Driver Files & Violation Records

According to the Alberta Regulation 314/2002 (Commercial Vehicle Certificate and Insurance Regulation), Carriers are required to maintain a record of all convictions, administrative penalties, and collisions for each of their authorized National Safety Code Drivers. While this seems pretty straight forward, there are some key areas that we frequently see improperly implemented into carrier policies.

Note: we’ve included the applicable section of the regulation at the bottom of this post.

Driver Abstract / Carrier Profile

The regulation states that the Carrier must have a record of all Convictions, Administrative Penalties, and Collisions and all of this information is already shown on the Carrier Profile or Driver Abstract. So as long as the Carrier has the required abstracts on file, that should be good enough, right? Unfortunately this isn’t accepted for Alberta Transportation Assessment of Regulatory Compliance or New Carrier Compliance Reviews. The intent of this requirement is to ensure that all drivers are reporting these violations/collisions when they happen. Simply having the Carrier Profile or Driver Abstract in their driver file does not document that the driver informed the carrier when it occurred. These records are intended to verify that the driver has properly informed the carrier of everything they were required to, not to be the notification. After all, you wouldn’t want to find out a driver had a suspended license or numerous violations several months later.

So, how does one properly document this notification? Any method that shows the driver informed the carrier as soon as practical is acceptable. A note or a copy of the violation in the driver file is quick and easy. The industry best practice is to develop a violation/collision/administrative penalty reporting form that drivers can fill out when they need to make a report. Their supervisor should review the form and circumstances and the carriers progressive disciplinary policy may need to be activated. This form should be signed by both parties and a copy stored in the driver file. If these sort of records are stored with another department (like Human Resources) they need to be made available for an auditor during an audit or compliance review. Also be aware that this doesn’t replace the requirement to obtain an abstract within the 30 first days of hire and annually thereafter for each driver.

Personal Vehicle

What about any violation/collision/administrative penalty that happens when the driver is off-duty or driving their personal vehicle? Since the regulation makes no distinction between personal and company violations these still need to be reported to the carrier. As any infraction can have a negative effect on the drivers license status and shows a pattern of driving behaviours they all must be reported immediately. Simply put, it is not acceptable to only have notifications for when the driver was operating a company vehicle.

Owner / Operators

An owner/operator is acutely aware of all their driving infractions and collisions, so why should they have a notification in their personal driver file? Unfortunately the regulation does not make a distinction between Drivers and Owner/Operators. Anyone, regardless if they own the company or not, must have these notifications on file.

Commercial Vehicle Certificate and Insurance Regulation

Driver records

41(1) The registered owner of every commercial vehicle who is required to operate the vehicle under the authority of a safety fitness certificate must maintain, for each of that owner’s drivers, a driver record file containing the following information:

1. the driver’s completed application form for employment with the registered owner;

2. a copy of the driver’s abstract in a form satisfactory to the Registrar when the driver is first hired or employed, dated within 30 days of the date of employment or hire;

3. annual updated copies of the driver’s abstract in a form satisfactory to the Registrar;

4. the driver’s employment history for the 3 years immediately preceding the time the driver started working for the carrier;

5. a record of the driver’s convictions of safety laws in the current year and in each of the 4 preceding years;

6. a record of any administrative penalty imposed on the driver under safety laws;

7. a record of all collisions involving a motor vehicle operated by the driver that are required to be reported to a peace officer under any enactment of Alberta or a jurisdiction outside Alberta;

8. a record of all training undertaken by a driver related to the operation of a commercial vehicle and compliance with safety laws;

9. a copy of any training certificate issued to the driver, in electronic or paper form, for the period starting on the date the training certificate is issued and continuing until 2 years after it expires, in accordance with Part 6 of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations under the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992 (Canada);

10. a copy of a current medical certificate for the driver.

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