Most trucking companies believe they have a solid hiring process — until they have to defend it under oath.
Take a hard look at your hiring procedures. Are they structured, documented, and followed every single time? Even with the 25-year driving veteran who “looks good on paper”? Even with the applicant who can outtalk your interviewer? Or do exceptions start creeping in when you’re short on drivers and need to fill a truck quickly?
Because inconsistency is what plaintiff attorneys are looking for.
If your company hires differently depending on the applicant, the urgency, or who is conducting the interview, you’re creating exposure that becomes nearly impossible to defend in court. Jurors expect professional trucking companies to operate with professional, repeatable hiring standards. If you cannot prove that your standards are consistently followed 100% of the time, the plaintiff bar will use that against you.
After a serious accident, these are the kinds of questions your company representatives may face in a deposition:
Who created your hiring standards?
Why were those standards chosen?
Who reviews applicant information?
What qualifies that person to decide who gets hired?
What training do your interviewers receive?
How was your road test developed?
How was your written test developed?
Was the company under pressure to fill the position quickly?
How did the driver’s MVR compare to company standards?
Why did the company believe this driver was safe to operate a commercial vehicle?
Now ask yourself an important question:
Would you be answering these questions from a position of confidence — or from a position of defense?
Plaintiff attorneys are professional interrogators. They prepare for these depositions for months. They understand FMCSA regulations, company inconsistencies, and juror psychology better than most trucking companies realize. If your hiring process is undocumented, subjective, or inconsistently applied, they will find it.
The companies that defend themselves best are the ones that can demonstrate:
Clear hiring standards
Consistent procedures
Thorough documentation
Objective qualification criteria
Accountability at every step of the hiring process
In trucking litigation, consistency is credibility.
If you’d like a more extensive list of deposition questions plaintiff attorneys commonly ask regarding driver hiring and qualification practices, email me at sutton@roarkandsutton.com and I’ll gladly send you additional examples.
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