If you own a company and will be hiring a temporary truck driver or truck driving service to fill holiday orders, taking a few extra precautions can help ensure that you prevent any accidents that could cost you money and could cause personal injury:

1) Recruit carefully. You can place ads in newspapers, but you can also find applicants by hiring a recruiting service. Look for recruiters who carefully screen applicants and have a good record of providing quality truck drivers. It is a good idea to look for local recruiters who regularly place truck drivers and drivers – these services will have the best idea of where to find qualified workers.

2) Screen applicants. Whether you use a recruiting agency or hire yourself, you need to screen applicants. If a truck driver you have hired causes a personal injury or fatality with your company truck or causes an accident while working for you, you could be held liable. The situation will be even worse if there are reasons to believe that a driver is not qualified. If you do not screen carefully, you could find yourself in a difficult legal position. Check references carefully and check to ensure that a driver has the training and credentials he or she claims to have. There are PI (private investigation) services that can help you run screens on drivers for a flat fee. Often, this small investment is worthwhile, since PIs can find car and accident records as well as criminal records from other states.

3) Develop rules in writing and ensure that your drivers or service will adhere to those rules. For regular employees and new drivers, you should have written rules of work. These should include safety rules – such as how long a driver should drive before taking breaks – as well as general rules regarding safety and customer service. Go over these rules and have your new driver sign them.

4) Offer training. A new driver should be trained by someone in your company to ensure that deliveries are made safely and to your company standards. This will help ensure that the driver understands exactly what you need from him or her as a worker.

5) Follow up. For temporary drivers, check to see that deliveries are made on time and safely and check to make sure that your driver is taking correct breaks and is adhering to speed limits. Often, this can be determined with a through look at the paper work.

6) Do truck maintenance. If you are hiring a truck driver and a truck, have the truck inspected to ensure that it is safe. If your temporary truck driver will be using a company truck, have the truck inspected and go over the inspection results with the driver. Look at the truck with the driver, so that everyone is clear about the condition of the vehicle. If a driver expresses concerns about a truck’s safety, have the issue looked into and resolved immediately.