier Program includes:

• ELD management
• Driver Qualification File Management
• New driver on-boarding
• Driver safety meetings
• CSA score management
• Policies and handbooks
• Vehicle maintenance
• and more

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