Risks of Poor Record Keeping

Scenario 1:

scenario 1

Edi trusted his gut when hiring a driver. He operated in a small town, and knew almost everyone. He didn’t bother checking driver abstracts. A driver he hired was involved in a fatal accident while speeding. Now, Edi’s company is being sued. If Edi had reviewed the driver’s abstract, he would have seen that the driver had had many speeding violations over the past year.

Scenario 2:

scenario 1

Rishi didn't keep the records from when his trucks were serviced. Also, he didn't have a written plan for when to do routine maintenance on his vehicles. His business lost more money this year from delays caused by mechanical breakdowns. And his trucks pose a huge safety risk on the roads. Just last week, an inspector caught one of his trucks with faulty brakes. That could have cost lives if one of Rishi's commercial drivers had to suddenly stop—so the inspector put the vehicle out of service.

Scenario 3:

scenario 1

George didn't do regular checks of his drivers' Hours of Service logs. His drivers recorded false hours for months. And when they submitted their Hours of Services records, they did not include things like fuel or meal receipts, or bills of lading that could confirm the times on their logs were correct. One driver was caught driving carelessly, and when investigated, it came out that the driver was days over his maximum hours before being required to take a break. Another driver was ticketed in a different jurisdiction than his daily log reflected, revealing that he'd falsified his records to drive for longer hours than he was allowed by law. George's drivers' records attracted an audit.

When you have listened to the stories, you can move ahead to the next topic.