Posts Tagged ‘vicarious liability’

Companies Sell CSA Scores

Friday, February 22nd, 2013

CSA 2010’s Safety Measurement System (SMS) rating, which scores a carrier and driver’s safety performance in seven BASIC categories, placing those with a score of 65% or higher on an “alert” status, has been a topic of concern in the trucking industry as many carriers are losing business due to a crash weighting system accused of rendering inaccurate scores.  In fact, small fleets have reported losses of “more than 25% of revenue in the first year alone,” due to shippers vetting out carriers and awarding shipments based on CSA scores. 1

Shippers are slowly turning away from the carrier who can provide the lowest rate and instead are using a carrier’s safety scores to help make a decision, understanding the risks of vicarious liability, which states that shippers are now liable in cases where “the plaintiff can show (1) the carrier caused injury to the plaintiff’s property or person through negligence, recklessness or intentional misconduct and (2) the shipper did not exercise reasonable care or perform proper due diligence when it screened, vetted, and selected the carrier to move the shipper’s freight.” 2 To learn more about vicarious liability visit Responsibility No Longer Rests Solely on Carriers-Shippers at Risk of Vicarious Liability.

While some carriers are concerned about losing business due to their CSA scores, others are embracing the care that shippers are taking and using it as a selling tool for their company.

A recent article posted by James Menzies on Truck News Blogs calls CSA a competitive weapon” as carriers are utilizing their CSA score in the following ways:

*Presenting their score to their customers while comparing it to their competitors. 3

*Describing the consequences of not properly vetting out carriers and encouraging the shipper to utilize the scoring system, emphasizing a shift from cheapest rate to safety which can save money in the long run.

Unfortunately, CSA scores are often becoming a deciding factor after several carriers share a similar “cheap” rate. 3

Should pricing come AFTER CSA scores when choosing a carrier?  In your experience, do you find this to be the case, especially among brokers?

Learn how to vet out carriers by clicking the video below.

1http://transportation.qualcomm.com/poor-csa-status-could-reduce-your-revenue-25

2www.qualifiedcarriers.com/why-risk-management.aspx

3http://discover.bigroad.com/blog/bid/266884/CSA-Scores-a-Competitive-Weapon-for-small-fleets

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Companies Speak Out on Why You Should Choose Road Scholar Transport as Your Transportation Provider

Wednesday, November 28th, 2012

How important is your company name?  Is it important enough to protect?  Then why risk putting your freight and reputation on the line by choosing an inexperienced carrier to handle your products?  Road Scholar Transport is the carrier you need to avoid that million dollar pharmaceutical theft.  That widespread recall.  That vicarious liability suit.  With the toughest security products in the industry today preventing driver access to your freight and the documentation you need including the live status of your shipment from pickup to delivery, historical temperature alerts, as well door closures and openings, Road Scholar is your one stop (or multi-stop) LTL and TL carrier keeping our customers satisfied and your freight safe.

Road Scholar receives praise from our customers for handling unique emergency type events (such as the recent Hurricane Sandy or the unexpected urgent shipment that needs to be delivered ASAP) and recommendations from customers who we have developed a multi-year partnership with.

But don’t just take our word for it.  Here is what companies throughout the Mid-Atlantic and New England states are saying about Road Scholar Transport, a family-owned and operated business that was first established in 1988.

-Anne Killeen from Van Horn, Metz & Co. (a raw materials distributor headquartered in Conshohocken, PA) speaks out about Road Scholar’s expedited service…

We would like to sincerely thank you for the service and expertise your company provided to us today.  We had an emergency arise this morning at 8:40AM and called your salesman Paul.   Paul called your office and spoke to your Operation Manager -Dick who really made things happen.   Your truck was here by 10AM and was at the customer by noon time. In this competitive market with same products, you have to stand out from your competition and today you allowed us to do that with the service you supplied us.  You really gave us something to be thankful for – Happy Thanksgiving to everyone at Road Scholar.

-Richard Littlewood, President of G.J. Littlewood & Son, Inc. (synthetic and natural fiber dyers and finishers in Philadelphia, PA) acknowledged Road Scholar’s ability to present itself in a disaster relief effort during the recent hurricane that swept the east coast…

I would like to personally thank you and the crew at Road Scholar for your due diligence in response to G.J. Littlewood’s emergency needs in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.  If not for your quick response in sending a trailer to evacuate our lower warehouse, we stood the possibility of losing everything.

We are very fortunate to have good friends in high places!

Mr. Littlewood continued to discuss not only the services Road Scholar provides, but its staff as well…

Road Scholar’s truck drivers are the company’s most valuable aspect.  Jimmy has one of the greatest group of drivers I have seen.  They are ambassadors for the company.  These guys not only pick up stuff but know when a customer has needs and when they have problems and they report back to the company.  This is predicated to family business. It is not like these big corporate companies.  They don’t call to see if I need help.  It’s a relationship you’ll never see in corporate America today.  It’s more personal.  There is no way to put this into words.  When you have small businesses and family businesses, people watch each other’s back. We’ve had this relationship with Road Scholar almost 20 some years now.

When it comes to transportation one thing comes to mind…Road Scholar Transport.  I hope people go there.

-Jeff Churchvara, VP, Facilities, NE region at Veltek Associates (manufacturers of sterile chemical products, located in Malvern, PA) brought up Road Scholar’s outstanding damage claim record…

I would like to thank you and Road Scholar for all the support you have shown us over the years. I recently worked on a proposal that was going to a longtime customer and while thinking of how to list all the new things we had planned, I realized there were many things, “old” things, which we continued to do very well. One of those “old things” was their unique receiving requirements.   So I looked back through the customer history and in 15 years of providing this product to them we never had a damage claim for freight.

To assist with your incoming inspection, Veltek stacks STERI-WATER in an “H” pattern so all the labels face outward and the pallets do not have to be broken down for inspection.  This unique pattern presents a challenge for trucking companies and to solve the problem, Veltek enlists the services of Road Scholar Transportation, who moves STERI-WATER between our Malvern manufacturing facility, Sterigenics in Charlotte, our Exton warehouse and eventually your receiving dock.  The same Road Scholar driver moves this freight between all locations and we attribute his professionalism to the success of your unique stacking requirement.  To put this into perspective, STERI-WATER moves over 1000 miles, through three secure facilities, with the SAME trucking company and the SAME driver.  Since Road Scholar began transporting STERI-WATER in 1997, we have had NO freight claims on any shipments to your facility, which we both know translates into no downtime for your warehouse and ultimately a cost savings for both of us.

-Bill Liddell, traffic manager at Crown Boiler Company (makers of residential and commercial hydroponic heating products and water heaters, headquartered in Philadelphia, PA) also touched on Road Scholar’s expert staff and their ability to do what it takes to get the job done…

Me and Larry here at the warehouse really wish express our deepest appreciation for what your company has done for us down here in Philly. We both feel it necessary to say that without your man Rich in the office we would have been lost the past month. He has worked miracles for our company and has provided heating equipment nonstop to NYC when we thought it would be impossible. He truly is a wonder worker and thank you for investing in doing more business with us. As I told your daughter today you are a one of the most exceptionally people and are a special person and I am glad to call you a friend.

-And if that’s not enough, Peter Wyszynski from Boars Head Provisions (creators of specialty meats, cheeses, and condiments) who has been utilizing Road Scholar’s reefer service for many years, commented on the services Road Scholar provides to keep their brand equity safe…

Jim Barrett and his team at Road Scholar Transport have provided transportation for my company for the last twelve years.  During this time we have not had one dispute.  There have been no cargo claims, no customer complaints, and no adversity.  Road Scholar is a very friendly company.  They provide very efficient and effective transportation service.  Road Scholar’s delivery performance has been 98% or better year after year.  They are a company that believes in and practices continuous improvement.

I cannot stress enough how effective they are at protecting my brand equity.  When I tender a shipment to Road Scholar, I am confident that they will protect and secure my products from any and all potential risk.

If you are wondering why I would take the time and effort to write such a lengthy recommendation for a transportation provider, the answer is simple.  They not only earned it, they deserve it.  Road Scholar has always done everything humanly possible and has gone above and beyond to service me, my company, and my customers.  They never say no.  When they are asked to jump, they ask “how high.”  They are by far one of the most conscientious transportation providers that I have had the privilege to work with.  In today’s business environment the concept of providing superior customer service and satisfaction seems to be a thing of the past.  To Road Scholar, customer service is not a concept, it’s a principle and a strong personality trait embodied in the owner of the company and part of the moral fiber of their company.

I assure you that you will not be disappointed in what they can offer you, your company, and your customer.

Want to be part of the satisfied customers utilizing Road Scholar’s LTL and Truckload van and reefer services?  Then visit www.roadsdcholar.com today to get a rate.  While you are there, check out more of what people had to say about our company at http://www.roadscholar.com/freighthaulingtestimonials.php.

Have you had a good experience with Road Scholar?  Please share your comments below!  On a scale of 1-10 (10 being very) how influential are customer testimonials to you when choosing a carrier?

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Loss of Business and Vicarious Liability Risk Top List of Concerns Over CSA Data

Friday, August 17th, 2012

CSAConcerns over inaccurate data in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s CSA program (which measures a carrier’s and driver’s safety performance in seven BASIC categories including unsafe driving, fatigued driving, driver fitness, controlled substances/alcohol, vehicle maintenance, cargo-related, and crash indicator) has several trucking companies lashing out over loss of business and shipper vicarious liability concerns.

Last month, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association announced that it had filed a suit against the FMCSA stating that the agency has been releasing inaccurate driver records to employers that ultimately lead to negative consequences for drivers.

According to the suit, the FMCSA is accused of releasing driver data to employers conducting pre-employment screening before the driver’s accusation even reaches the court, resulting in sometimes inaccurate data where the driver was not at fault. 1 The group had presented three case examples in which drivers had their violations dismissed in court, however, these violations still remained in the system even after they submitted appeals through the agency’s DataQ, violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act and affecting future business opportunities.

As one carrier noted, “Crashes where the driver was not at fault impact the motor carrier’s score the same as crashes where the driver was at fault.  As a result, a safe motor carrier could have a high crash indicator score as a result of the misfortune of being involved in non-preventable crashes.” 2

OOIDA is urging that the FMCSA “immediately suspend the program so that it no longer damages the reputations and livelihoods of good, safe motor carriers and good, safe drivers.” 2

However, groups including Road Safe America insist that the FMCSA “resist any challenges to remove, limit, or subjectively classify violation or crash data that would result in diminishing the program’s effectiveness,” since “the agency cannot rely on police accident reports to determine ‘non-preventability’ due to there not being a section in the standard police accident report to address or spur an investigation into the question of ‘preventability.’” 2

Carriers acknowledged that more and more shippers are basing their carrier selection on a company’s CSA scores.  If a carrier has a high rating or any alerts, shippers are refusing to conduct business with them, which carriers find out of their control and unfair due to inaccurate/faulty data in the system.

More and more shippers are choosing to vet out their carriers using the CSA system in fear of being wrapped up in a vicarious liability lawsuit, which can lead to multi-million dollar claims.

According to vicarious liability, “Where a shipper acts as principal, and a carrier or broker acts as agent of the shipper, liability for the conduct of the carrier or broker may be imputed to the shipper,” since the shipper had “the right to control the conduct” of the carrier or broker. 3

Up until 2004, the carrier, and only the carrier, was held responsible for “any and all property damage or bodily injury it caused” while freight was in its possession. 3 In 2004, however, this changed in a court case known as Schramm v. Foster, in which a shipper hired a 3pl to transport their freight.  The carrier that was hired to do so by the 3pl had gotten into an accident, seriously injuring two people.  Instead of strictly the carrier being held accountable for the accident, the 3pl was found liable as well since, according to the ruling, the 3pl was responsible for vetting out a driver via the FMCSA’s Safestat database.

As QualifiedCarriers.com informs, “a carrier’s liability insurance will exclude indemnity for independent claims against the shipper,” for example, negligent hiring, so you, the shipper, can be sued as well for your carrier’s actions.

In further detail, shippers are now liable in cases where “the plaintiff can show (1) the carrier caused injury to the plaintiff’s property or person through negligence, recklessness or intentional misconduct and (2) the shipper did not exercise reasonable care or perform proper due diligence when it screened, vetted, and selected the carrier to move the shipper’s freight.” 3

The FMCSA will be reviewing comments on the CSA system and is expected to finalize any changes this month. 2

Has your CSA score had an impact on your business?  As a shipper, do check a carrier’s CSA score prior to doing business?

Check out the TIA’s strategy to reduce 3PL liability at http://www.tianet.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=7912.

1http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=29742&t=OOIDA-Sues-FMCSA-Over-Driver-Database

2http://www.ttnews.com/articles/basetemplate.aspx?storyid=29962&t=CSA-Doesnt-Accurately-Reflect-Safety-Fleets-Tell-FMCSA-in-New-Comments

3www.qualifiedcarriers.com/why-risk-management.aspx

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Pharmaceutical Industry Seeks Stricter Regulation of Dry Pharma Products as Medical Device Recalls Surge this Year

Wednesday, May 16th, 2012

Thermal blankets/packaging, polyurethane containers, temperature-controlled trailers…all measures taken by shippers to help ensure the proper transport conditions of temperature-controlled shipments.

But, as industry experts explain, “Today, temperature controlled transportation of products using cold chain facility is only ensured for the distribution of vaccines and some pharmaceutical or biological products through thermal and refrigerated packaging methods to protect the products from loosing their effectiveness.” 1 But what about dry pharma products?

Did you know that polypropylene syringes can easily break in high temperatures?  And when exposed to conditions under 50°F, latex gloves can become stiff, and likewise, under excessive heat, cause rapid rubber degradation?

In fact, according to the US Food and Drug Administration, close to 82 million units of medical device recalls occurred in the first quarter of 2012, “representing a 508 percent increase over the previous quarter and recording a five-quarter high.” 2 These recalls include needles and gloves (as mentioned above) as well as catheters and alcohol prep pads, with many being repeat offenders. 2

Now the industry is fighting back, asking the government “to take initiative to push for better implementation of regulations of the non cold-chain based supply chain management of pharma products,” stating that “even the dry pharma based cargo should be transported only under strict temperature controlled environments to ensure sustainability of the pharma products from volatile conditions.” 1

As Mike Rozembajgier, vice president of recalls at Stericycle ExpertRECALL, explains, “Companies should be doing everything possible to minimize the safety concerns that would result in recalls.” 2

According to experts, many companies are putting their products at risk by not following current regulations and suggest “stronger use of track and trace systems.” 1

Not only is the company impacted through the loss of the discarded shipment, but inspection costs, brand equity, their reputation with the customer, and consumer health alerts.  By utilizing technology such as the track and track capability, remote locking devices, and electronic door monitoring, such as those installed on Road Scholar’s fleet, a shipper can minimize their risk of due diligence.

Due diligence is “the care a reasonable person should take before entering into an agreement or a transaction with another party.”3 When something goes wrong, the shipper can then face vicarious liability.

As QualifiedCarriers.com informs, “a carrier’s liability insurance will exclude indemnity for independent claims against the shipper,” for example, negligent hiring, so you, the shipper, can be sued as well for your carrier’s actions.

In further detail, shippers are now liable in cases where “the plaintiff can show (1) the carrier caused injury to the plaintiff’s property or person through negligence, recklessness or intentional misconduct and (2) the shipper did not exercise reasonable care or perform proper due diligence when it screened, vetted, and selected the carrier to move the shipper’s freight.”4

In order to help reduce your risk of vicarious liability, we are providing you with the below video demonstrating seven easy steps for vetting out carriers through the CSA 2010’s Safety Measurement System (SMS).  By taking 90 seconds of your time and learning how you can vet out carriers, you can save thousands, even millions, worth the stolen, damaged, or recalled products during transport.

csa

1http://pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=68972&sid=1

2http://www.marketwatch.com/story/medical-device-recalls-soar-during-first-quarter-expertrecall-index-shows-2012-05-14

3http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/duediligence.asp#ixzz1ihFuF6KN

4www.qualifiedcarriers.com/why-risk-management.aspx

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TCP Business Expectations Survey: As Carriers Continue to Shy Away From 3PL Providers, Higher Spot Quotes Draw Brokerage Usage Up

Wednesday, April 11th, 2012

According to Transport Capital Partners (TCP)’s First Quarter 2012 Business Expectations Survey, the majority of carriers reported utilizing broker services as a means of obtaining freight lanes less within the last 90 days compared to previous months.

survey

The survey shows that 67% of carriers have drifted away from brokers in the last three months, slightly lower than last year in which 86% acknowledged drawing away from 3rd party logistic services in February 2011 and 82% in August 2011, yet accounting for over twice the number of carriers pulling away in May 2009 (which was around 31%). 1

On top of that, TCP’s Richard Mikes explains that in a time where capacity is tight, more and more carriers are turning towards forming their own brokerage arms. 2

And with concerns over vicarious liability, chameleon carriers, double brokerage, and false 3pls, among other issues, shippers are becoming more careful on who they trust to transport their freight, vetting out carriers based on safety scores.

Let’s look at a recent ruling involving a double brokerage scheme.  Between 2004 and 2005, Kulwant Singh Gill operated as a California broker under several false names in order to obtain loads posted on brokerage loads.  Presenting false social security and driver’s license numbers, Gill presented himself as transporting the loads himself, and once given the load, would then repost the lane as a broker, handing off the load to another carrier.  Once the shipment was transported, Gill was paid by the original broker and never compensated the actual carrier, scheming over 100 trucking companies. 3

Gill was indicted in 2006 and again in 2008 for continuing his scheme, being found guilty in 2009.  After continuing to double broker loads, the court sentenced Gill to 10 years, 10 months in jail and ordered to pay $443,388 in restitution on March 28, 2012. 3

But despite the majority of carriers shying away from brokers, better rates have led to an increase in the number of carriers using 3rd parties.

Looking at TCP’s survey, 33% of carriers stated that they have increased their broker utilization in the last three months.  This number increased from 15% in August 2011 and 12% in February 2011 but is still less than May 2009 which reported 65%. 1

TCP gives the reasoning of higher spot quotes compared to contract rates (along with the need to fill lanes) to account for this brokerage increase.  As TCP’s Lana Batts explains, trucking companies, especially larger carriers, “are going back to brokerages because there is a shortage of equipment and they are getting better spot market rates than they are getting out of their contract rates.” 4

Although only 45% of carriers recently increased their rates, 77% believe that freight volumes will increase within the next year, which Batts believes will lead to an upward rate trend, spiking in early summer, and leading more carriers to utilize brokers since “carriers can get more money for non-contractual freight,” she states. 5

Need help deciding on whether to choose an asset-based carrier or a broker?  We’ve constructed a list of what an asset-based carrier, such as Road Scholar Transport, can provide versus a typical 3PL broker below.

broker vs. rst

click to enlarge

From your experience, what do you consider to be the benefits of utilizing an asset-based carrier over a broker?

1http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-detail.asp?news_id=76593

2http://www.truckinginfo.com/trucks-trailers/news-detail.asp?news_id=74969&news_category_id=29

3http://www.overdriveonline.com/broker-sentenced-11-years-for-defrauding-carriers/?pg=1

4http://www.logisticsmgmt.com/article/tcp_survey_shows_that_carriers_continue_to_be_active_in_the_spot_market/

5http://www.ontruck.org/imispublic/Home/AM/ContentManagerNet/ContentDisplay.aspx?Section=Home&ContentID=10822

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Preview of FMCSA Safety Measurement System Improvements Now Available

Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

As of Tuesday, March 27th, running through late June, carriers can grab a sneak preview of changes to the Safety Measurement System (SMS).

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has been working on improvements to the SMS after concerns arising from its December 2010 implementation.

According to a FMCSA release, the changes would provide better accuracy, statistics, and identification used to reduce crashes.

The agency lists six main improvements to the SMS:

1.  “Moving cargo/load securement violations from the Cargo-Related BASIC to the Vehicle Maintenance BASIC” in order to “identify carriers with a higher crash risk” and to “effectively address the bias associated with carriers that haul open trailers while still

holding all carriers accountable for all cargo securement violations.” 1

2.  “Renaming the Cargo-Related BASIC the HM (Hazmat Materials) BASIC,” which would separate HM violations from load securement violations which are currently categorized together and applying severity weightings to each. 1

3.  “Better aligning SMS with Intermodal Equipment Provider (IEP) regulations.” 1

4.  “Eliminating the vehicle violations derived from driver-only inspections and driver violations from vehicle-only inspections.” 1

5.  “Improving the identification of passenger carriers.” 1

6.  Changing the SMS website’s terminology of ‘Insufficient Data’ (to < than 5 inspections) and ‘Inconclusive’ (to no violations within 1 year), as well as separating injury crashes from fatal crashes and tow-away crashes. 1

Carriers can preview the changes by going to http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and entering their PIN number or by logging onto https://portal.fmcsa.dot.gov/login.  Comments can be received through http://www.regulations.gov until May 29th under Docket ID Number FMCSA-2012-0074.

According to the FMCSA’s release, the improvements will be made public in July 2012 and allow for a public comment period.

The SMS is a useful tool for vetting out safe and qualified carriers for transporting your freight, scoring a carrier and driver’s safety performance in seven BASIC categories, placing those considered a risk on “alert” status.  This method helps reduce accidents, theft, and the risk of vicarious liability.

That’s why Road Scholar Transport is demonstrating a simple and fast way to check your carrier’s safety record in the video below.

sms

List your comments towards the FMCSA’s SMS improvements below.

1 https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2012/03/27/2012-7360/improvements-to-the-compliance-safety-accountability-csa-motor-carrier-safety-measurement-system-sms#p-7

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Responsibility No Longer Rests Solely on Carriers…Shippers at Risk of Vicarious Liability

Thursday, March 22nd, 2012

Could you ask your boss for 23 million dollars?  In 2004, C.H. Robinson, a third party logistics provider, contracted Dragonfly Express to transport a shipment for one of their customers.  The driver, however, was negligent, falsifying logbook entries and driving at an unsafe speed, resulting in an accident that caused two fatalities and a serious injury. 1 Despite C.H. Robinson arguing that they were “not responsible for the actions of an independent contractor or its driver,” the court found the driver, Dragonfly Express, and C.H. Robinson responsible in sharing a verdict of over $23 million. 1

But was the third party provider really at fault?  According to a doctrine known as vicarious liability, the answer is yes.  On top of that, you, the shipper, could also be at fault.

According to vicarious liability, “Where a shipper acts as principal, and a carrier or broker acts as agent of the shipper, liability for the conduct of the carrier or broker may be imputed to the shipper,” since the shipper had “the right to control the conduct” of the “ carrier or broker. 2

Up until 2004, the carrier, and only the carrier, was held responsible for “any and all property damage or bodily injury it caused” while freight was in its possession. 2 In 2004, however, this changed in a court case known as Schramm v. Foster.

This case is representative of many instances today.  A shipper hired a 3pl to transport their freight.  The carrier that was hired to do so by the 3pl had gotten into an accident, seriously injuring two people.  Instead of strictly the carrier being held accountable for the accident, the 3pl was found liable as well since, according to the ruling, the 3pl was responsible for vetting out a driver via the FMCSA’s Safestat database.


This case was the beginning of many changes in regards to who is found liable in an accident. And if you think that you, the shipper, are safe because your carrier has liability insurance, you’re wrong.  Known as vicarious liability, the shipper, who acted as a principal in hiring the carrier, becomes liable for that carrier (or broker)’s conduct which they had a “right to control.” 2

As QualifiedCarriers.com informs, “a carrier’s liability insurance will exclude indemnity for independent claims against the shipper,” for example, negligent hiring, so you, the shipper, can be sued as well for your carrier’s actions.

In further detail, shippers are now liable in cases where “the plaintiff can show (1) the carrier caused injury to the plaintiff’s property or person through negligence, recklessness or intentional misconduct and (2) the shipper did not exercise reasonable care or perform proper due diligence when it screened, vetted, and selected the carrier to move the shipper’s freight.”  2

So how can you prevent vicarious liability?  By utilizing the CSA 2010’s Safety Measurement System (SMS).

Here’s how it works.  SMS scores a carrier and driver’s safety performance in seven BASIC categories, ranking 0-100 with 100 being the worst.  Those trucking companies generally scoring a number of 65 or above are considered a risk and placed on “alert” status, yielding a yellow caution triangle next to the deficient category alerting of a score that surpasses what is considered to be safe.  Insufficient scores are based on whether the carrier is a passenger, Hazmat Certified, or Other-which includes most trucking carriers.  Scoring reflects a carrier’s BASIC scores compared to other carriers in their group.  The scoring/categories are as follows:

-Unsafe Driving: ≥50 (passenger), ≥60 (HazMat), or ≥65 (Other).

-Fatigued Driving (Hours of Service): ≥50 (passenger), ≥60 (HazMat), or ≥65 (Other)

-Driver Fitness: ≥65 (passenger), ≥75 (HazMat), or ≥80 (Other)

-Controlled Substances/Alcohol: ≥65 (passenger), ≥75 (HazMat), or ≥80 (Other)

-Vehicle Maintenance: ≥65 (passenger), ≥75 (HazMat), or ≥80 (Other)

-Cargo-Related: Not available to public

-Crash-Indicator: Not available to public

Knowing a carrier’s safety scores before trusting them with your freight can greatly reduce the risk of an accident or damage.  Take for example last Friday when Lancaster, PA based D.A. Landis Trucking admitted to falsifying driver logs along with “selling condemned milk” which contained “excessive antibiotics and was ordered to be destroyed” to a NJ cheese company, charges which the owner now faces a maximum 5-year jail sentence for as well as a hefty fine. 3

Looking at D.A. Landis Trucking’s CSA rating, a shipper can quickly notice a score of 79% in the vehicle maintenance category, including several out of services for inoperative/defective brakes, steering system components worn/welded/missing, brake tubing and hose adequacy, unsafe operations forbidden, and many more.  Compare that with Road Scholar’s vehicle maintenance score of 27.6%.  Which truck would you rather have your products aboard?

Road Scholar Transport understands the importance of choosing a safe carrier to protect your freight.  That’s why we are giving you 7 Easy Steps on how to check/vet out carriers:

-1.  Go to the FMCSA website-www.fmcsa.dot.gov

step1

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-2.  Click on Safety & Security

step2

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-3.  Click on Company Safety Record

step3

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-4.  Click on Safety Fitness Electronic Records System

step4

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-5.  Click on Company Snapshot

step5

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-6.  Enter Carrier’s DOT, MC number, or Name

step7

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-7.  Click on SMS Results…Remember, a score of 65 or above is of alert status

step8

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And while you are there, check out Road Scholar Transport’s carrier safety record.  Just type in Road Scholar’s name, MC#-516228 or DOT #-1338719.

Are you currently utilizing the CSA 2010’s Safety Measurement System?  Has a carrier’s scores determined whether or not you utilized them?  Why or why not?

1 http://knowledgebase.findlaw.com/kb/2011/Aug/329060.html

2 www.qualifiedcarriers.com/why-risk-management.aspx

3 http://www.whptv.com/news/local/story/Lancasters-D-A-Landis-trucking-company-pleads/i4715ZARxEm0-t4px5zbQw.cspx

click for quote

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