Environmental Health and Safety
LSUHSC-NO Driver Safety Program Training for Supervisors
Revised: February 8, 2018
Overview
- Audience
- Training Goals
- Purpose of the Driver Safety Program
- Regulatory Requirements
- Participation
- Driver Qualification Process
- Moving Violations
- Vehicle Accident Reporting
- Management's Responsibilities
- Benefits and Consequences
Audience
This training is intended for all Deans, Assistant Deans, Department
Heads, Directors, Assistant Directors, Business Managers, Assistant
Business Managers, and any other positions that supervise other employees.
Goals for Training
The training is designed to ensure management and administration
have a sound understanding of the requirements and responsibilities of
the driver safety program, including:
- The regulatory requirements for a driver safety program.
- Who must participate in the program.
- The Driver Qualification process.
- Management’s role and responsibilities.
- Benefits of compliance and consequences of non-compliance with
the program.
Purpose of the Driver Safety Program
- About 90% of all LSUHSC-NO employees drive on behalf of the
university at least occasionally. This represents a significant
liability should an employee have an accident.
- The Driver Safety Program reduces the University’s liability by
allowing only “Qualified” drivers to drive on official state business.
“Qualified” drivers are those personnel who have completed defensive
driver training, have liability insurance coverage required by law, and
have had their official driving record checked annually to ensure they
are low risk drivers.
Regulatory Requirements
Background
- The Office of Risk Management (ORM) requires all state agencies
(including all state universities) to have a driver safety program in
place.
- Only employees (to include students who are also employed by
LSUHSC) are permitted to drive on official state business per ORM
regulations.
- A sound Driver Safety Program can help reduce the financial
contribution LSUHSC-NO must make to ORM’s insurance risk pool.
Students
- Although students are not covered under ORM’s driver safety
regulations, there are occasions when students may drive to
LSUHSC-sponsored educational events.
- Per PM-4, Trips covered by Student Travel Accident
Insurance, such travel must be covered by the University’s trip
travel accident insurance policy for all university sponsored events
and whenever a University faculty or staff member controls the time,
route, and mode of travel.
- Faculty and staff must submit a request for coverage for trip
travel insurance to the Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance
prior to such trips.
Driving on State Business
Driving on behalf of the University or “driving on state business”
includes:
- Driving between campuses (e.g., from the School of Dentistry
campus to the Downtown campus).
- Driving to a meeting off campus.
- Renting a car while attending a conference or meeting.
- Running work-related errands (e.g., driving to pick up supplies).
- Driving from campus to a hospital or clinic, etc.
It Doesn't Matter If:
- The employee is reimbursed for mileage.
- A state vehicle, rental car or the employee’s personal vehicle is
used.
What Does Matter:
Could the State of Louisiana be sued by an injured party if this
employee had an accident while driving?
Participation
- In accordance with the Qualification
Policy, it is presumed that all LSUHSC-NO positions require
employees to
travel at least occasionally in the performance of their duties and
therefore must complete the driver qualification process, unless
specifically excluded by their supervisor.
- The supervisor may exclude an employee from participation in the
Driver Safety Program if that employee’s duties never involve driving a
vehicle.
- In order to exclude an employee who does not drive on state
business from the driver safety requirements, the supervisor must
submit a “Do Not Drive Statement” (found in the Qualification
Policy) via email to Kelly Guth, Compliance
Educator (kguth@lsuhsc.edu).
- Department Heads may NOT exclude themselves from Program
participation. This can only be done by their immediate supervisor.
Driver Qualification Process
Becoming Qualified to Drive takes Three
Steps:
Step 1: Driver
Education (DRED)
- Complete DRED training (automatically assigned to all employees).
- Current employees must repeat DRED training every three years.
- Any employee who has had a moving violation in the past year must
complete Remedial DRED training within 90 days of notification.
- The training system (KDS) will send reminders for any training
that is due.
Step 2: DA 2054 Driver Authorization Form
All new employees are required to electronically complete, sign and
submit a Driver Authorization Form (DA-2054). The form contains a
statement affirming that the employee has and will maintain State
required minimum liability insurance coverage on the vehicle they will
be driving on official University business.
Step 3: Official Driving Record (ODR) Checks
Louisiana Drivers Licenses:
- EH&S obtains a copy of new employee’s ODR from the State of
Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles and validates that the employee is a
low risk driver.
- EH&S checks ODRs for Qualified drivers on an annual basis.
Out of State Driver’s License holders:
- EH&S does not have the capability to request ODR information
from agencies outside Louisiana.
- The employee must contact the driver license authority in the
state where he/she received the license to obtain a certified copy
of
their ODR at their own expense. (Note:
A copy of an ODR that is not certified, such as those issued by a
private company's web site, are NOT
acceptable.)
- The ODR must be sent to EH&S.
- Requirements are the same as those for in-state ODR checks.
- The employee must obtain a new ODR annually from the state where
their license was issued and forward it to EH&S.
Employees with three or more moving violations or a conviction or
nolo contendere plea for DWI, hit and run driving, vehicular negligent
injury, reckless operation of a vehicle, or similar violation are
considered high risk drivers and are not authorized to drive on behalf
of the university.
Notification that Employee is Qualified to Drive
- When all three steps are complete, the employee will receive an
email from EH&S with notification that the employee is “Qualified”
to drive. The employee shall provide a copy of this email to his/her
supervisor.
- For those with Louisiana drivers licenses, this Qualification
remains in effect as long as the employee completes Driver Education
training every three years and maintains a clean driving record.
EH&S checks their ODR annually.
- Out of
State driver’s license holders must have a certified copy
of their ODR sent to EH&S annually in order to maintain
qualification. Upon receipt and review of the ODR, EH&S will send
an email to the employee notifying the employee that they are Qualified
to drive for the next 12 months.
- Note that if an employee becomes designated as high risk or
requires remedial training, the employee and supervisor will be
notified by email.
Driver Qualification Process Summary
In order for Employees to be Qualified to drive on behalf of the
university:
- They must have a valid driver’s license.
- They must not be excluded from the Driver Safety Program.
- They must be up-to-date on all assigned DRED training.
- They must have a signed DA-2054 form on file in EH&S.
- EH&S must have checked their Official Driving Record (ODR)
within the past year.
- They must not be a high risk driver.
More details on the Driver Qualification Process can be found on the
EH&S website.
Moving Violations
- Employees are required to immediately report any moving
violation(s) or revocation of their driver’s license to their
supervisor, but no later than the next scheduled work day. The
supervisor will then notify EH&S at jwrig9@lsuhsc.edu.
Reporting
applies whether on state, or personal/private business, and whether in a
state, personal, or rental vehicle. “Moving violations” require the completion
of remedial driver safety training within 90 days of the violation to
maintain “Qualified” driver status.
- “High Risk” violations will result in a minimum 12 month
suspension of authorization to drive on official University business.
EH&S will notify the individual and their department head or
designated official if they require remedial training or are considered
“High Risk”.
- See the High Risk Driver Policy for instructions on early
reinstatement of driving privileges for operational reasons.
Vehicle Accident Reporting
A vehicular accident is defined as any incident in which the vehicle
comes in contact with another vehicle, person, object, or animal that
results in death, personal injury, or property damage, regardless of:
who was injured, what was damaged or to what extent, where it occurred,
or who was responsible.
In the event of accident, we are required to send documentation to
the Louisiana Office of Risk Management within
48 hours of the accident (weekends included).
Call the local Police to report the accident and obtain a traffic
accident report when available. If the accident involves an
LSUHSC-owned vehicle, occurred on LSUHSC grounds, or involved an injury
or death, notify University Police at 568-8999 or 568-8270.
Complete and submit an on-line fillable DA 2041 form within 48 hours,
weekends included (e.g., if the accident occurs at 4:00 P.M. on a
Friday, you must submit the DA 2041 by 4:00 P.M. on Sunday).
Alternatively, to expedite submittal if the DA 2041 form has been
completed by hand, it may be scanned and emailed to DA2041@lsuhsc.edu
and 6410StateofLouisiana@sedgwickcms.com.
Include a copy of the local police traffic accident report with the
DA 2041 submission. However, if the local police traffic accident
report is not immediately available, submit the DA 2041 without it and
follow-up later when received. Due to the time constraints on
reporting, the DA 2041 can be submitted by either the employee or the
supervisor.
To facilitate timely completion of the DA 2041, keep a hardcopy of
the Vehicle Accident Reporting Quick Guide in your
vehicle.
Completion of the DA 2000 form is not required for vehicle
accidents.
Failure
of a qualified driver to report any vehicular accident may be cause for
suspension of Driver Authorization
The supervisor may consider
what corrective action(s) may be necessary for accidents.
These requirements must be met whether the vehicle is government,
personal or rental.
Management’s Responsibilities
Reviewing Employees' Qualified to Drive
Status
At recurring intervals, school and department leadership and/or
business managers receive reports from Environmental Health and Safety on the Qulified to Drive status of
each of their employees. See the following example. These reports are broken down into three
categories:
- Personnel who are fully qualified to drive.
- Personnel who are authorized to drive but who have not completed
all the steps required to be fully qualified to drive. These
individuals are not allowed to drive on official university business
until all steps in the qulifying process have been completed.
- Personnel not authorized to drive. These individuals were placed
in this category primarily at the request of their supervisor. However,
some individuals are in this category because they meet the criteria of
a high risk driver (e.g. suspended license, two or more moving
violations, DWI, etc.) which prohibits them from driving on official
university business.
Note that Qualified to Drive status reports for School of Medicine
Residents and Fellows are provided directly to the Office of Graduate
Medical Education. Resident Coordinators will then work to ensure
compliance.
Know the status of your employees and ensure only those qualified to
drive are permitted to drive on official university business.
Contact Jenna Wright at jwrig9@lsuhsc.edu or 568-4500 if you have any questions.
Travel and Accidents
Before approving any travel involving driving an automobile,
validate that the person requesting travel is Qualified to drive under
the Driver Safety Program.
Ensure that any and all accidents that occur while conducting
university business are reported promptly (within 48 hours).
Benefits of the Program
Employees who comply with the Driver Safety Program receive the
following benefits:
- Upon completion of DRED training, the employee may print
their Certificate of Completion. Simply go to the KDS site and
access your certificate under the "My Documents" tab. Note that
you must be current with all KDS training requirements to gain access
to the Certificate. Many insurance companies offer
rate discounts for completing a defensive driver training course.
- In the event of an accident while driving on university business
in a personal vehicle:
- ORM will cover damages above the limits of the employee’s
policy.
- ORM will cover the deductible up to $1000.
Consequences
If an
Employee fails to comply with the University’s Driver Safety Program:
- They will not be allowed to drive on university business under
any circumstances.
- If, in spite of this, they drive on state business, they will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including
termination. If they are in an accident, they can find themselves
solely responsible for any damages or injuries that may result from the
accident.
A
Manager or Supervisor who knowingly allows an employee to drive on
university business in violation of the Driver Safety Program:
- Will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including
termination.
- In the event of an accident, may be held personally liable for
damages to the injured party.
Questions?
Contact the Environmental Health and
Safety Department
450-A S. Claiborne Ave.
Stanislaus Hall Room 216
New Orleans, LA 70112
Phone: 504-568-6585