66 HDT • MAY 2015 www.truckinginfo.com

DRIVER DILEMMA: PART 5

TRAIN FOR THE

LONG HAUL

Experts on driver recruitment and retention may disagree on the relative importance of such key motivators as base and bonus pay, length and scheduling of time away

from home, quality and care of equip-ment, and fringe benefits ranging from healthcare to 401(k) plans.

Yet there is broad agreement that positive communication between drivers and their employers is crucial to attracting and keeping those best quali-fied to deliver the goods. That holds true through the hiring process and throughout their career with a carrier – and good training programs are one aspect of that communication.

Communication is critical when training new hires and veteran truckers alike. How else will they know how to operate safely, efficiently and profitably within the operating parameters of a

Driver Institute in Alexandria, Va. The 55-page document can serve fleets as a detailed blueprint to constructing a comprehensive training program. It covers everything from performing a pre-trip inspection to the vagaries of dealing with life on the road. PTDI says these standards “represent the touchstones that a tractor-trailer driver finishing program should contain and against which any such program may be judged.”

Why think of training in terms of skill standards? PTDI contends taking this approach will boost recruitment and retention at a fleet by communicating to drivers exactly what is required of them. The group believes drivers who develop their skills by meeting standards will ulti-mately make better decisions about their career path. That will include seeing the value in training needed to obtain and keep well-paying jobs.

given fleet? What’s more, professional training that instructs drivers on how they can go about their work at mini-mal personal risk and with optimum financial gain will help recruit and retain them.

There’s no dearth of tools, includ-ing high-tech programs and systems, available to streamline and even automate the process of evaluating driver skills as well as implementing corrective training. But fleets would be wise to first and foremost put a baseline training program in place that clearly communicates what is expected of their drivers.

Basic trainingAn excellent back-to-basics hand-

book for training drivers on all facets of their job is the “Skill Standards for Professional Solo Tractor-Trailer Driv-ers” issued by the Professional Truck

Start with the basics when training drivers – but it may pay to look back to bring them ahead.By David CullenExecutive Editordcullen@truckinginfo.com

PHOTO: MAVERICK TRANSPORTATION

www.truckinginfo.com MAY 2015 • HDT 67

On top of that, PTDI thinks completing standards-based training will help drivers communicate more effectively to employers about what they know and can do. And it should lead them to work more effectively with employers on upgrading their skills and developing their careers.

The skill standards were devel-oped from data originally created by the Department of Transportation and PTDI to focus on what it takes to be a successful truck driver. The insights gleaned were compiled into “a role map for truckers,” which became the basis for developing the standards. The result, it says, is “use-ful to guide the training and perfor-mance of first-seat, solo professional tractor-trailer drivers.”

PTDI created 21 task-specific standards to cover the major duties of a truck driver as defined by that role map. Each standard is described in de-tail. Listed are the required conditions of performance to be met, a statement of the work to be performed and its criteria, along with the performance elements and criteria assessed to meet a given standard.

Before and afterOf course, no driver — new or

veteran, young or old — is a blank slate. Every driver brings with him or her the baggage of past experiences. But knowing what that contains can enable a fleet to provide corrective training as warranted. It may cost carriers less in the long run than having to find, recruit, vet and train a replacement for a driver let go for violations that stemmed from repeating ingrained behavior.

A University of Michigan Transpor-tation Research Institute study in 2008 found that the past driving record of CDL holders is “related to unsafe or hazardous actions that result in traffic crashes.” The 32-page paper examines crash and offense rates for 2006-2007 across CDL drivers grouped by the pat-terns of crashes and offenses charged to them from 2001-2005.

Significantly, the UMTRI data shows that those with safe driving records in the first period studied went right on to have safe records in the second period. And, by contrast, drivers with crashes, speeding offenses, and alcohol offenses on their records before continued their “risky driving behavior” after.

The study also shows that CDL driv-ers who had no offenses to begin with ended up having the least involvement in crashes of all severities the second time around.

CDL drivers with records of speed-ing offenses incurred the highest rates of fatal crashes. The research reveals that the overall rate of fatal crashes per CDL driver in the after period was 0.0009 per driver — or about one fatal crash per 1,111 drivers. Drivers who had at least two speeding tickets before, later had the highest rate of fatal crashes per driver — working out to one fatal crash per 588 drivers. And drivers who clocked at least two speeding offenses up front also had the highest rate of speeding offenses later on.

The authors of the UMTRI study, Lidia Kostyniuk and Daniel Blower, say the study’s findings can help trucking

improve driver hiring, training, and retention policies.

Similarly, a study by the American Transportation Research Institute indicates that truck drivers who had a past crash also had a significant (88%) increase in the likelihood of having a future crash. “Predicting Truck Crash Involvement: A 2011 Update,” based on data from 587,772 U.S. truck drivers collected from 2008-2009, identifies specific driver behaviors (violations, convictions and crashes) correlated with crash involvement.

The ATRI study ranks the top 10 “driver events” by percentage increase in the likelihood of predicting a future crash. “Failure to use/improper signal” came in as the conviction most associ-ated with an increased likelihood of a future crash — boosting it by 96%. Other events that increased the likeli-hood of a future crash were:

• Past crash (88%)• Improper passing violation (88)%• Improper turn conviction (84%)• Improper/erratic lane change (80%)• Improper lane/location (68%)• Failure to obey traffic sign (68%)• Speeding more than 15 mph over limit (67%)• Any conviction (65%), and • Reckless/careless/inattentive/negli-gent driving (64%).A key takeaway from the study,

ATRI says, is that “by becoming aware of problem behaviors, carriers and enforcement agencies are able to address those issues prior to them leading to serious consequences.”

Back to the futureJust because past actions can predict

future consequences doesn’t mean one should not intervene in the present. Training tailored to the negative behav-iors of specific drivers may ensure safer driving down the road.

Doing that requires nothing less than effective, consistent communica-tion with drivers about what their em-ployer expects from them. That’s just

Maverick last year completed a $4 million expansion of its training

center. See page 68 for more.

This is the fifth installment in a year-long series on recruiting, retaining and managing truck drivers. For related web-exclusive content and links to other installments in the series, go to www.truckinginfo.com/drivers2015.

half of it, though. The rest is providing those drivers with the training they need.As consultant Duff Swain, president of Trincon Group, Columbus, Ohio, sees

it, “the lack of consistency in how trucking trains and educates drivers contributes to the driver shortage. Companies have to cultivate the best graduates of certified CDL driving schools or put their own candidates into such programs through tuition reimbursement” to bring in new workers.

But no matter how they come onboard, Swain argues that “drivers require effective, sustainable training throughout their careers” to build satisfaction with their job. “Continuous education and skills development will help keep drivers engaged with their occupation and their employer.”

“Drivers should continuously enhance their skills through training and obtain-ing industry-related certifications throughout their tenure,” he points out. “To enable that, a carrier can make a variety of professional-development opportuni-ties available to drivers along with driving-skill and remedial training.”

Where to start? Swain sees training as integral to showing drivers how valued their role is, so he advises starting on day one with a thorough, engag-ing orientation process that leaves them feeling they made the right decision joining a fleet.

“That’s when the job description, the expectations involved, and how progress will be measured should all be laid out — everything on how they will work for the company,” he explains. “From there, it’s all about providing drivers with the training to build the required skills for their jobs and, of course, treating them positively with respect.” ■

DRIVER DILEMMA: PART 5

www.truckinginfo.com

Speci� cations are subject to change withoutnotice. Detroit Diesel Corporation is registered toISO 9001:2008. Copyright © 2015 Detroit Diesel

Corporation. All rights reserved. Detroit™ is a brandof Detroit Diesel Corporation, a subsidiary of Daimler

Trucks North America LLC, a Daimler company.

DEMANDDETROIT.COM

Engines, axles and atransmission all engineered

and designed to worktogether as one. An entire

powertrain built and backedby a single manufacturerfor greater ef� ciency andpro� tability. That is the

power and value of Detroit.

ONLY DETROIT CANDELIVER THIS LEVEL

OF integration.

Daimler Detroit_82574_Western Star Ad4C_2.1875”w x 10”h_1/3 Page_Non-Bleed

Heavy Duty Trucking

DET_82574_WesternStar_HeavyDutyTrucking.indd 1 4/10/15 4:46 PM

Circle 174 on Reader Action Card

WS/MC-A-522. Copyright © 2015 Daimler Trucks North America LLC. All rights reserved. Western Star Truck Sales, Inc. is a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America LLC, a Daimler company.

Western Star - A Daimler Group Brand

FOR ONCE, THE LITTLE DEVIL ON YOUR SHOULDER WON’T BE GETTING ANY ARGUMENT.The look of a classic truck. The effi ciency and dependability to help your business grow. Now get what you want and what you need. Go to the site and learn all about the 5700XE. Then buy one for yourself. Get the whole story at allnew5700.com

10696-2_WS_5700_LilDevil-1p_HeavyDutyTrk.indd 1 4/22/15 12:55 PM

Maverick’s focus on training

Maverick Transportation boasts of being “one of the best to drive for, hands down.” The Little Rock, Ark., flatbed and reefer hauler

invests heavily in driver training to help make good on that promise. Consider its new sponsored CDL schooling option. “While we cur-

rently offer full tuition reimbursement for those that come to Maverick right out of truck driving school, this is an option for those drivers that need extra help financing their Class A CDL training from the get go,” says Brad Vaughn, director of recruiting.

Coordinated with Arkansas State University in Newport, the pro-gram includes lodging and meals while students obtain CDLs, with all upfront costs covered by Maverick. Once licensed, the new drivers receive free housing, meals, orientation and training pay while going through classroom and over-the-road training at Maverick’s newly expanded driver-training center.

The $4 million expansion added over 13,000 square feet to the center, allowing Maverick to train up to 210 drivers at a time. The building contains seven classrooms and eight training bays, where the carrier gets specific with trainees on how they are expected to handle all freight, especially flatbed loads, to ensure safe operation and customer satisfaction.

The training bays are designed so drivers can live-load every type of product hauled by the firm, including steel, lumber and glass, and get specialized training in securement techniques.

According to Steve Williams, chairman and CEO, the center is “just one example of the commitment we’re making to be a part of the [driver] solution. We want this to be a career of choice, not of last resort.”