Truckers Rules are Changing, New Accountability.

Last week I was made aware that starting this summer (2010) Truck drivers will now be labeled with a safety score much like the score that is given to Trucking Companies. Not only will the score reflect the driver, but will also have bearing on the company he/she drives for. Speeding, weight tickets, log violations and even warnings will be recorded and reported to reflect the individual score of a truck driver. Anything that happens in or out of the truck that can be called a violation will be added to the drivers score card.

What do I think about this????

I love it. The idea is exactly what the federal gov should have been doing all along. Of course we will hear all the negativity that the driver community will have in regards to being "marked" for destruction. But think about it, drivers will not only be effecting their records as a professional driver, but they will be effecting everyone that is involved in their career. That is a HUGE burden to carry around thus making me believe that the not so safe drivers will become safe and the already safe drivers will become phenomenally safe.

I mean let's face it, in recent years the number of under qualified truckers has sky rocketed (meaning drivers that have only a few weeks in the truck) and bad habits are being developed quicker than ever because those newbies were simply turned loose into a truck to soon. The "Old Timers" have set ways that would make the DOT throw them under the jail if given the chance and then there is the middle driver. The one that does things correctly and thinks he/she is better than every other driver out there. The new law will make it FAIR and EQUAL to everyone no matter what their experience.

Making the drivers accountable for every violation by marking them with a score that ALL DOT officers can see on their computers is not only smart, it's practical and should have already been implemented years ago. Trucking companies will be more selective when choosing their drivers because of the drivers safety score and the drivers will be more aware of what they doing due to the fact of how easy of a target they will become if they foul up. Not to mention truck drivers will be aware of their hire-ability if they screw up their score with unsafe operation.

What do you think? Comment or vote on the pole in the right column!