What Shows on a Driving History Check?

If you are applying for a job that involves driving—or even a job that involves operating heavy machinery—you may be required to pass a driving history check before you can be hired. Employers use this type of check to avoid hiring dangerous drivers for driving-centric positions, which also helps companies avoid liability for accidents caused by their employees. While driving record background checks can’t eliminate the risk of driving-related accidents on the job, they can reduce it significantly.

Everyone with a driver’s license has a driving record. What that record shows can vary dramatically from one driver to the next based on each person’s driving history. Here are some of the details that can be discovered or verified through a driving report records check.

• Basic information: Every driving record includes basic identifying details about the driver. These details include the person’s name, address of residence, and gender.

• Issuing details: A motor vehicle report should include the individual’s driver’s license number and the state in which that license was issued.

• License classifications: Every state has different license classes, usually divided by letter designations (such as Class A, Class B, and so on). How the class tiers are defined varies from state to state, but they are usually categorized based on weight. Class A is usually a license for driving lower weight vehicles (such as standard cars), while a Class C license is usually a commercial driver’s license for trucks, buses, or other heavy and large vehicles. The class of license that a driver holds should be included on a motor vehicle record check.

• License status: This section of a driving record shows whether the driver’s license is in good standing or has been suspended or otherwise restricted. The record should also provide details about the license expiration date.

• Violations and penalties: Many employers use driving history checks primarily to view this section of the report, which outlines traffic violations and their punishments or penalties. From simple speeding tickets to more severe convictions like reckless driving, a person’s driving report should include details about their driving-related violations, collisions, or convictions. Fines, license suspensions, license revocations, license points, and other penalties should also be listed.

Delivery drivers, taxi drivers, bus drivers, and virtually any other position that requires regularly getting behind the wheel will involve a driving history check. If you are a job seeker and want to know what your driving record looks like, run a self-check through backgroundchecks.com today.