Injuries & Fatalities Involving Non-CDL Commercial Drivers Expert Article

Many companies provide their employees with vehicles or rely on workers to utilize personal vehicles to perform their jobs. Common examples include plumbers and electricians, local transportation and rideshare drivers, gig delivery drivers, and sales professionals. Most of these drivers do not possess a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) but are commercial drivers using vehicles for commercial purposes, sharing streets and roadways with other motorists and pedestrians.

In this article, commercial transportation expert Tim Bussard describes the responsibility that companies have to properly vet, train, supervise, and monitor their drivers as well as the vehicles they will be using to operate safely amongst the public.

Non-CDL Commercial Driver Expert Investigations

A “professional driver” is hired to drive a vehicle for compensation as part of employment with a company even if driving is not their primary job responsibility. Some examples of professional drivers are, but not limited to: bus driver, chauffeur, non-CDL delivery drivers, non-emergency medical transport (paratransit), food delivery or ride share, construction vehicle operators, and valet.

A proper initial vetting process should consist of criminal and employment background investigations, motor vehicle verifications, pre-employment drug screening, and training. In many cases, proper vetting and/or proper training does not take place. Below are some real-life examples of employers failing to properly vet, train, supervise, and monitor their drivers and vehicles.

Case Example 1: Municipal Employee

A city employee struck a pedestrian while crossing the street in a crosswalk, permanently disabling the pedestrian.

After a thorough investigation into the employee’s background and work history, it was found that the employee had been involved in more than twenty motor vehicle crashes in the thirty years of employment with the city. The city failed to discipline, correct, or provide any remedial training within his employment to help prevent such events from happening.

Case Example 2: Food Delivery Driver

A poorly maintained pizza delivery sign was improperly secured to the top of an employee’s personal car. The pizza delivery sign detached from the car and crashed through the window of the vehicle traveling behind it, striking and catastrophically injuring the driver.

In this case, our investigation found that the pizza delivery company failed to train the employee or provide them with the sign manufacturer’s care and maintenance instructions.

Case Example 3: Delivery Driver

A dry-cleaning company employee struck and killed a pedestrian while operating the company van with a suspended license.  At the time of employment, the driver had a clean driving record. Over the next few years, the employee accumulated several moving violations on his driving record, causing his license to be suspended.

The company failed to review the employee’s driving record at any time other than when the employee was initially hired.

Case Example 4: Paratransit Driver

A Paratransit company was contracted to provide non-emergency medical transportation to a person with disabilities. During transport, the passenger was confined to a wheelchair. The paratransit driver made an abrupt stop due to distracted driving, speeding and missing a turn. The abrupt stop and turn caused the passenger and wheelchair to fall over and onto the floor of the transport vehicle, with the wheelchair landing on top of the passenger causing injuries.

After the investigations, it was found that the paratransit driver did not receive any paratransit or wheelchair securement training.

Hiring & Training Practices for Non-CDL Drivers

When hiring an employee to operate a vehicle during the course of business, a company has a responsibility to properly vet the employee before hiring, and then properly train, manage, and oversee the employee after hiring, as well as to perform periodic reviews throughout the employee’s tenure with the company.

• The American National Standard – ANSI/ASSE Z15.1-2012 – Safe Practices for Motor Vehicle Operations, and other nationally recognized standards provide guidelines for companies when hiring, vetting, training, managing, and overseeing employees.
• The Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA) provides training and guidelines to companies and their drivers for safe operation and sensitivity training for paratransit drivers.

During the initial hiring process, it is proper for companies to start by performing comprehensive background checks that include the prospect’s motor vehicle records, criminal history, and prior employment history. New prospects being considered for a position that involves driving on public roadways should also be drug and alcohol tested as a condition of employment.

It would be expected that employers have a Safety Program that provides for an annual re-evaluation of the employee’s safety performance. A proper Safety Program includes defensive driving training for all driver employees, job and vehicle-specific training, and remedial training for employees who have received citations or have been involved in accidents.

The Safety Program should clearly state that certain safety infractions, or continued unsafe behavior, will lead to sanctions up to and including termination.

Commercial Transportation Investigations

The Commercial Transportation Experts at Robson Forensic have decades of experience in Fleet Safety and Management. All have managed, developed, and overseen safety programs for many local and nationally recognized Motor Fleet Companies.

For more information, call us at 800.813.6736 or submit an inquiry.

Featured Expert

Timothy M. Bussard, CDS, ASC, TSSP, WSO-CSSD, AUV

Commercial Transportation Expert

Tim Bussard is a commercial transportation and warehousing expert with more than a twenty year track record of safety and training. He applies his expertise to Motor Carrier operations and regulatory… read more.