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Well they are at it again! Phishers are scamming the U.S. DOT ranks again by sending bogus letters to trucking companies asking for financial information. The letter is signed by Julie P Weynel, supposedly a senior procurement officer. If your company gets one of these letters, disregard it.

Here is a portion of the text from the bogus "letter."

"Our records show that you currently registered as a prospective contractor for procurement issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation. However, after reviewing your record we have noticed that you have not submitted your financial information release form.

Your financial institution's privacy policy may not allow it too release your financial information even to government institutions without your consent; therefore, we must have such form on file before we can move on with any procurement decisions."

This is a case of "forewarned is forearmed." Be on the alert for this current scam. Legitimate inquiries of this type would never be conducted in this manner.

TWIC to be Mandatory in Late September 2008

On September 25, the Transportation Worker Identity Card (TWIC) will become mandatory as proof of identification for all personnel, including commercial drivers, entering seaports in the United States.

The TWIC program requires a full background check prior to issuance of the TWIC card.

Is Your Training Program in Compliance With the FMCSR?

The Federal Motor Carrier safety Administration's Large Truck Causation Study found that, in crashes involving a car and a truck, the car's driver was at fault 56 percent of the time. That means a truck driver was at fault 44 percent of the time. I find it appalling that so-called professionally trained, experienced truck drivers cause almost half of all car-truck crashes!

Our industry simply cannot be proud of these statistics. A 44 percent rate should instead be a wake-up call. The professional driver is rightly held to a much higher standard of driving behavior than a car driver.

Few people realize that as part of a compliance review, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Safety Inspector conducting the review will ask the motor carrier some basic questions about its operation.

Often, the motor carrier is asked about its training program. You say, "What training program?" Well, as Gomer Pyle often said, "Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!"

Section 390.3 (e)(2) of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations states that every driver and employee must be instructed regarding, and must comply with all of the applicable regulations. In fact, in the same section, just above this it states the every employer shall be knowledgeable of and comply with all the regulations, which are applicable to that motor carrier's operations.

In the past, the only way to answer this training-related question was by either hiring a qualified Safety Director or hire an outside company to maintain your complete training records. Don't forget, even if you utilized the services of independent contractors, you still have to either provide this training or assure yourself that your independent contractors have been trained, otherwise you could be held liable for some type of negligence.

Negligence is where the money is in an accident. Negligence comes from the failure to use ordinary care the particular factual circumstances. You have comparative negligence, concurrent negligence, contributory negligence, gross negligence, negligent conduct, and negligence per se.

The only way to minimize negligence is through the proper training of your drivers. And if you use independent contractors you must assure yourself that you are not accused of the negligent hiring of these drivers. Don't let your drivers be part of that 44 percent.

In-House or Do-It-Yourself Training

If you're going to setup your own training programs, you need to set up a training outline, a training log, and an evaluation system for each topic.

The outline should be detailed enough that someone who reviews it has a clear idea of what was covered in the session. You can also use this outline as a reference when planning refresher training.

A training log helps you keep track of attendance. You may want to include driver signatures as a way to verify attendance. This type of log allows you to compare a driver's training record to his/her assigned duties and/or job description. It can also help remind you when it's time for refresher training.

Finally, as well as serving as a review of your session, a quiz is a good way for you to determine your drivers' understanding of the topics presented. Return the graded quizzes to your drivers and review the incorrect answers. Also, keep copies of the quizzes as documentation of the training.

However, this is only half the battle. If you have an accident, be prepared to have yourself raked over the coals regarding your training program and your training experience by the opposing party's attorney or insurance company in any accident case.

I don't want to burst your bubble of becoming the one of the best trainers, and there are quite a few, but it takes time and expertise. Every Safety Supervisor should have documented training in all the phases of trucking. Usually every state association offers some type of training but the fees usually prevent the smaller carriers from taking these courses.

Thus, the ultimate training can only come from the people who make the rules and regulations. The Transportation Safety Institute (TSI) in Oklahoma is the teaching arm of the U.S. DOT. They offer certificated courses on many subjects. Yes, what better way to add to your resume than to have several certificates issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Transportation Safety Institute hanging on your wall.

These courses have been mandated to have lower fees than you will find elsewhere. To give you an idea, I received a call from an independent who was looking for hazmat refresher courses. He had been getting a group of guys together and splitting the training costs at $80 each. The same course through TSI would have only been $39.95. The courses are online meaning you can take them 24/7.

These courses can be found at the NTA website - www.ntassoc.com - look for the NTA On-Line Institute. There are Driver courses, Management courses and a lot more than we can give space to here.

NTA, Inc. is available to members only. If you're not a member, join now. The NTA, Inc. is a nationwide association established to provide services, benefits and information to private fleets, trucking companies and owner-operators. We are the only association that provides our members with more FREE services and benefits than any other. For more information or details call (562) 630-7637 in California or 800 805-0040 toll free. You can e-mail me at wayne@ntassoc.com.