Your dashcam is your best defense

In your experience as an attorney, what are the biggest mistakes you see small trucking companies make when faced with a legal issue?

I’d say the first is that they wait too long to either call their go-to attorney or report the claim through their insurance broker. This can create issues with coverage and, sometimes worse, with data preservation. Sometimes the driver, who hasn’t been trained properly, will be providing statements to an investigator who wasn’t retained by the trucking company. Finally, poor or inconsistent hiring practices.

What role do driver-facing cameras play in exonerating fleets during accident investigations? Do you find that most small motor carriers have the technology and evidence they need to make their case?

 Those, along with the EDR (electronic data recorder), are often great evidence for trucking defendants; however, smaller fleets tend to cut costs, and this one often bites them in the end, or worse, they have it but don't preserve it before it gets recorded over. 

What are the most common insurance coverage gaps you see for small trucking fleets? And how does that potentially hurt these companies?

 Underinsured auto liability is the big one. Carriers running at the $1 million federal minimum are exposed to any serious injury or fatality case, period. Often, there are gaps in MCS-90 understanding, no umbrella insurance, no cargo coverage matching actual freight values and no employment practices liability. Workers' comp gets mishandled when owner-operators are misclassified. 

 The other quiet killer is the pollution exclusion. A diesel spill on the shoulder isn't covered under standard auto liability, and cleanup runs six figures fast. When the gap shows up post-loss, the carrier eats the excess personally. That can wipe out a small operation.

Can fleet managers use data from truck sensors, cameras, ELDs or other devices to proactively reduce insurance premiums and liability exposure? How so?

 Yes, and this can lead to more favorable renewals. Telematics scores, hard-braking events, speeding violations, HOS compliance from the ELD, camera-verified safe driving and using that data to coach drivers before they crash. In fact, from what I understand, carriers are asking for all this up front, but it’s even better if an applicant comes with an established training program, declining stats, and dashcam adoption; they get rewarded. However, this can hurt because you create a giant checklist for lawyers like me to hold the defendant accountable.

From an attorney's perspective, what's your No. 1 piece of advice to fleet executives to keep their drivers and businesses safe? 

 Act like the next driver you hire will be in a wreck before he collects his first paycheck. When you interview a maintenance person, assume they will be deposed by a plaintiff's lawyer. Not that they must be the perfect hire, but check their references, conduct all applicable background searches. Any one of these measures may help save your company from bankruptcy someday. 

 (Image courtesy Emanuel Galimidi)