Nine Questions to Ask Before Hiring A Semi Driver

In the last ten years, the number of traffic fatalities in Georgia has increased over 50%. If you are hiring drivers, you need to ensure you are putting the right person behind the wheel. This month's Safety Alert shares a few questions you can ask to make sure the new hire will not wreck your business.

Nine Questions to Ask Before Hiring A Semi Driver: You're at least partially responsible for the actions of a driver in your farm truck.

Tom J. Beckman December 13, 2023

Good employees are hard to find. In today's business environment, finding someone with a commercial driver's license to operate a semi is even harder. However, Fred Whitford believes that's no reason to hire the first person who appears in your driveway.

"Yes, you needed help yesterday, but you've got too much at stake," says Whitford, director of Purdue Pesticide Programs. After developing expertise in traffic laws and safety regulations, he sometimes offers his opinion in cases involving accidents with farm trucks.

"Drivers you employ are an extension of you," Whitford explains. "Whatever the drivers do in your trucks makes you at least partially responsible for their actions.

"Researching backgrounds of your drivers increases probability that you put someone behind the wheel who will represent you while conducting your business. The legal system calls it "excercising reasonable care and due diligence."

"What people have done in the past, they will often do again in the future. That's why we're concerned about drivers who were convicted driving high on drugs or alcohol or are repeat speeding offenders."

Ask these questions

Asking the prospective employee questions is critical. Your insurance company will also do its own investigation into the driver's background. Here are nine questions to ask:

Has your driver's license been suspended, revoked, or modified in the last five years? "It's better to know now rather than later," Whitford insists.
Have you ever been convicted of a felony? If the person says yes, ask for dates, charges, places, courts, and actions taken. Court-martial proceedings count too.
Any traffic offenses? Ask if they've pled guilty to or been convicted of any traffic-related offenses within the last five years. Make it clear you want to know about all traffic tickets.
Do you have a valid driver's license? This may seem obvious, but you never know! "Ask anyway," Whitford says. "Ask for the driver's license number too."
Do you have a valid commercial driver's license (CDL)? Ask for their CDL number. If they don't have a CDL, ask if they would be willing to get one. Whitford notes that even though it may not be required if the farm is exempt, it is more evidence of due diligence. Getting a CDL also requires a department of transportation (DOT) physical. Who pays for CDL training may be negotiable.
Have you held driver's licenses in other states? "Make sure you check on any past problems that might have arisen elsewhere," Whitford says.
Can I have permission to verify? Ask for permission to verify information on their employment application through a thorough check of criminal Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) records. Our insurance provider may be able to check BMV records and share information with you. Make sure they understand you will follow up with references provided on the application.
Will you submit to a drug and alcohol test? Ask if they understand they may be required to submit to a pre-employment test for drugs and alcohol as permitted by law. "Many farms have zero tolerance for drugs and alcohol," Whitford says.
Have you falsified or failed to provide information? "Falsification or failure to provide information may be reasons to deny or terminate employment, and the prospective employee should be aware," Whitford says.

Georgia exemptions to CDL requirement

Farmers and their employees in Georgia may not need a CDL to drive a semi or straight truck hauling goods to and from the farm with the appropriate waivers. Once you start hauling commercially, those same drivers must have a CDL just like all other commercial truck drivers.

"Get your information firsthand from a reliable source, like a motor carrier officer with the Georgia State Police," Whitford says. "Don't rely on what a neighbor tells you. There are both federal and state laws, and not everyone interprets them the same way. It can get confusing very quickly."

When talking with the Georgia State Police, tell them you're asking about transportation regulations regarding your farming operation. What is required for farmers is different than what the law requires for commercial motor carriers, including ag retailers.

Once someone pays a farmer to haul grain or inputs, exemptions no longer apply. As some interpret the rules, if you are paid "fully" for hauling grain, for example, then the law refers to it as operating for hire. However, there are exceptions. Receiving fuel or being reimbursed for expenses is not referred to as "for hire."

Whitford adds a word of caution for those who don't take this subject seriously. "Those who haul commercially without CDLs on farm plates without business insurance risk everything they own if an accident occurs," he says.

Bechman, Tom J. “9 Questions to Ask Before Hiring Semi Driver.” Farm Progress, 13 Dec. 2023, www.farmprogress.com/management/9-questions-to-ask-before-hiring-semi-driver?NL=SEFP-01&Issue=SEFP-01_20231213_SEFP-01_34&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_4_b&utm_rid=CPG02000006656327&utm_campaign=81391&utm_medium=email&elq2=5c5d0d8678d74094b30102f2905e7e67&sp_eh=3533aa2aad2a072e31c0c684cad73dfebd8285893de3bbf32a5279d8c543ea73.