New Employee Screening Website Promises Stronger Checks of Truck Drivers, Fewer Accidents

Truck accident lawyers will welcome the launch of a new website by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety and Administration that will help trucking companies in Texas, screen truck drivers before hiring them.

The website will contain five years of accident records of truck drivers, and two years of inspection records. When a driver applies for a job, the company can access the website, look at the driver’s records and make a safe and informed choice before hiring him. Users will be charged for accessing the records, but registration on the website is free. Both trucking companies as well as job applicants can access these records. Employers will now have access to genuine data before hiring a truck driver.

The American Trucking Associations has been calling for the establishment of a website like this that will allow trucking companies access to driver safety records, for a while now. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, there is strong interest in the trucking industry for a website like this.

As truck accident attorneys in Texas, we’re not surprised that the trucking industry has expressed its support for such open access to driver records. This will allow them to hire safe drivers, and weed out unsafe drivers with a bad record from the system.

This isn’t the last word in trucking safety, but it is definitely a huge step forward in the hiring of competent and trained drivers. The fewer negligent truckers driving 18-wheelers and tractor-trailers on Texas highways, the safer our motorists.

Right now, the FMCSA does not mandate that all trucking companies must access driver records before hiring a driver. However as Houston truck accident lawyers, we would encourage companies in the state to access the records before making a choice. Not only will it help keep motorists safe, but it would also help trucking companies keep insurance premiums low, and avoid expensive trucking accident litigation.

Contact Schechter, Shaffer & Harris, L.L.P., Accident & Injury Lawyers Trucking Injury Lawyers NOW for information related to your trucking accident issues.