If you own a commercial business that regularly delivers and picks up goods to and from various U.S. states, it’s important to hire a reliable truck driver. This is especially true if you need to keep delivering your items to different locations on a tight schedule and if the items are worth a huge amount of money. Entrusting such a delicate task to the wrong person can greatly affect not only your business’s reputation but also your sales.
For this, you may get in touch with a Commercial Driver’s License or CDL driver staffing agency. Such a company hires only licensed, skilled, and experienced drivers who are proven to be reliable and well-adept with the rigors of commercial trucking. The drivers hired by the agency have undergone intensive background checking and other means to verify their identity and fitness for such a demanding job.
But as they say, don’t always take other people’s words. So, be sure to check for these five qualities when you interview a potential commercial truck driver for your company:
The driver must know basic mechanical troubleshooting and must be independent
A commercial truck driver is almost always working alone and driving hundreds of miles in areas where there are no nearby mechanic shops. Knowing this, you must check whether the driver applicant knows how to perform basic troubleshooting of mechanical problems usually encountered by trucks. The driver should also know how to solve issues while traveling without needing external help on most occasions, except for absolute emergencies.
He/she must be well-trained
A great truck driver should likewise be well-trained and highly skilled in handling commercial trucks. It’s a must to hire a truck driver with a Class A Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) as it would mean that the driver has undergone professional driving evaluation. If the driver has some driver’s training program certificates to show, then that would be another plus point for the candidate driver.
The driver must be healthy
As the driver would be spending long hours of traversing lengthy expanses of roads across states, it’s a must to have a healthy body and a healthy lifestyle. Ideally, the driver should not be a smoker (if he or she is, just make sure that the driver is not a chain smoker) and should not be a heavy drinker (occasional drinking is fine, just not before driving).
When you can, ask the driver to show a medical certificate showing that he or she is fit to work and does not have any lingering illness that could affect the driver’s performance while on the job.
He/she should have a sterling CSA and DOT record
Your candidate driver must have a sterling Compliance, Safety, and Accountability (CSA) profile and Department of Transportation (DOT) record upon being given legal permission to check. A spotless CSA and DOT record is an excellent indicator that you’re looking at a person who knows how to do his or her job with the utmost professionalism and care. In a highly demanding job as trucking, such traits are non-negotiable.
The driver must be honest, patient, and responsible
Finally, your candidate driver must, in every way, show honesty, patience, and responsibility both on the road and inside your business premises. These attributes are difficult to find and if you see them in a candidate or probationary driver, then you’ve found a keeper.
It’s important to have the best people for every job. Just check for all of these qualities and you can be certain that you’ve hired the right commercial truck driver for your business.