As we conduct background checking services for a great many trucking and transportation service, we thought it a good thing to re-post this article. We conduct everything from Motor Vehicle Driving Records, employment verification and Department of Transportation Drug Tests for the trucking and transportation industry.
As an industry it is under a lot of stress due largely to additional expenses. The MVR records have increased substantially in most states. DOT drug tests are more rigorous and haven’t gotten any cheaper. And thanks to the economy ,we all know the increased costs of truck fuel.
This article is from the Truck News and well worth reprinting in full…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Trucking Associations (ATA) is appealing to Congress to eliminate duplicative background checks for commercial drivers.
The association noted multiple background checks are onerous and costly for drivers and some veteran drivers are giving up their HazMat endorsements as a result.
Martin Rojas, vice-president of safety and operations, made the case to the House Homeland Security Committee’s Subcommittee on Transportation Security.
“The screening of individuals involved in the transportation of goods is important to the trucking industry,” Rojas told the subcommittee. “Our industry has long supported a national, uniform process to check a commercial driver’s criminal history. However, the present multiplicity of background checks for commercial drivers, and their associated costs, creates a significant challenge for the recruitment and retention of qualified drivers.”
Rojas pointed out a background check for a HazMat endorsement can cost as much as US$150 and he estimated as many as 1.2 million drivers have given up their endorsement since 2004, in part because of the cost.
HazMat drivers who also require a Transportation Worker Identification Credential must shell out another US$132.50 for yet another background check, Rojas pointed out.
