Using PSP Data to Strengthen Truck Accident Claims

A collision with a commercial truck rarely has a singular cause. Behind the driver who hit you may sit a paper trail of past violations, missed inspections, and warning signs that a careful carrier should have caught. The Pre-Employment Screening Program, or PSP, brings much of that history into view, and you can use this data to strengthen your claim against the truck driver and their employer. In the event you were involved in an accident, contact our truck accident lawyer in Salt Lake City today.

What the Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP) Tracks

PSP is a federal system run by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) that compiles a commercial driver’s safety record into one portal. Before hiring a new driver, a carrier can pull the report to see how that person has performed on the road, then weigh whether a history of crashes or violations makes them too great a risk to hire.

A PSP report usually contains several years of crash and inspection data, including:

• Reportable crashes from roughly the past five years, listed regardless of who was at fault
• Roadside inspection results from the past three years, documenting every time the driver was stopped and checked
• Out-of-service violations, which flag defects serious enough to pull the truck or driver off the road until corrected
• Brake, tire, and steering defects that point to poor vehicle upkeep
• Hours-of-service violations, such as driving past the FMCSA’s established limits or falsifying logs
• Drug and alcohol testing failures, including refused or positive results

Who Is Liable When a Dangerous Truck Driver Is Hired?

Trucking companies have a responsibility to keep unfit drivers off their fleet. When a carrier puts a driver on the road despite a record full of red flags, the company itself may share responsibility for any accident that the driver causes.

If a PSP report shows a pattern of violations, that record suggest that the employer either ignored those warnings or failed to properly vet the driver entirely. This opens the door to holding the trucking company accountable alongside the driver in your insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit.

How to Leverage a Truck Driver’s Record to Prove Your Accident Claim

A driver’s documented history can do more than suggest carelessness; it can establish a pattern that predicts the very crash you were involved in. If the record shows brake violations and your wreck involved a truck that could not stop in time, that entry connects a known defect to your injuries.

The same logic applies to hours-of-service violations paired with a fatigue-related crash, or failed drug tests paired with erratic driving. Each match transforms a single incident into the latest example of an ongoing problem.

A documented pattern of the same violations that caused your accident makes a jury verdict more likely to land against the carrier, so the insurer faces real exposure if the case goes to trial. That pressure often motivates a stronger settlement offer.

An auto accident lawyer can line up each violation against the facts of your crash and present them as a single, connected argument about why the driver and the carrier are responsible.

Speak to a Utah Truck Accident Lawyer About Obtaining PSP Data

PSP reports are normally restricted to drivers and their employers, which means you cannot request or purchase one on your own. A Salt Lake City personal injury lawyer can use subpoenas, formal discovery, and court orders to obtain the record, and then leverage this data to build a compelling case in your favor. If you were hurt in a crash with a commercial truck, contact an attorney right away to start building your claim.