Averitt Addresses Safety with New Hires, Current Drivers

Averitt Express in Cookeville looks to address potential safety issues with new hires and current truck drivers.

Averitt Spokesperson Brad Brown says the company begins addressing the topic of safety during the hiring process.

“We are very particular with how we hire our drivers. About 2-3 percent of the people who apply for driving positions end up being hired,” Brown says. “We’re very thorough looking at driving records, criminal background records, and drug and alcohol testing. It’s just a very stringent process to make sure we’re hiring drivers that are going to drive safely for us.”

A study conducted by 24/7 Wall Street and USA Today lists commercial truck driving as one of the United States’ most dangerous occupations based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Brown says inspecting and keeping trucks and other equipment updated on a regular basis helps prevent future accidents.

“All the new trucks that we’re bringing on board now have collision avoidance systems,” Brown says. “They have forward-facing cameras to be able to record incidents and learn from those. They have anti-jackknife and rollover stability systems. Lots of different technology to help and assist the driver.”

Brown says the company stresses the importance of safety to its employees and new hires nearly every day.

“Every day they’re on the road, they are having to make decisions that don’t just affect them and their families, but also the general public,” Brown says. “[We] make sure that they know just how important it is because when you’re behind the wheel of a 70,000 lb. trailer, every decision counts and we make sure they know that every moment of every day.”

Approximately 425 accidents involving Averitt were reported to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration between 2016 and 2017, of which 12 were fatal and 150 included injuries.