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Part 391 — Qualifications of drivers
Question 1: To what extent must a motor carrier review a driver’s overall driving record to comply with the requirements of § 391.25?
Guidance: The motor carrier must consider as much information about the driver’s experience as is reasonably available. This would include all known violations, whether they are part of an official record maintained by a driver’s licensing authority, as well as any other information that would indicate the driver has shown a lack of due regard for the safety of the public. Violations of traffic and criminal laws, as well as the driver’s involvement in motor vehicle accidents, are indications of disregard for public safety and must be considered. A violation of size and weight laws should also be considered.
Question 2: Is a driver service or leasing company that is not a motor carrier permitted to perform annual reviews of driving records (§391.25) on the drivers it furnishes to motor carriers?
Guidance: The driver service or leasing company may perform annual reviews if designated by a motor carrier to do so.
Question 3: May motor carriers use third parties to ask driver’s licensing authorities for copies of driving records to be examined during the carrier’s annual review of each driver’s record?
Guidance: Yes. Motor carriers may use third-party agents, such as driver information services or companies, to contact driver’s licensing authorities and obtain copies of driving records. However, the motor carrier is responsible for ensuring the information is accurate.
Question 4: Does the use of an employer notification system that provides motor carriers with a department of motor vehicle report for every State in which the driver held either an operator's license, a commercial driver's license (CDL), or permit when a driver is enrolled in the system and provides information about license status, crashes and convictions of laws or regulations governing the operation of motor vehicles on the driving record satisfy the requirement for an annual review of each driver's record?
Guidance: Yes. Since motor carriers would be provided with a department of motor vehicle report for every State in which the driver held a commercial motor vehicle operator's license or permit when a driver is enrolled in the system and the State licensing agency includes information about crashes and convictions of laws or regulations governing the operation of motor vehicles on the driving record, the requirements of § 391.25(a) would be satisfied. Generally, the requirements of § 391.25(b) and (c) would be satisfied if the employer notification system records the identity of the motor carrier's representative who conducted the review when the carrier's representative reviews the information on the driving record.
The use of an employer notification system would meet the requirements if either the motor carrier automatically receives updates from the State (push-system) or can regularly access the system to check for updates (pull-system), as long as the check occurs at least once per year. In addition, receipt of these reports meets the requirement for the annual check even if it is provided to the motor carrier by a third-party.
With regard to the requirement that the response from each State agency, and a note identifying the person who performed the review, may be maintained in the driver's qualification files, motor carriers may satisfy the recordkeeping requirement by using computerized records in accordance with FMCSA's Regulatory Guidance Concerning Electronic Documents and Signatures, 75 FR 411, January 4, 2011. Therefore, motor carriers using an automated employer notification computer system would not be required to maintain paper copies of the driving records, or a note identifying the person who performed the review, in each individual driver qualification file provided documentation consistent with FMCSA's January 4, 2011, guidance can be produced upon demand of a Federal or State enforcement official.