3 Driver Compliance Problems Solved with AI

Anyone who has played around with even the most basic artificial intelligence tools knows that AI is good at some things and not good at other things at this stage in the game. 

AI is good at automation, prediction and personalization. Right now it is not so good at highly specialized activities — such as tackling Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) compliance tasks. 

Think of AI like the cocky guy at the bar who sounds like an expert but has had one too many drinks. You’ll want to verify anything he says. The same goes for AI. It can be overconfident, inconsistent and give you bad information. 

Trucking compliance managers must be 100 percent confident that they’re fully compliant with FMCSA regulations. There is no such thing as “good enough.” That’s why you won’t be turning over your role to robots anytime soon. 

That said, you can’t be a Luddite. AI is here to stay. It’s time to see this technology as a way to make you better — not to take away your job. 

Let’s take a look at three realistic driver compliance problems you can solve with AI. 

Problem 1: You have too many jobs

A common refrain we hear from compliance folks at trucking companies is they wear too many hats. Ideally, you would have a different person for each component of the compliance department: screening candidates, building and managing driver qualification files, managing incidents, managing claims, managing risk, coaching drivers, buying insurance and more.

In reality, all this work typically falls to one person — and that’s you. You need an assistant, but since your boss won’t hire you one anytime soon, we created AvatarAssistant with the goal of making you more efficient. 

Avatar client Evan Anderson, COO of Anderson Coach & Travel, quantified the savings of using Avatar’s DriverHub and all its bells and whistles. 

“My estimation is that Avatar is collectively replacing about half of a person’s duties,” he says. “If you think of it that way, then we are effectively saving money, since the annual cost is less than half of an annual salary.” 

Problem 2: Compliance tasks chew up your time

Another challenge compliance managers face is the time-consuming nature of the work. There are many separate processes you have to follow within given timelines. 

You can (and should) automate many compliance tasks. These include: 

• syncing rosters between dispatch, payroll, telematics and CSA/MVR monitoring; 
• data entry, documentation and managing spreadsheets; and 
• alerting drivers and managers about expirations.

AI can handle all of the above and make it easier and quicker for drivers to apply with Avatar’s driver’s license scanner. This AI-enabled tool captures a clear image of the front and back of the license, plus key data points like address, birthdate and endorsements — with no need for anyone (driver or compliance manager) to type the information. 

The result is a better experience for drivers and cleaner data for you, while everything is stored on the driver’s record in DriverHub.

Likewise, Avatar’s medical card scanner eliminates the need to manually verify medical examiners are listed in the government’s database. The AI-powered medical card scanner captures the expiration date, national registry number and more. You no longer have to go to the national registry, check examiner data and save screenshots — you just have to review the information AI provides. AvatarAssistant also automatically orders the required Motor Vehicle Record within 15 days to complete the medical card process for you.

Additionally, Avatar’s AI capabilities take care of upcoming expirations. The system orders MVRs seven days before they expire, so you no longer have to remember to complete this step and order them one by one. Your job is just to pay attention to pending MVR notifications. 

James Watson, Senior Program Analyst - DOT Compliance of OneGas, is an AvatarAssistant user. He says this technology is allowing him to be in the field more, coaching drivers and inspecting trucks, rather than shuffling through paperwork. 

“It has sped my process up so fast, it’s not even funny,” he says. “Automating communication with the driver, screenshotting the medical examiner verification and ordering the MVR is saving me 15-minutes per medical card.” 

Problem 3: You manage too many systems

If you’re sick and tired of managing six different systems — dispatching, payroll, job boards, screening providers, etc. — we hear you loud and clear. 

Enter Avatar’s Roster Sync. You can sync your driver data from DriverHub to all the platforms your company uses, so you don’t have to enter the same data into a half dozen systems anymore. 

We’re broadening our list of integrations based on customer feedback. 

As you can see, the crux of our approach with the AvatarAssistant is to use AI and automation as a tool to help you cut down on tedious tasks — and not a replacement for a human compliance specialist. The question is: What will you do with all the time we just saved you?