What Difference Does a CDL Make? CMV Driver History and Crash Involveme1 nts

摘要

In comparison with light passenger vehicles, trucks typically carry heavier loads, have longer stoppingdistances, and more areas where driver vision is blocked by the cargo body, requiring the driver to rely onmirrors to maneuver safely. Clearly, operating a commercial vehicle (CMV) with a GVW or GCVWover 10,000 lb. requires skills beyond those needed for a light vehicle. However, only drivers of CMVswith GVW or GCVW of over 26,000 lb. are required to have a commercial driver license (CDL). Thisresearch compared the safety of CMV drivers with and without CDLs through the analysis of driverrecords of CMV-crash-involved drivers. Crash records from the Michigan Vehicle Crash data filefrom 2001-2005 were matched with driver history records from the Michigan Driver database tocompare circumstances of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) crashes of CDL and non CDLdrivers. Among crash-involved CMV drivers, drivers with CDLs had slightly higher averagenumbers of prior crash involvements. However, non-CDL drivers had poorer prior drivingrecords in terms of prior offenses, serious offenses, and alcohol-related crashes. They also hadsignificantly higher rates than CDL holders of actions judged by reporting police officers tocontribute to the crash. The findings of this research can be useful to the CDL program toidentify critical safety factors, and to the trucking industry to improve driver hiring, training, andretention policies.