Why You Should Purge Records Routinely

Did you know there’s a group of plaintiff attorneys who’ve banded together to get better at suing the pants off of trucking companies? That’s right. The Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys is essentially a club designed to take you to the cleaners. 

Going up against these guys sounds daunting — and they’re the real deal — but there are several things you can do to protect your company and be better positioned to fend off lawsuits and avoid hefty verdicts. One of them is purging records in a timely manner. 

Let’s dive into best practices for deleting data to reduce your chance of a massive legal payout and several other benefits of not holding onto data any longer than you need to.

Minimize legal liability

If you’re being sued for an accident, part of a plaintiff attorney’s process includes sending you a spoliation letter requesting you preserve a mountain of documentation related to the crash. 

While some of the items may be reasonable, others can be downright staggering, e.g.: “Any DOT or PSC reports, memos, notes or correspondence concerning the driver or the vehicle involved in this accident.” Imagine if the driver has worked for you for 25 years! 

If it seems like a fishing expedition, that’s because it is one. The attorneys are looking for a quick win. When you retain only the documents you’re required to keep and demonstrate that you have your act together, you minimize your potential liability and limit opportunities for further litigation (think: exposing a driver’s past violations or accidents).

Be compliant

Like many things in the transportation industry,  there are federal, state, and local laws governing the retention of driver and employment records. 

Your team, under the guidance of a qualified attorney, should outline which regulations apply to you and align your internal policy with the legal requirements. For instance, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration says you need to keep a driver’s Motor Vehicle Record for three years, so don’t keep it a day longer. 

You want your policy to be as simple as possible and you want to stick to it. “If your policy says you only keep documents or data for six months, get rid of them in six months,” defense attorney Rob Moseley explains. Having a policy that you don’t follow is going to hurt you if you end up in court.

Protect data & reduce storage

Motor carriers are responsible for collecting a lot of sensitive data related to drivers’ records, including medical information, criminal background details and more. 

With data breaches, identity theft and cyber attacks happening all the time, it’s risky to hold on to personnel information longer than you have to. That goes for both digital records and hard copies. 

If someone worked for you decades ago, you don't need to have sensitive data about them hanging around in a file cabinet at the shop today. You might want to keep the basics like proof of employment, but you don’t need their MVR from 1987.

As a bonus, destroying documents in a timely manner also frees up physical space. We know there are trucking companies out there that have entire trailers filled with old paperwork on their properties because they ran out of room in the filing cabinets. Stop the madness. Purge what you don’t need, reducing your costs and your risk.

A final benefit of being a responsible record-keeper is building trust. Your drivers and clients will appreciate working with an organized, well-run organization that’s committed to keeping their data safe.

Avatar’s DriverHub can be set up to auto-delete documents based on your company’s requirements and internal policy. If you're interested in activating that feature, reach out to your Client Success Manager today.