Churning Linked to Compliance
CSA consists of seven categories. They are unsafe driving, hours of service violations, driver fitness, vehicle maintenance (which primarily consists of brakes, lights and tires), use of controlled substances by drivers, hazmat violations, and crash indicators.
A carrier that doesn’t do well on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s tests of Compliance, Safety and Accountability is most likely to have high rates of driver turnover, according to Vijillo CEO Steve Bryan.
“There appears to be a pretty strong correlation between the safety culture that exists at a motor carrier, which can be measured in CSA, and turnover rates,” Bryan stated.
Vijillo analyzed 2,000 of its customers. The research shows carriers with high turnover also had 181% more hours-of-service violations than carriers with low attrition, 182% more controlled substance violations, 211% more concerning both unsafe driving and vehicle maintenance, 213% more in driver fitness, 224% more crash indicators and a whopping 640% more hazmat violations. However, Bryan said tank trucks weren’t responsible for most of those violations. The number was vastly skewed by trucks without tanks transporting such flammable items as hair spray.
Bryan also clarified the trucking industry’s generally very high turnover rate, saying that 100% of turnover does not mean the entire staff changed but rather 5% of drivers are constantly moving from carrier to carrier.
“You’re churning [the same] 5% multiple times. They’re not with you long enough. They don’t become part of your culture. That’s also your CSA pain: 5% of the drivers in the industry [cause high] CSA [scores]. [The other] 95% of your drivers are not your problem children,” Bryan said.
