THE DEFINITIVE TRUCKING SITE

April 2008

While Professional Driving  Permits (PrDPs) are being issued to young truck drivers in surprisingly large numbers, in reality, these candidate drivers - by and large - are inadequately prepared for the rigours of commercial trucking. Determining an applicant driver’s true suitability for the job of piloting a rig now goes beyond simple interview techniques to include tests that determine what’s really ticking ‘behind their eyes’, reports Paul Collings.

An applicant driver undergoes a‘road test’ in the Kelly Industrial TDS.

When a transport operation secures a new contract and expands its fleet, it by necessity needs new drivers. With the current shortage of skilled truck pilots, many fleet managers resort to employing ‘what they can get’ and often, these drivers are underskilled and end up costing the company a lot more than their monthly pay cheques, says Natalie Rodrigues of Driving Sense, a driver recruitment agency based in Gauteng. 

Spot the gaps

“We get over a hundred Code 10 and Code 14 job applicants a month. On average, only 10% of them are properly equipped to safely and economically drive a truck,” she says. 

Driving Sense separates the ‘wheat from the chaff’ as far as good drivers is concerned using psychometric and psychomotor testing. “An applicant’s CV and an interview can only tell you so much about their ability to drive,” explains Rodrigues. “Psychomotor and psychometric tests determine a person’s aptitude and ability, providing ‘live data’ and information on their true potential.” 

One could use the analogy of buying a used truck when employing a new driver. Used truck buyers want a full service history as well as a technical report on the current status of the vehicle. They will also demand to test drive the vehicle. When it comes to hiring truck drivers, most employers stop at the ‘service history’, the CV, adds Rodrigues. “We conduct the ‘technical test’ and the ‘test drive’.” 

“The psychomotor test used by Driving Sense is based on the Vienna Test System to measure whether the applicant driver is competent to operate a vehicle safely and efficiently,” Rodrigues explains. “The testing system is extremely effective in identifying drivers who are accident-prone due to lack of concentration, poor reflexes and coordination, inability to handle stress or just by having personality traits that are incompatible with the criteria required in a professional driver.” 

Having undergone the Driving Sense psychomotor test, drivers are given a report on their abilities, their strengths and weaknesses. “Having this analysis of their abilities enables us to recommend and implement the necessary training interventions. It also ensures that the drivers we place in client fleets are of the best quality,” concludes Rodrigues. 

Simulation station

Kelly Industrial is another leading recruiter of commercial truck drivers. “We put every applicant through our truck driver simulator (TDS) test,” says Shaun Day, the company’s Managing Director. “Of the Code 14 applicants we screen, very few have the necessary skill to pass the test.” 

“The TDS delivers a printed report showing exactly where the driver executed poor and unlawful driving techniques, everything from inappropriate deceleration to coasting without the clutch and overrevving,” explains Day. 

“There is a crisis looming with regards to the supply of skilled drivers but we can’t afford to put incompetent individuals behind the wheel. Kelly Industrial is proactive in partnering with business to identify suitable driver candidates and train them to a level where they can be successfully employed,” he adds. 

In essence, Day believes the driver shortage problem is compounded by three factors. “The industry is not attracting new entrants because of the low wages and long working hours. Insurance companies won’t cover drivers unless they are of a certain age with at least five years experience which prevents young drivers from being employed, and then there’s HIV/AIDS decimating driver numbers.” 

As a parting shot, Day believes, “TETA needs to do more to ensure effective training and specialized truck driver testing facilities need to be set up to ensure suitably qualified and skilled drivers enter the job market.” 

Both Driving Sense and Kelly Industrial are focused on delivering quality drivers to the industry. Both are aware of the temptation to blindly put inferior drivers behind the wheels of trucks in the interests of a quick buck. Both know, however, that this route is no solution to the problem. Not only will it put their clients out of business but they’ll hit the wall too. For this reason, only the best drivers will do.