CAREER TRAINING RESOURCES

You’ve probably already heard of the PSP, and how your score can affect your employability within the trucking industry. But just what is the pre-employment screening and how does it affect you? Does that fender-bender you had on that rain-slicked road when you were 17 mean that you can’t get a CDL? Does that speeding ticket, then the ticket for making an accidental illegal right turn on red at an intersection between 1 pm and 6 pm mean that trucking companies won’t touch you with a 10-foot pole? If you are really hoping to land some of those truck driving jobs, you need to be educated about the PSP, what it means for your trucking career (before it even starts) and what you can do to keep it under control. Here are some frequently asked questions about the PSP and how it affects you as a truck driver.

• What is the PSP?

The Pre-Employment Screening is a program that was established in 2010 by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), designed to give carriers, industry members, and others (i.e. drivers themselves) to review and examine the driving records of the people to whom they are considering extending employment offers.

• What is in the PSP?

PSP data includes the most recent five years of crash data and the most recent three years of roadside inspection data. This data is housed in the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS), a database maintained by FMCSA.

• Why is the PSP important to employers?

Consider the PSP something akin to a background or reference check on you. For carriers, it’s a new way to check in on the people they are entrusting their expensive trucks and even more valuable cargo onto.

• What does the PSP mean for me as I apply for trucking jobs?

Obviously, carriers are looking for people with the best driving records, and will avoid job candidates with a history of a lot of accidents, negative encounters with the traffic cop, or both. Also, it may be a solid way for carriers to see how much it will cost to insure you. If you have a long history of traffic tickets/reckless driving citations, or have had 4 accidents in the past 5 years, you probably already know your insurance has gone up. That works the same for trucking companies.

• Do all trucking companies use the PSP? Is it required?

The PSP is a voluntary program for both drivers and carriers. Some companies may not have made the shift to include PSP data in their hiring process, but after 5 years of being easily available that may say more about whether you want to work for them than whether they will hire you. While it isn’t mandatory by law to submit to a PSP check, your employer may require it before hiring you.

• How do carriers get access to my PSP? Can I block them from seeing it?

Motor Carriers can get an account in order to be granted access to PSP’s data online. However, it is required for carriers to receive consent from any driver whose information they access. That means that indeed if you don’t want someone to see your PSP score, you can legally block them. However, if you are hoping to actually land employment with that company, it probably isn’t a good idea to deny them permission to access it.

• Can I see my PSP?

Of course! You can request a copy from the FMCSA’s PSP web portal, though there is a $10 fee, and you must have both your current, and any other driver’s license numbers you have had over the past 5 years. Alternatively, you may make a Privacy Act request to the FMCSA to receive a free copy, though it may take longer for you to receive. It is of course a good idea to review your PSP periodically to ensure it is accurate and current.

Do you know what the PSP is? If not, you may want to learn, because it can directly affect whether trucking companies will want to hire you. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has instituted the Pre-Employment Screening Program for all truck drivers going forward. The PSP offers employers a snapshot of your driving record to make a hiring determination. The PSP assigns points to safety violations a driver has made during his time as a driver. Speeding tickets, reckless driving convictions, or inspection failures will “ding” a driver, adding points to his PSP. On the other hand, good inspection results and a safe driving record will cancel out those points. The PSP contains a driver’s crash data from the past 5 years, and roadside inspection data from the past 3 years. New snapshots are uploaded approximately once a month, meaning you have the opportunity to have a continuous stream of new data. While the notion of weeding out the bad drivers and rewarding the good ones seems to be a natural fit for the trucking industry, it can be a negative for drivers who have had bad luck. Companies may fear hiring a driver with a high PSP score to not be worth the risk of hiring, meaning that if you have had a string of bad luck you may find yourself having difficulty finding a job. Meanwhile, the program seems to be a success early on. The FMCSA reports that companies using PSP to screen their new hires have seen crash rates drop 8 percent, and driver out-of-service rates dipping by 17 percent on average. New drivers especially will want to take note of their PSP score, particularly before they decide to change jobs. An accident or two, or a bad inspection or two, could derail your plans for advancement. Be sure you are especially diligent about your pre-trip inspection reports, and that you do your absolute best to avoid accidents. If you want to know more about the PSP and how it can affect your ability to get a job in the trucking industry, visit the FMCSA’s PSP website at this link.

Because the trucking industry is something of a unique profession to get into, truck drivers tend to go their own way and may ignore or neglect some of the skills and strategies for success that other professionals swear by. One of those skills and strategies is a rather important one: networking. For most professionals, “networking” more or less means “making friends in your industry,” keeping in contact with people you know and meet in order to (hopefully) forge professional connections that help you both succeed in your field of endeavor. The logic here is simple: the old adage “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” If you know key people at trucking companies around your area, you’ll be privy to job openings, perhaps sooner than the general public. As people get promoted, friends can hire you and become supervisors (and vice versa, of course). In the trucking industry this is as important as it is anywhere else, though it may seem kind of hard to come by. After all, truck drivers aren’t necessarily attending bi-monthly seminars, coffee klatches and speed networking events like other professionals, because they are typically too busy actually hitting the road and getting somewhere. But as a professional truck driver, you still have some vital networking resources that you would be wise to consider keeping up with. Trucking industry sites: You want to stay on the cutting edge of information in your industry, which is why you visit trucking industry sites daily to keep up with the latest innovations, law changes, and other occurrences in the biz. You can then circulate these articles around social media, and speak a little more intelligently about topics that come up elsewhere. Message boards: Many drivers tool around on message boards, seeking advice, posting and looking for job openings, and just generally horsing around with other drivers, virtually speaking. There are many truck driving message boards, but Truckers Forum, Truckers Report, and Trucking Boards are three popular ones. Find a couple you are most comfortable with and join. Post with regularity and engage other truck drivers. Social Media: Of course you should start with the essentials—that is, LinkedIn and Facebook—to establish connections. Pay particular attention to LinkedIn by keeping your profile fully updated, and join a couple of truck driving groups and make frequent posts and connections. Post articles and videos important to the trucking industry, and stay active (check and comment or post at least twice a day if possible). Of course, there are trucking social media sites like this and this that can also help you make connections on a larger scale. Union meetings: If you’re a union employee, meetings are your chance to put your expertise to work for you. If you have followed these other bits of advice, you’ll likely find yourself a more informed voter, able to make a better decision on your union vote, and you’ll also perhaps hold more sway with your co-workers and friends as well. Plus it gives you opportunity to meet union employees from other companies, giving you the chance to mention if you are interested in new opportunities. Truck stops: Ah yes, your everyday bastion of trucker activity. If you find yourself meeting the same people at multiple truck stops, why not make friends? Being sociable is the biggest way to network, so merely chatting with a colleague and maybe having breakfast or coffee together could be a good way to establish new contacts. Conventions, conferences, and seminars: You may not be all that jazzed about the idea of going to a trucking convention or conference, but why not give it a shot? You get to hobnob with your industry’s leadership, get some good advice, and meet some colleagues along the way. Trucking Groups and Organizations: Perhaps the best way to network is to join a group whose primary mission is to introduce truck drivers to each other for professional development. Groups like the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), National Truckers Association, and America’s Independent Trucking Association

A lot of truck drivers, even those who are just starting out, recognize the potential benefits of becoming an owner-operator. Who doesn’t want the freedom associated with working for yourself, being a business owner and finding the potential to hit it big and turn your little one-person operation into a fleet of your own? It’s more than a possibility for many people getting into the industry: it’s a dream. But it’s also a journey fraught with peril, something you should consider carefully and prepare for meticulously if you want to find real success as a trucking owner-operator. It’s important to keep in mind that embarking upon this path means leaving the safety and relative security of your regular trucking job. You’ll be on your own for things like insurance, and you won’t have the big trucking company backing you up if you get into trouble. So if you’re keen to strike out on your own, you should make the proper preparations. While you can find success, and yes, perhaps even find real success that you can build into something lasting, you should follow these steps (at least to some degree). Get some experience working for trucking companies. You don’t want to jump into the deep end before you learn to swim, and neither do you want to be a rookie truck driver expecting fame and fortune right out of the gate. Give yourself a few years working for “the man” to learn how the business works, from the driving to keeping costs down on the road to working the logbooks. Get in with someone in the office and take notes on how to properly run a business of your own. Save some money. Be sure you can afford to buy or lease your truck, and beware of companies willing to throw a truck to you under suspicious circumstances. Barr-Nunn truck driver David Casanova cautions against working with companies. “Plenty of companies out there will be willing to lease you a $150,000 truck with as little as 6 months experience and no money down,” he said. “They know you don’t know the numbers involved, they don’t give title to the truck unless you’ve paid it off, and while you are a contractor they don’t have to pay for certain benefits an employee would get.” Instead of this shortcut, save up for a healthy down payment on your truck and buy through legitimate channels only. Consider your private life. Families and private lives complicate the work of an owner-operator, who is often on the road an even longer time than other truck drivers. If you want to be home to see your family, it may not be feasible to do so as a successful owner-operator, especially initially. The decision between making that extra money and spending some time with your children can be a difficult one. Becoming an owner-operator is a huge step in the life of a truck driver. Don’t approach it lightly, and certainly don’t jump in without the proper experience, finances, and having your private life in order. Having your life in order and being fully prepared to take on this responsibility and privilege is a key step in doing it successfully versus getting yourself into strangling debt and a bad situation.

Getting into the trucking industry, you’re going to be driving many different types of trucks and towing different trailers carrying cargo of all types. Truck drivers can find themselves towing everything from food and any sort of goods, to auto parts to entire vehicles to even houses. The trailers required to properly transport those goods vary widely, as you may imagine. Trailers may vary significantly in terms of size and have different requirements and state roadway regulations, giving a wildly different driving experience for the driver. It’s important to know, then, what kind of trailer you’re hitching to your rig. Here are 8 common types of truck trailers that you may, in your time as a truck driver, find yourself driving. The most common trailer is the Standard Freight Trailer. They are used to carry most boxed, crated, and palletized freight. They are the rectangular-shaped trailers that most people associate with semi trucks. Coming in lengths varying from 28’ to 53’ and widths from 96” to 102” and generally are between 12.5’ and 13.5’ in height. While most Standard Freight Trailers have an axle-to-wheel ratio of 2:8, heavy loads use a 3:12 or 4:16 ratio. Refrigerated Truck Trailers (commonly known as “Reefer” trailers) have a cooling unit installed in the trailer, commonly toward the front, and are insulated to transport perishable, refrigerated, or frozen goods. In general, Reefer Truck Trailers come in the same dimensions as a Standard Trailer, with the only real difference being the refrigeration attached to the front, and the fuel tank stored beneath the trailer. Container Skeletal Carriers are designed to transport international cargo containers that can range from 20’ and 45’ in length. Some come in adjustable configurations to accommodate containers of varying sizes. They carry the standard 2:8, 3:12 and 4:16 axle/wheel configurations depending on load weights. Platform, or Flat Bed, Trailers consist of a flatbed trailer with no roof or sides. They are designed to haul oversize cargo that won’t fit inside a standard freight trailer, or for materials that need to be loaded or unloaded from the top or side of the trailer. They run up to 48’ in length and carry a variety of materials. If you are carrying oversized or special cargo similar to a flat bed, you may also use a Platform Drop deck/Gooseneck Trailer. They are used for cargo with special needs with minor differences to flatbed trailers. They have a similar feel to a standard platform trailer, but also include a raised bed, or gooseneck. Car Carrier Trailers are designed to transport cars, trucks, and similar vehicles. They generally have two levels, and a series or ramps designed for the loading and unloading of vehicles. For relatively large, bulky, and light cargo, Deep Drop Furniture/Electronics Trailers are often employed. They feature a lower rear deck to allow a greater cargo capacity capability. As the name suggests, furniture and electronics are often transported in these types of trailers. If you’re working in the logging industry you may find yourself towing a Timber Trailer. Essentially a flatbed trailer equipped with vertical stakes designed to hold logs into place, Timber Trailers are sometimes called “Loggers.”

Loneliness can be a big drawback to the trucker’s life. The days and even weeks of continuous solitude (outside of short stints at the truck stop, anyway) can get to even the most hardened of loners out on the road. But there is a solution. What about team driving? After all, two bodies are better than one, right? As with any too-good-to-be-true scenario, though, it often IS a little too good to be true. There are certainly many positive and negative aspects to tandem driving, and quelling the loneliness factor is but one of them. PRO: You can drive longer. While there are rules limiting how much team drivers can stay in the truck at any one time without a rest, In general team driving gives a primary advantage of being able to drive for longer periods of time. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) rules dictate a single driver may only run a certain amount of time without rest. Team drivers can switch off driving duties, allowing the truck to continue rolling down the pike to its destination with fewer stops and breaks. However, beware that this does not mean you get twice as much road time if you have a partner. FMCSA rules have recently been changed, requiring 10 consecutive hours off-duty, and only two of those hours may be spent in the passenger seat of the truck. That means that driver must spend time either out of the truck or in the sleeper berth. However, your driving partner still affords you a significant amount of potentially additional time in the truck. CON: You have to share the truck with someone else. Probably the single biggest hangup to the team driving setup is the fact that you are sharing your already tight cab with another person. That means you are essentially married to that person: sharing a sleeping space (though hopefully not at the same time) and a living area in a home where neither person can stand up and leave the room. Tiffs and squabbles can become really awkward really quickly, and you have to also be aware of the other person’s feelings and needs as well as your own. PRO: Team incentives are great. Large trucking companies many times offer team driving incentives such as a sign-on bonus or a 5,000 mile-per-week guarantee, even if the team doesn’t log that many miles. They also frequently enjoy higher per-mile and safety bonus rates, and often get priority dispatch.   CON: You’re still splitting the check. Keep in mind that even though you get more money, you’re still splitting the money you earn, so you will need to calculate how many miles you need to run, and whether that number is realistic and feasible, in order to operate at a profit for both of you.   PRO: You can take your spouse. Husband and wife teams, (or simply spousal pairings, depending on your situation) are relatively common in truck driving tandems. If you don’t have children it can make for a fun and rewarding experience with your significant other, seeing the world and working together…if that is a situation you can live with.   CON: You may be paired up with a stranger. If you don’t have a dedicated partner, you could be assigned on, and who knows how that will work? Being stuck on the road with someone you don’t trust can be a harrowing experience, so partnering with someone you don’t know is a high-risk, high-reward scenario. Approach it with caution.   The bottom line is, if you think you are interested in a team driving setup, do your research first. It can be a highly rewarding situation for you and for your partner, but so too can it very easily fall apart, leaving you potentially holding a very expensive bag.