The High Cost of Accidents Prt 1: How CDL Legal Monitoring Can Reduce Risk

The simple fact: Accidents can be very costly. To prevent them—and other high-ticket fines and violations—you want to ensure that you have the very best drivers operating your fleet.

This is why Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) Monitoring is so essential. Read on to learn more about how CDL Legal and Carrier Guard Monitoring can help protect your fleet, your business, and your drivers.

The High Cost of Accidents

Statistics show that the fleet accident rate is about 20 percent annually—which means that one-fifth of drivers on the road are likely to get into a crash or serious accident this year alone (or may have already).

As we mentioned, accidents can be extremely costly for motor carriers on a number of fronts. And as the severity goes up, so, naturally, does the cost.

According to the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS):

• The average cost of a minor car crash with just property damage (or what’s known as a “bent metal” crash) is $5,800.
• The average cost of a crash with non-fatal injuries jumps to $64,000. 
• The average cost of a car crash with fatalities is upwards of $671,000.

NETS also reports that the total cost of crashes to employers was $25.17 billion for on-the-job crashes, and that 155,000 missed days of work resulted from on-the-job crashes.

Added to that is the lost money and invaluable time should you have to pull one of your drivers from the road and seek out a temporary or permanent replacement until they complete the return to duty status.

Also, your insurance premiums can go up, your hard-earned partners and customers may be hesitant to work with you, and perhaps most significantly, your company’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) score and safety rating could be seriously impacted. Depending on the severity (and number) of offense(s), you could even be hit with a Conditional or Unsatisfactory rating—both of which, while also being incredibly costly, can involve a long road to recovery as you take corrective action. 

WHY CDL Legal?

CDL Legal is the leader in CDL Defense and CSA Management. When drivers get citations, we hire and pay for one of our experienced attorneys to defend them in court. We work with our carriers to keep them informed of every citation we are working through our online portal. Once a case is completed, we obtain the proper court docs to file with the FMCSA to remove negative points from your CSA score. We also provide you with online CSA management tools giving you better visibility to your CSA data.

CDL Legal has partnered with NorthAmerican Transportation Association (NTA) to offer services for fighting tickets, CSA management tools, roadside assistance with a low fee and $0 deductible.

Gain more Visibility to Driver Citations and Your CSA Data

• Online portal to manage citations and CSA scores
• Gain better insight on your CSA scores
• Identify and mitigate risk
• Stay up-to-date on every citation we are working
• CSA Points Challenged
• Citation Reporting
• Improve your Insurance Rates
• Better Driver Retention

Driver Benefits

• Moving and non-moving violations covered in ANY vehicle
• 95% Overall success rate in tickets reduced or dismissed in court
• Attorney fees paid by CDL Legal 100%
• Access to discounts on hotels, rental cars, restaurants, pharmacies and more
• Access to roadside assistance network
• Free coverage for spouse

As required by the Department of Transportation (DOT) you already pull a driver’s MVR during the pre-employment phase to help measure the suitability and safety of candidates. Much like a DOT background check or criminal background check falling under the purview of the Fair Reporting Act, this simply makes sense to help you make the most informed hiring decisions possible.

But how does CDL Legal. At CDL Legal, we run an initial MVR background check to establish a baseline. Then we continuously monitor the driver’s MVR on a regular basis. So, whenever new information goes on a driver’s MVR, we get what we call a “ping” or a “hit.” When receiving a ping, we pull the driver’s MVR, check it for errors, and immediately alert you so that you can take preventative action.

These hits could include a wide range of situations both good and bad. Examples can include:

• Accidents 
• DUIs
• Speeding tickets or other motor vehicle violations or convictions
• CDL suspensions or revocations
• Safety violations
• Medical certificate downgrades
• Driver renewal or update to his or her medical certificate or CDL

In monitoring MVRs, CDL Legal provides you with a secure, dedicated online portal. All drivers are enrolled and continuously monitored, and you receive real-time e-notifications whenever new information is detected.