CloudTrucks seeks exemption for its driver-hiring process

WASHINGTON — Trucking technology company CloudTrucks wants approval to use its own system for collecting background data and onboarding prospective owner-operators instead of having to use what it considers to be an outdated FMCSA process.

“To streamline hiring without compromising safety, we validate each applicant’s background through national databases … that collectively provide a more accurate and timely safety profile than the traditional employer-history process,” stated Damien Hutchins, CloudTrucks’ head of safety and compliance, in the company’s exemption application.

“We therefore seek an exemption that would allow us to substitute this modern, data-rich method for the legacy requirement that applicants list every employer for the past three and seven years.”

Granting the relief, he stated, “will let us onboard qualified drivers faster, reduce administrative burden for prior carriers, and-most importantly-enhance highway safety by relying on authoritative federal databases rather than low-return paper chases.”

The Dallas-based “asset-light” carrier provides back-office safety and compliance services for over 700 owner-operators – which it projects to grow to more than 3,000 by 2026 – that lease on to the company’s operating authority.

FMCSA’s regulations require that prospective drivers provide employers with the name and address of the driver’s employers during the three years preceding the date of the application, dates of employment, reason for leaving, and confirmation as to whether the driver held safety-sensitive positions subject to DOT drug and alcohol testing.

CloudTrucks contends, however, that such a requirement was designed for “paper applications and single-fleet carriers,” noting that it tends to yield low response rates for verification requests, results in errors such as misspelled carrier names and defunct carriers, and leads to long wait times of up to 20 calendar days to clear prospective drivers, causing some candidates to abandon the process.

The company instead proposes using its own verification process that consists of cross-referencing national databases to include HireRight’s Drive-A-Check report, as well as FMCSA’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse (DACH), Pre-employment Screening Program, and Commercial Driver’s License Information System.

CloudTrucks asserted that it would include additional safeguards to ensure safety levels equal to or greater than what can be achieved without the exemption, including:

0-100 safety score: Refreshed nightly, and weights ELD compliance, speeding, harsh events, inspections, crashes.
Three-strikes program: Coaching, suspension, and termination for repeat unsafe behavior.Continuous in-cab telematics monitoring.
Zero-tolerance DACH policy: Prohibited status results in immediate disqualification.

If FMCSA were to decline the exemption request, CloudTruck estimated a “lost opportunity” of a 7% higher driver-hire conversion rate (equal to 200 or more drivers per year) and $350 or more in per-hire costs associated with on-boarding delays.