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Want to lower driver turnover? How a good training program impacts driver retention

A driver stands in the sun beside his truck cab | Lower driver turnover

Truck driver turnover hovers around 90% on a good day. This costs trucking businesses a small fortune, from onboarding to maintaining safety standards, to delays that a short staff will inevitably cause. With such a high demand for talent, keeping your drivers means keeping your business on the road without interruptions. The question all trucking companies are asking is, “how can I lower truck-driver turnover?”

Why is driver turnover so high?

According to our data, most driver turnover happens within the first 180 days of employment, showing that newer drivers have a hard time acclimating to the lifestyle. Secondly, long-haul routes see higher turnover. The longer the route, the shorter the tenure.

The High Cost of High Turnover

The average cost to replace a truck driver is $8,200, and the average tenure with one employer is one year. On top of that, the cost of replacing a driver is roughly three times the average cost of turnover in the U.S. 

Replacing your entire workforce every year adds up, and with profit margins already slim, trucking companies can’t afford to pay for that revolving door year after year and stay in business. 

How do you lower driver turnover? Well, first, we need to address the solvable root causes.

Addressing the Causes of High Turnover

Being on the road is hard; we all know that. Many newer drivers don’t fully grasp the impact of life on the road until they are in the thick of it. Long hours alone and separation from loved ones can be difficult to deal with if a driver is unprepared. And many drivers struggle to engage with their coworkers and peers because of distance. Add to that the level of responsibility and constant situational awareness that a driver needs to have top of mind at all times.

A truck driver is responsible for not only a 1,000-pound vehicle but tens of thousands of dollars of cargo. Add to that the responsibility for maintenance and safety. A truck driver must always be up to date on safety training and always cognizant of other drivers on the road. 

This level of responsibility, coupled with limited human engagement, is taxing on an individual, and many give up.

Solving for Human Connection, Engagement, and Responsibility

Trucking companies mostly understand the need for driver training and engagement. The rules and regulations of the road are many, and truckers are held accountable for every misstep and even every perceived misstep. Not only does this reflect on the driver’s record, impacting their ability to work and make a decent salary, but it also reflects on the trucking company. If a driver gets a negative CSA score because of maintenance or other issues, so does the company. 

The pressure is high on both drivers and companies, and many trucking companies have renewed interest in safety training programs. An investment in safety training is an investment in the company. And it could also help lower driver turnover.

“You are not in the trucking business. You are in the people business.”

Noted industry icon, Dan Baker, is famous for this line. No matter the age or generation of a truck driver, one thing always stays the same: people need to feel like they belong. This is why the trucking business must be about people first. 

Drivers stay with a trucking company, not because of pay or benefits, but because they feel like they belong and that they are appreciated. Many drivers feel like they are a business’ lowest priority because they are on the road, and it’s important to go the extra mile to prove that they matter to you. To learn how to build a great culture of belonging, check out our webinar.

But how do you solve the lack of human connection when drivers are on the road? And how can this lower driver turnover?

Appreciated employees are retained employees. You need a training program that recognizes drivers for their good work, not just their CSA scores. It also helps to give drivers morale-boosting experiences, like wishing them a happy birthday or happy service anniversary. 

When a new driver starts with your company, roll out the red carpet. Make a big deal about them and go out of your way to show them that you’re happy they’ve joined the company.  A little bit of recognition can go a long way in increasing morale and lowering driver turnover.

A Win-Win Solution 

The best way to reduce driver turnover is to keep the drivers you already have by creating a company culture that inspires drivers. Infinit-I Workforce Solutions has a cultural relations training program to help you build company-wide relationships that help all employees understand their role in company culture. To learn more about building that culture, click here.

Training and Engagement to Reduce Driver Turnover

Infinit-I Workforce Solutions has a customizable, mobile training tool that solves all the root causes of driver turnover, helping you retain your workforce and keep your business rolling.

With brief, easily-digestible training modules, drivers can complete training without eating into drive-time or off-time. In fact, most of our drivers complete their training during load times! Brief quizzes at the end of each module automatically store results, ensuring your company stays up to date with mandatory safety training requirements.

Best of all, the tool has a built-in employee appreciation function. Even while your drivers are on the road, they will know that you value them not only as drivers but as human beings. That will go a long way to lower your driver turnover. Because when the competition for talent is fierce, differentiating your company even in small ways can make a big difference.

Infinit-I Workforce Solutions takes care of all of the administration for you. We know that even if your intentions for employee recognition are great, the administration of a recognition program for tens of thousands of drivers is beyond your capacity. That’s why we built it in. 

5 Things to Remember About Lowering Driver Turnover:

  • • Life on the road is hard, and a little appreciation can go a long way.
  • • Training is necessary but needs to be retained for it to be effective.
  • • Brief training modules with videos work well when time is of the essence.
  • • An appreciated employee is a retained employee.
  • • A training program that combines state-of-the-art training with employee appreciation will lower your driver turnover.

Reduce Truck Driver Turnover

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The effects of nuclear verdicts on the trucking industry

A close-up of police lights at night | Nuclear verdicts

In 2019, trucking bankruptcies quadrupled due to nuclear verdicts. The strategy seen in courtrooms time and time again involved plaintiff’s attorneys pleading to the juries’ “better angels” to award families millions of dollars as a result of a crash with a truck. This is with or without the trucker’s fault and seems to have no relationship to the actual incident or its severity.

What is a nuclear verdict?

A nuclear verdict is defined as a judgment in excess of $10 million as a result of a truck-related crash. Nuclear verdicts also indicate a disproportionate relationship between the settlement and the actual economic or physical damages incurred by the plaintiff.

Nuclear Verdicts in 2019

In the first half of the year, 640 carriers went out of business because of nuclear verdicts, according to the Wall Street Journal. The problem has been noticed by major publications, including Business Insider and Bloomberg, calling 2019 a Recession for the trucking industry.

And while the American Trucking Association is working on proposed legislation to combat nuclear verdicts, that will be years in the making. 

The Ripple Effect of Nuclear Verdicts

Nuclear verdicts don’t just affect certain trucking companies; they affect us all. From job loss to insurance premium prices, the downstream effect of nuclear verdicts is affecting the entire trucking industry.

In 2019 alone, tens of thousands of drivers lost their jobs due to carrier bankruptcies as a result of nuclear verdicts. With that level of job loss, it’s no wonder 2019 was deemed a trucking recession. Imagine if tens of thousands of people were put out of work in any other industry as a result of rampant lawsuits with no reform in sight: 10,000 investment bankers, 10,000 plumbers, 10,000 doctors…you get the idea. There would be protests, legislation drafted, and major structural changes implemented. But the cultural narrative regarding “big trucks” in this country, even though they are a driver of America’s economy, is that truck drivers and truck companies are dangerous on the road.

This is why trucking companies must be hyper-vigilant. 

Preventable Risk

Hyper-vigilance in this day and age means assessing and managing preventable risks. When nuclear verdicts are on the rise, so are insurance premiums. Now it is more important than ever to protect your company and your drivers through regular maintenance and safety training.

According to the FMCSA, last year, driver error accounted for 87 percent of crash risk, while 10 percent was caused by preventable maintenance. With the added scrutiny on trucking companies and the prevalence of nuclear verdicts, it is more important than ever to address those preventable risks to avoid losing your business altogether.

How Can Nuclear Verdicts Affect My Company?

Currently, insurance premiums are rising year over year by 50 – 100 percent, even for smaller carriers. Carriers of all sizes are being affected by nuclear verdicts, with insurance companies mitigating losses on the front end. Some insurance carriers even are getting out of the business altogether.

When profit margins hover around 5 percent, the doubling of insurance premiums can be injurious to trucking companies, even forcing some companies into bankruptcy.

To read more about the downstream effects and help on calculations for future cost models, check out our whitepaper.

What Can I Do to Avoid a Nuclear Verdict?

  • • Driver training is the single best thing you can do to protect your company from a nuclear verdict. Contact one of our experts today about customizable training for your drivers.
  • • Establish processes and procedures for truck maintenance across your enterprise, even for contractors. 
  • • Documentation, documentation, documentation. If you don’t document it, it didn’t happen. Make sure all your training and maintenance records are stored and updated properly.
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Rising Insurance Premiums for Transportation Firms: What are the Causes?

A driver leans against his truck tire as he takes a break | Rising Insurance Premiums for Transportation Firms

In the last couple of years, insurance premiums for transportation firms have been skyrocketing, and there’s no end in sight. The best trucking companies with the best CSA scores see a 20 to 30 percent increase, while other companies can see a double and even triple increase. Why are we seeing rising insurance premiums for transportation firms and what are the causes?

Causes and Effects of Rising Insurance Premiums for Transporation Firms

Rising insurance premiums for transportation firms can potentially affect the nationwide economy, as costs are passed from insurance companies to trucking companies, and down the line to consumers. A big part of these rising premiums is litigation and the increased frequency of nuclear verdicts.

Nuclear verdicts are settlements for $10 million and up, and 2019 was a record year for them, topping out at nearly $300 million for the record-breaker. With that kind of money going out the door on a regular basis, insurance companies are having a harder time insuring trucking companies. In fact, many insurance providers have completely exited the trucking business altogether. These rising costs impact the insurance companies’ loss ratio, which then results in rising insurance premiums for transportation firms.

How is a loss ratio calculated?

Insurance companies calculate loss ratios to determine profitability. They calculate money lost in claims vs. money paid in premiums to determine their loss ratio. When the ratio gets narrow, premiums increase.

Risk Exposure

By being in the trucking industry, you accept a certain amount of risk. However, every trucking business owner should take an honest inventory of what risks they can actually control, then develop a strategy to address those risks.

Insurance companies are looking for reasons to increase your premium, so you need a tool to help mitigate that risk and demonstrate to your insurance provider that you are insurable and maintain a culture of safety.

With insurance premiums rising so sharply, there is an opportunity to lighten the risk exposure with quality safety training for drivers. Safety programs have been shown to help mitigate the rising costs of insurance premiums and reduce the instance of nuclear verdicts.

Safety First

A high-quality safety program must be accessible for drivers and have flawless, immediate reporting. Driver scores completed modules, and ongoing engagement go a long way toward proving to an insurance company or a courtroom that you have an airtight culture of safety.

Infinit-I Workforce Solutions is a customizable, cloud-based tool that helps you create and enforce your unique safety program. With short, engaging videos, drivers can engage on their phones without impacting drive or rest time. Each module has a quiz, and scores are recorded in real-time. 

In an environment of high risk and low profit margins, you need to do all you can to mitigate rising insurance premiums and litigation. Our safety training solution can help.

What do I need to know now? | Rising Insurance Premiums for Transportation Firms

  • • Insurance premiums for transportation firms are rising rapidly, sometimes doubling or tripling year over year.
  • • Your transportation firm can mitigate rising costs by implementing our customizable training solution.
  • • Documentation could save your company in the courtroom and make you more insurable.
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How Reporting Reduces Insurance Costs and Litigation Risk for Transportation Firms

How Reporting Reduces Insurance Costs and Litigation Risk for Transportation Firms

Nuclear verdicts are on the rise, now more than ever. With these verdicts totaling $10 million or more each, this presents a real threat to your business.  In fact, the rise of nuclear verdicts has resulted in many trucking companies going out of business, and many insurance carriers are exiting the trucking industry completely. With insurance costs and litigation risk for transportation firms soaring around every turn, it is more imperative than ever to enforce safety policies and procedures, and have clear documentation.

And while the national inflation rate is about 2 percent, insurance rates are actually increasing by 50 – 100 percent year over year for trucking companies, due to nuclear verdicts. 

What is litigation risk?

Any roadside incident presents the opportunity for litigation. With the appetite for litigation at an all-time high, it is important to train drivers on how to avoid these incidents by using your safety protocols—the more robust your safety program, the smaller the risk for litigation.

Nuclear Verdicts and Their Impact

In October 2019, Country Wide RV Transport (CWRV) was one of the latest trucking companies that fell victim to a nuclear verdict. The second-largest RV and motor-home transportation provider in the country, they employed nearly 600 drivers and contractors, all of whom were informed right before the holidays that they would no longer have jobs. The driver who caused the accident was an independent contractor, but the company was still held liable for damages to the tune of $26.6 million.

In the largest nuclear verdict of 2019, and, in fact, in history, a jury awarded a $280 million verdict in only 45 minutes of deliberation. Was the accident tragic? Absolutely. Was it the truck driver’s fault? Absolutely. Was the verdict inordinately high? Absolutely.

Fatalities are decreasing, yet nuclear verdicts are increasing. 

Each year for the last decade has seen significant increases in litigation resulting in nuclear verdicts, with an extreme uptick in the last two years. Plaintiffs’ lawyers have discovered a gold mine in cases against trucking companies, and you better believe they are hard at work mining every dollar, or in this case, every million that they can possibly get. So while your company is hovering at a 5% profit margin, you’re funding plaintiffs’ lawyers’ fancy vacations. 

You can’t afford it.

Insurance costs are rising rapidly, even for squeaky-clean trucking companies. Insurance providers understand the litigation risks associated with the industry and lose a great deal on nuclear verdicts. Many insurance providers don’t even cover trucking companies anymore due to litigation risk.

What can you do about it? 

With nuclear verdicts and insurance costs on the rise, you can’t afford to take any chances. This is not going away and, in fact, is only getting worse. 

The best leg you can stand on in court is your culture and history of safety, with airtight documentation. Juries, judges, lawyers, and insurance companies become very interested in your culture of safety and history of documentation when a settlement is on the line. 

Learn more about building and maintaining a culture of safety

To get the most out of your safety program and prevent excessive insurance costs and litigation risk, you need a program that is easily accessible to drivers and offers real-time, cloud-based documentation.

Not sure where to start?

Check out our whitepaper on controlling insurance costs, which will help you understand:

  • • What part of your risk exposure you can control
  • • What you can actively do to mitigate your risk exposure
  • • How your company can proactively work to establish a culture of safety that can help reduce accidents, improve defensibility in court, and give access to the best possible insurance rates

Download the Controlling Insurance Costs whitepaper now!

Increase our defensibility in court

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What Triggers a DOT Compliance Audit?

What Triggers a DOT Compliance Audit?

What Triggers a DOT Compliance Audit?

When it comes to a DOT compliance audit, it’s not a matter of “if”, it’s a matter of “when”. An audit is triggered after an accident or poor review during a roadside stop. These audits can also be triggered by bad CSA scores for a company.

On top of these issues that can trigger an audit, the DOT does do random audits at times, so you will find yourself going through a compliance audit if you work in the trucking industry. When the auditor comes, you need to be ready with proper documentation.

Remember, if it’s not documented, dated, and readily available, it didn’t happen.

How does the DOT oversee trucking firms?

The Department of Transportation (DOT) is a federal regulatory agency that oversees all transportation in the United States. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is a division of the DOT tasked with regulating the commercial vehicle industry.

The FMCSA develops and enforces regulations meant to keep the roadways and truck drivers safe. All trucking companies and drivers must follow all FMCSA regulations or face penalties such as fees or having their trucks taken off the road.

What Do You Need During a DOT Audit?

When an auditor comes, it’s important to have all the necessary documentation ready, including driver logs, medical records, and safety training records. This documentation could mean the difference between a simple audit and getting your trucks parked.

One of the most important things an auditor looks for is your company’s safety record. They want to see how you’re implementing driver safety training programs, and more importantly how well they are working.

They will also look at your company policies. They want to make sure all company personnel have read and are following these policies. It’s important to make sure all your documentation can prove consistent efforts towards maintaining a culture of safety.

complaince audit protection
The Consequences of a Bad Audit

If your DOT compliance audit doesn’t show sufficient training and safety documentation, you could end up with a Conditional status, meaning the auditor provides an action plan and a deadline for you to implement it.

Conditional status can put a target on your company. Your trucks will get stopped more often and will be subjected to more frequent roadside inspections. You’ll also find it difficult to find clients and drivers willing to work with your company if you have a conditional status.

Without the right tools in place, you could end up costing your company time and money.

Protecting Your Company During an Audit

The best way to make sure you have all your documentation ready for an audit is to implement an online DOT safety training program like Infinti-I Workforce Solutions. The Infinit-I system is easy for drivers to use and makes maintaining and accessing records easy for you.

The cloud-based solution allows drivers to complete ongoing short, interactive courses, and maintains all records of participation and testing scores with date and timestamps. This means when DOT comes calling for an audit, you have all the documentation you need to keep your trucks on the road and in good standing.

Infint-I can help you solve your biggest safety training issues, all while saving your company money. For more information about how, download our risk management whitepaper.

Prepare Against Your Next DOT Audit

Your company could be subject to a DOT compliance audit at any time, but especially after incidents on the road. A culture of safety goes a long way towards passing these audits, and that’s where Infinit-I Workforce Solutions is on your side.

Before you take your chances with your next audit, check out how Infinit-I can help you create a program to meet your safety and compliance needs. To see it for yourself, request a demo today.

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The Real Cost of Trucks Going Out of Service

The Real Cost of Trucks Going Out of Service

How much is the real cost of trucks going out of service due to preventable maintenance? It seems like such an easy thing—check the engine, check the tires, and good to go. But incomplete pre- or post-checks can have a major impact on a trucking company. 

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Pre- and post-stop checks can seem tedious at times, but they can make the difference between your business making money and paying out the nose for on-the-road maintenance and delivery delays. 

When an airplane pilot prepares to fly a plane, they always perform pre- and post-flight checks to ensure that the plane is in working order and safe for all. Truck drivers need to take a similar responsibility and take it every bit as seriously. When a tire blows out on the road, it could mean accident and injury, and most definitely means towing, off-site maintenance, and delays. And the cost of that truck to go out of service exponentially multiplies if it results in litigation or impacts client relationships.

Accidents or on-the-road incidents due to the lack of proper maintenance will most likely result in a DOT audit.

The cost for trucks going out of service not only includes financial costs, but time, effort, and reputational costs. If a DOT audit results in a “Conditional” status, that means you must allocate resources to create, implement, and manage an improvement plan. Many shipping and freight clients will not work with trucking companies who have a Conditional status, and without those relationships, you don’t have a business.


How can maintenance logs reduce my insurance premiums?

Every year insurance companies look at incidents and any other proof on the record to justify charging a higher premium. A maintenance log goes a long way toward ensuring and documenting a culture of safety at your trucking company, keeping premiums as low as possible.

Maintenance logs are business-savers.

When the DOT or the lawyer comes calling after an incident, the first thing they look at is maintenance logs. Did the truck have proper documentation? Does your company require and enforce documentation as part of your culture of safety?

If the answer is no, the cost of a truck going out of service for preventable maintenance is high. Higher than you and your business want to pay.  

And we know that if the maintenance logs don’t tell a favorable story, the insurance company will absolutely increase your premiums.

How can my trucking company avoid the effects of preventable maintenance issues?

Truck drivers are responsible for their own logs, but those logs play a big part in keeping your business on the road. To keep operations lean and profitable, your trucking company must avoid the downstream costs of your trucks going out of service for preventable maintenance.

This means equipping drivers with training and easy documentation tools. 

Infiniti-I Workforce Solutions is an easy training program that keeps your employees and owner/operators up to date with your policies and best practices for maintenance and documentation. Maintaining your trucks and being aware of potential maintenance issues can save your company hundreds of thousands of dollars in the long run.

Don’t let money fly out the door.

The cost for a truck to be out of service is too hefty a price to pay, from maintenance to delivery delays to insurance premiums that might be affected.  All told, this could mean hundreds of thousands of dollars out the door instead of in for your trucking company.

Key Takeaways:

  • • The cost for trucks to be out of service is too high to risk
  • • Preventable maintenance issues can cost your company in legal settlements, client relationships, and insurance premiums
  • • Infiniti-I Workforce Solutions trains your drivers to keep detailed and timely maintenance logs
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