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Ensure Safety with a Driving Background Check

Tammy Cohen, PHR, SHRM-CP

August 30 2021

While passing countless vehicles on the road each day, we rarely think about whether the driver sitting next to us has ever had a DUI or a reckless driving charge. If you were responsible for that driver and the decisions he or she made while behind the wheel, though, you might consider their driving history more often. That’s where driving background checks for employment come in.

Transportation companies have a responsibility to ensure their employees don’t pose any unnecessary risk to other drivers, but you also want to take these steps to protect your business. If one of your drivers wrecks and causes serious injury to another individual, your company could be held liable, potentially leaving you with significant costs in fines and reparations.

Business leaders in the distribution and transportation industries must constantly monitor their employees’ driving skills and records as a means of ensuring safety and efficiency. The success of companies in these industries relies heavily on decisionmakers’ ability to hire and retain safe and reliable drivers.

Do you know if the drivers you employ have clean driving histories? Here are a few recommended services to provide peace of mind:

What’s Needed in a Driving Background Check?

A driving background check is a set of screening services that offers a snapshot of your employee’s driving history. Revealing things like license status and DWI convictions, this important part of the hiring and rescreening process ensures you’re working with an individual who can safely represent you on the road. Depending on your industry, you may need to comply with DOT requirements (which could include other services like expanded employment verifications or occupational health services), but the basic driver background check services are a motor vehicle report, CDLIS, driver monitoring, and/or driver qualification files.

Motor Vehicle Reports

Using information gathered directly from the state requested, experienced driving background check providers can retrieve a candidate’s Motor Vehicle Report (MVR). An MVR details up to seven years of driving history data and identifies any infractions that pose the most serious risk to you and your company. When conducting these record searches through a third-party background screener, they can implement reminders for your company to review MVRs, allowing you to stay up to date on your employees’ driving records.

Depending on the state and license type requested, Motor Vehicle Reports may include:

Driver’s license status
DUI/DWI convictions
Speeding violations
Registration violations
Equipment misuse
Accident history
Insurance violations
License suspension history

Commercial Driver’s License Information System Searches

A Commercial Driver’s License Information System (CDLIS) search provides information on a driver’s commercial driver’s license (CDL) and up to 3 previous licenses, ensuring that each commercial driver has only one driver’s license and one complete driving record. Conducting a CDLIS inquiry can indicate a need to search more than one state’s department of motor vehicles records.

Driver Monitoring

Through direct access to state licensing agencies, driver monitoring identifies any invalid or revoked licenses, approaching expirations, or recent DUI/DWI convictions and notifies your business immediately. Keeping an eye on your drivers’ records year-round prevents you from having to wait for annual screening results or rely on self-reporting to discover new citations.

Driver Qualification Files

Ensuring your drivers comply with regulations is critical to your company’s risk mitigation strategy. Maintain electronic files and expiration alerts with a Driver Qualification Files (DQF) system, which allows your transportation or distribution business to establish, organize, and maintain FMCSA driver documentation along with any company-specific documentation. The system maintains qualification files, warns fleet managers of impending license expirations, and provides full-service file audits for DOT and non-DOT fleets.

Add Criminal Monitoring to Your Driving Background Check

Want a little more peace of mind? In addition to the standard services included in a driver’s background check, many HR managers look for ways to proactively monitor their employees’ criminal activity. For drivers, this is particularly beneficial because it provides immediate awareness of relevant arrests, like DUIs. Continuous criminal monitoring runs your drivers’ names against nationwide arrest data 24/7 and reports back any arrests as soon as they’re found.

Why Driving Background Checks Are Important

Driving background checks provide your business a measure of due diligence and peace of mind. In checking your employees’ driving records pre- and post-employment, you can ensure that your hires don’t present any unnecessary risk to your operations and better protect your business, employees, and every other driver on the road. When you partner with InfoMart, you’re empowered to find and retain the most qualified and reliable drivers for your business, ensuring public safety and bolstering the efficiency of your transportation procedures. Contact us today for a consultation or request a quote.

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About Tammy Cohen

Tammy Cohen, an industry pioneer and expert in identity and employment screening, founded InfoMart 30 years ago. Deemed the “Queen of Screen,” she’s been a force behind industry-leading innovations. She was most recently the first-to-market with a fully compliant sanctions search, as well as a suite of identity services that modernizes talent onboarding. Tammy revolutionized the screening industry when she stepped into the field, developing the first client-facing application and a due diligence criminal search that has since become standard for all background screening companies. Cohen has received national awards and honors for her business and civic involvement, including Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Top 25 Women-Owned Firms in Atlanta, Enterprising Women Magazine’s Enterprising Women of the Year award, the YWCA of Northwest Georgia’s Kathryn Woods Racial Justice Award, and a commendation in the 152nd Congressional Record. To learn more about Tammy, visit www.tammycohen.com.

About InfoMart

InfoMart has been revolutionizing the global background and identity screening industry for 30 years, providing businesses the information they need to make informed hiring decisions. They develop innovative technology that modernizes talent onboarding, including a first-to-market biometric identity authentication application and a verified sanctions search. The WBENC-certified company is a founding member of the Professional Background Screening Association, and they have achieved PBSA accreditation in recognition of their consistent business practices and commitment to compliance with the FCRA. The company is dedicated to customer service, speed, and accuracy, and it has been recognized for its success, workplace culture, and corporate citizenship with over 45 industry awards. To Get the Whole Story on InfoMart, please visit www.InfoMart-USA.com, follow @InfoMartUSA, or call (770) 984-2727.