Verifying a truck driver’s experience is a requirement for trucking companies according to federal law. Prior to hire, the company will perform an investigation on each potential driver. This could consist of telephone interviews, personal interviews, letters, or any type of method that the carrier finds appropriate to obtain the necessary information. Obtaining written documentation from personal/professional references is always desirable.
How do trucking companies verify experience? In verifying a trucker’s experience, trucking companies use the driver’s DAC or Drive-A-Check report to show a good faith effort in complying with the laws. They must have access to verifiable driving employment for a ten-year time frame, verify all employers from the past three years whether driving-related or not, and obtain driver’s drug test record, traffic violation report, and accident report.
These details are included on the DAC report making it a useful tool for trucking companies researching a driver’s experience level.
Verifying Experience Using The DAC Report
Approximately 90% of your medium to larger size trucking companies today will use the DAC or Drive-A-Check report to verify a potential new driver’s experience. The DAC report is a detailed summary of the driver’s history on the road.
You have the capability of obtaining a free copy of your DAC report to scan it for accuracy. You’ll want to do this to ensure that the information potential employers will be viewing are facts.
What is the DAC Report?
The DAC Report is a stack of paperwork on a driver that a trucking company will run denoting the driver’s employment history, driving history, legal transgressions, and personal demographics. This includes the last ten years worth of work history, criminal background, drug testing results, infractions by DOT, and any type of accidents.
Who initiates DAC reports?
HireRight is the for-profit, private company that specializes in doing background checks for a multitude of different industries, one of which is the trucking industry and the DAC report.
They are legally bound as a background checking provider to operate under the Fair Credit Reporting Act or FCRA regulations which covers the collection/use of credit information and is the basis of the consumer credit rights within the United States. Each driver is entitled to a free report every year.
What is on the DAC report?
Every DAC report will vary depending on what the particular trucking company requests and customizes with HireRight. It can contain a variety of different aspects of your history and background. For past employers, typically the information requested will include:
- License number and any endorsements or restrictions.
- Name/address of the company and the date that they submitted.
- On-the-job performance information or record.
- Name, social security #, Date of Birth–Driver I.D.
- Month/year of driver’s service.
- The freight and trailers that the driver hauled.
- Rehire eligibility.
It may offer medical physical results, drug/alcohol results, verification of U.S. employment eligibility, among other pertinent information to a particular trucking company’s preference and their specific company needs.
How can a driver fix a DAC report that is inaccurate?
A driver must keep track of what is on their DAC report and dispute any information that is incorrect, incomplete, or missing from the report. This is deemed one of the more critical job duties of a truck driver in today’s world.
The Federal Trade Commission or FTC provides drivers with legal protection and remedies in cases of wrong details being included on the DAC reports. The first step in the process is to contact HireRight to start the process of filing a free dispute. The process for an investigation can take upwards of 30 days, but it can be done by way of fax, phone, or via mail. Contact information for HireRight customer service:
- Phone: 800-381-0645 central time from 7 am to 7 pm Monday through Friday
- Fax: 918-664-5520
- Address: HireRight, Department 14002, E. 21st Street, Suite 1200, Tulsa, OK 74134–Attn: Consumers Department
Verifiable Facts Trucking Companies Want To Know
Not only is a trucking company going to do its investigative research on the information provided on your DAC report, but it is also going to have you provide them with an application/resume along with an interview process. The information that you provide is going to need to be cohesive with the DAC report so you’ll need to be honest.
Provide your work history
This needs to be something that you are immediately prepared to answer with names, addresses, phone numbers, dates, names of supervisors, and the type of work that was performed for the past ten years. The U.S. Department of Transportation requires this whether the position was driving-related or not. A large gap in work history is viewed as a red flag and will need to be explained effectively.
What is the reason for your resignation/termination?
For each position, the potential employer will need to know the reason for leaving the last trucking position and what you see for yourself in the new position. Honesty is always essential. In saying that, if you had a bad experience with your previous employer, give legitimate details explaining all sides fairly.
How long have you been driving?
There’s no hard and fast rule to say that you won’t be hired if you have no experience. If you are good, there are always jobs even with little experience. But the company needs to know whether you are just coming out of driver’s training or if you’ve been on the road for a lot of years.
Each company is going to vary in what they require in experience level. There are some who provide free schooling for drivers with no experience to get their commercial license with the consideration that the driver hired on with the company for a certain duration. If you have attended a school, provide the certificate and grading sheets.
Which operations have you driven for?
Knowing whether you are capable of handling a hazardous-material tanker or prefer less-than-truckload is important to trucking companies in finding the best fit for their operation.
The last five years of your driving record.
The carrier is going to want to know whether there are any speeding tickets, DUI convictions, or accidents within five years on your record. With trucking companies, a driver that has more than two moving violations within a two-year time frame is not deemed to be a desirable driver. If you find yourself in this situation, you can help your chances by attending a defensive driving class that is provided by either the National Safety Council or a state trucking association. Don’t lie about the record because it will come up on the DAC report.
Verifiable Experience
Trucking companies require good drivers with many providing large sign-on bonuses for those who are considered to be in-demand. The DAC report makes the employer’s job of verifying a driver’s experience simpler with the pertinent information being displayed at their fingertips. The only thing that you need to do is to make sure the information is accurate and back it up.
Being honest is essential when submitting your resume/application and during the interview process whether the information is good or bad. Explaining scenarios in detail fairly will show integrity to a potential employer.
The transportation industry is steadily growing faster than the number of quality drivers being produced. It’s become a balancing act for the trucking companies to keep the trucks rolling with the skilled people required for the jobs. Standing out with the appropriate verifiable experience gives you a leg up.
