Truckit: driver

Showing posts with label driver. Show all posts

2 More Trucking Scam(s)....

Here is a special treat. I don't just have one scam to report but TWO! This is in addition to the last two that I have mentioned on various blogs.

Driver Training Scam

Yet another scam has made it to the trucking and transportation industry. On top of crooks trying to steal your cargo, your financial information and your vehicles now they are targeting your potential recruits.

A group of con artists has a confidence scam designed to pilfer potential drivers who are seeking training. Click the picture to see a larger version of the letter

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/documents/alerts/Hiring-Fraud-on-Drivers%20-Driving-Schools.pdf

Trucking Company Payroll Scam

Here is another scam to look out for. According to the Upper Macungie Patch (Pennsylvania Newspaper) a trucking company was scammed out of over $50,000. The criminals had

fake names on the companies payroll which was engineered through the payroll company that services the trucking company.

This is a new one and a painful lesson. Do not assume that criminals have to be outsiders. They can be criminals in organizations that have dealings with yours. The access they have to information can make them just as dangerous as those in your organization.

Remember watch where your information goes and where it comes from...crooks certainly are.

http://uppermacungie.patch.com/articles/54k-payroll-fraud-reported-by-trucking-company

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The Issue Of Driver Health Continues To Grow...

I read of a San Antonio driver who was fired because he could not do group exercises. The man did not appear to be overweight or have a poor record as a truck driver. I am not sure if this was the only cause of the termination. What I am sure about is that things like driver health are a factor.

The cost of insurance. The increased risk of being overweight and other health indicators will greatly shape the landscape of tommorrows trucker and truck company. A profession, like trucking, where medical records are fair game will put more pressure to find healthy people to employ.

The real question is where does it stop. Will companies become ever more discriminatory to drivers who reach a certain age. Will one health hiccup reduce the amount of work a driver can get in a computerized human resource system where insurance and health care costs are as a big a finaincial factor as being a good driver.

I do not know how it will play out. The standards needed to be a driver are becoming more and more stringent and are being shaped by a host of government regulations and medical red tape. I would bet that tommorrow's trucker will be very healthy for the reasons I have given.

An unexpected consequence is that the best drivers may not be behind trucks. What we may get is a work force of average drivers in good health. This may or may not be good. Yes, the company is making more money. But will these drivers stay in their positions or will a wave of turnover create a healthy but marginal driving force.

Again, I do not really know. I am just posing the question that the health requirements should not become all consuming as to the point where a healthy competent driver loses his or her job. As in the case of the San Antonio driver, we lost another driver in a field where we simply cannot afford to lose good professionals.

Food for thought...

http://www.kens5.com/news/70-year-old-trucker-claims-he-was-fired-for-not-doing-exercise--191140841.html

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Some Clues To Driver Retention

I started reading a Roadking article about the perils of a rookie#driver. I started reading it expecting a feel good personal interest story but got something more. Here is what I found.

Some of the clues to a#successful#retention#program are hidden, not just in what is being said in article, but who gets involved on the topic of young drivers.

Accordingly, tips were given in the article to new drivers from experienced drivers who remember how it felt to be a rookie. On top of that, additional comments by experienced #drivers were posted in the comments section beneath the article.

So where am I going with this?

Well..a few thoughts:

The treatment of the#older#drivers can make or break you since THEY will determine the global opinions of your younger drivers. Treat them the way a pro team treats a star athlete, with patient concern, training, and constant rewards.

Start a#mentoring program with reward incentives for experienced drivers to work with new recruits. If a young driver stays so many months, maybe reward the senior mentor driver with a restaurant gift card or comfort item for their truck.

Make sure the rewards are set up at#different time increments to continue incentivizing the older drivers to mentor the younger drivers.

Constantly, regularly listen to#experienced#drivers and document what they face as well as what rookie drivers face. Compile this into training materials so there are no surprises on the road which could discourage newer drivers.

Read the article I am referencing, while a few weeks old, it is still pretty good. Click here to go to it.

-Michael Saks

#Trucking /#transportation topics editor

msaks@ectts.com

“The Rookie: A new driver looks back at his first year on the road” (December 31^st,2012) http://roadking.com/2012/12/the-rookie/