Revised: 8/29/2022, 05/2024

Procedures

1. Pre-hire

All applicants required to drive a Metropolitan Library System (“Library”) owned vehicle as a condition of employment (“applicants”), will be required to complete a skills assessment and/or road test with a Library representative or a Library designated thirdparty, and following a conditional offer of employment, to pass a pre-hire drug test. Anything less than a clean report is not acceptable by the Library.

2. Required Driving Record Criteria

Applicants are required to sign a consent form and their Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) will be pulled before they are hired. MVRs will be kept in the applicant’s/employee’s personnel file. The Library will consider all violations, regardless of whether the violation occurs on or off the job. Each applicant’s and employee’s driving record is required to meet the following criteria:

1. Any applicant with a Type “A” driving violation in the last five years is ineligible for a driving position.

2. Any employee who receives a Type “A” driving violation during employment is ineligible for a driving position, and the employee’s employment will be terminated.

3. Any applicant or employee with two Type “B” driving violations or one at-fault driving accident in a three-year period will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment. MVRs are required to be ordered more frequently on these applicants, if hired, or employees.

4. Any applicant or employee with three or more Type “B” driving violations or two or more at-fault accidents in a three-year period is ineligible for a driving position, and the employee’s employment will be terminated.

3. Employee Required Reporting

All employees who drive as a part of their Library duties (whether in a personal vehicle or a Library owned vehicle) and who receive a Type “A” violation or a Type “B” violation are required to report the violation within five (5) calendar days of receiving the violation. Employees should report the violation to the Human Resources Department. Employees who fail to report such violations will be terminated.

Employees who receive a second Type “B” violation will be given sixty (60) calendar days from the day of the report to complete an Oklahoma Department of Public Safety qualified defensive driving program that will remove the points from the employee’s record. The employee is responsible for the cost of the defensive driving program. Within sixty-five (65) days of the violation, the employee must be able to provide an MVR that reflects a current point level of zero (0). If the employee cannot provide an MVR that reflects a current point level of zero (0) within sixty-five (65) days of the violation, the employee’s employment will be terminated.

4. Motor Vehicle Record Checks

Annual MVRs will be performed on every employee who drives a Library owned vehicle. Employees who do not meet the driving criteria discussed above will be terminated.

5. Non-Library Owned Vehicle Requirements

Employees authorized to drive fleet vehicles that need to drive their personal car for library business must meet the following requirements:

1. Provide valid driver’s license and insurance upon hiring

2. Provide Certificates of Insurance on an annual basis

3. Provide updated driver’s license upon driver’s license renewal

Employees who are not authorized to drive fleet vehicles but who still regularly drive their personal vehicle on Library business must meet the following requirements:

1. Provide valid driver’s license upon hiring. If the employee’s driver’s license becomes invalid during the course of employment, the employee must inform the Human Resources Department within 24 hours of the invalidity. Employees may not drive on Library business unless they have a valid driver’s license.

2. Carry personal liability automobile insurance which meets the minimum requirements for the State of Oklahoma. Proof of insurance will be required for any mileage reimbursement.

6. Transportation Safety Rules

The Library requires all employees who drive while on Library business to comply with state and national transportation safety rules. In addition, all employees are required to adhere to the following rules as set by the Library while driving:

1. Always use seatbelts.

2. Demonstrate appropriate in-vehicle behaviors.

3. Do not possess, use, or be impaired by alcohol or illegal drugs.

4. Do not possess, use or be impaired by controlled substances, including prescription drugs and medical marijuana, unless the controlled substance is a prescription drug that provides no safety risk to the employee or others. Employees undergoing a prescribed medical treatment with a controlled substance that could impair their physical, mental, or emotional capacity must discuss the matter with their physician to assess potential risk. If the medication poses a risk to safety, employees will not be permitted to drive a fleet vehicle until the employee is no longer taking that prescribed medical treatment. If the employee is placed on a prescribed medical treatment long term that poses a risk to safety, the Library will consider what reasonable accommodations that do not cause an undue burden to the Library may be available under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

5. Always maintain awareness of pedestrians.

6. Yield the right-of-way to other vehicles and pedestrians.

7. Use cellular telephones for emergency purposes only.

8. Do not text and drive.

9. Transport passengers as authorized by a department manager.

7. Maintenance Inspections

The Library will be responsible for all routine fleet vehicle maintenance. The employee responsible for taking the vehicle for repair, will secure library property housed in the vehicle. The responsible employee will remove library property from fleet vehicles requiring extended time out-of-service.

8. Accident Reporting and Investigation

An accident occurs when an employee causes damage to library and non-library property or injury to any person.

The primary purpose of investigating an accident is to find out its cause and initiate action to eliminate or control similar vehicle accidents. Another purpose is to determine whether the accident is preventable. A preventable accident is one in which the driver fails to exercise reasonable precautions to prevent the accident from occurring.

Any accident by an employee while driving for Library business, whether occurring while using a fleet or personal vehicle for Library business, is required to be reported, investigated, and reviewed by the employee’s manager and/or location/department manager as follows:

1. Each Library owned vehicle is equipped with a vehicle accident report Kit. The kit includes an accident report and emergency contact numbers. Fleet drivers are required to submit the written accident report and pictures or video to the direct supervisor or department manager, the human resources manager, and the chief financial officer immediately following their involvement in a vehicle accident/incident.

2. When an accident occurs, the police should be called, and a report obtained.

3. When an accident occurs, the Human Resources Department must be called from the scene. Fleet drivers will be given instructions on post-accident drug and alcohol testing. Drivers should not leave the scene of the accident until they have spoken to a Human Resources employee.

Fleet drivers involved in an accident while on the clock or during an unpaid lunch break, whether in a Library or personal vehicle, will be subject to the Library’s Driver SafetyDrug and Alcohol Testing policy. The Library does not conduct drug and alcohol testing on non-fleet drivers.