In today’s world, employers need to be careful about who they hire and this is why many employers are doing background checks on potential new hires. The background checks can range from a criminal record to a credit check to a driving record check. Driving history can be important to a variety of different people and it’s legal information to obtain. Doing a driving record check is even more important if the job involves a lot of driving.
The Benefits of Doing a Driving Record Check
If the job an employer is hiring for involves driving for an extended period of time then they would want to review either the driving history or an employee’s record. It’s important to know the type of person they are hiring in terms of driving history. It’s especially important to hire a safe driver if the job involves driving children. In fact, it would be suspect for an employer to not check driving records before hiring and throughout the years of employment. It’s vital for the safety of everyone and an important step in the hiring process.
There are lots of risks when hiring a driver. Hiring someone with a clean driving record will help keep the company insurance rates down. Even just one accident by an employee can increase insurance costs. When you do a record check and see red flags, such as speed violations, reckless driving convictions, or accidents where the driver was at fault, it can be an easy decision to not want this person to be driving your company truck. The number of points on a record can also be a red flag. Accidents show a disregard for the law and a lack of attention to detail.
Not only is doing a driver record check important for new hires, but it’s also important for current employees. For example, you may be hired on for a 90-day probation period. After those 90 days, an employer can check the driving record in order to see how you are doing and whether your employment should continue. Employers may also want to check these records every so often in order to make sure that employees are practicing safe driving no matter what. If an employee knows that his or her driving record could be checked at different times then it can keep him or her always striving for safety.
Knowledge is power in both instances. When it comes to safety, the more you know, the better.
Should You Check Your Own Driving Record?
If you are applying for jobs where driving is involved then there are good chances that an employer can request these records. You can check your own records so that you have knowledge about what the employer is going to see and if this could be a hindrance to you getting the job.
What Is Included on a Driving Record?
What will be included on the driving record check will depend on what type of record is requested. There are eight different types of driving records. A complete record is exactly what you think it will be and this includes your entire driving history. Things such as license suspensions, accidents, violations, convictions, and failures to appear in court will all show up. This could be a very sparse or thick record, depending on your history. It’s rare to not have anything show up, especially if you have been driving for a long while.
Another type of record includes a 3-year non-commercial insurance abstract and this includes the last three years of any noncommercial driving. This type of record is used for insurance quotes and if policies should be renewed. It can also be used to determine if a life insurance policy should be renewed or issued. Employment records are what a potential employer will use to decide if you get hired based on the driving history. Even if you are an unpaid volunteer wanting to drive, they may still request records in order to make sure that you are going to be safe and not damage the safety record of the company.
Different aspects of your driving history are going to be kept on file for different amounts of time. Serious violations, such as those related to alcohol consumption, will be kept for life.