Fast Facts On Drivers
Driver screening services are a quick, easy way to get information on applicants. There are many companies that work one-on-one with carriers, offering everything from interviewing and background checks to drug testing, training, and compliance services.
There are also some national services that offer driver background investigations.
DAC/STA is probably best known for its employment data base built on information provided by motor carriers, but the Tulsa, Okla.-based company also offers drug testing, MVRs, credit reports, social security verification, and criminal background checks.
According to Marketing Manager Victoria Burge, the social security search validates the number given on the application and cross-checks it against a deceased file. It also give s you the date and state of issue, which you can cross-check against information given. (For instance, if the number was issued before the applicant was born, you've red-flagged a potential problem.)
DAC/STA can do a full criminal search of state and county records but, to save clients time and money, it has amassed its own data base of over 5 million records.
Every background inquiry that comes through DAC/STA is added to the data base, including background checks that show no criminal convictions.
Thus a search can be positive as well as negative, notes Burge. "It may show that four different carriers did a criminal search and nobody found anything."
Each night, the company sends the FBI a list of reports processed including each person's name, social security number and date of birth.
"We won't ever know if someone who is wanted by the FBI has applied for a job," she says. "But if they have the FBI will contact the local authorities and arrange to have them apprehended."
The cost depends on the services included but Burge says that for about $25 you can get any criminal and employment information DAC/STA has on an applicant plus verification of the social security number, drug and alcohol test history, and the MVR. From there, you can decide if they want to go further with a credit report or more extensive criminal investigation.
Information from the company's own database is usually processed within in minutes. MVRs are back in a day. Criminal records outside the DAC/STA system usually take up to 72 hours. Everything can be transmitted online.
Los Angeles based U.S. Search has offered a variety of Internet based investigative services for many years, but just introduced a package designed specifically for trucking and other transportation clients.
Like DAC/STA, customers are encouraged to customize services to their individual needs but the full transportation package, priced at about $85, includes a social security trace, criminal background check, previous employment verification, MVR and credit history.
Executive Vice President Mal Ransom says they always start with the social-security trace because it shows names and addresses associated with the number.
"If any of the information is different than what you have, you know something is wrong," he explains.
Previous employment, education, criminal records searches, and motor vehicle records are cross-checked with the social security identities and addresses.
The criminal check looks for felony and misdemeanor convictions in areas where the applicant has lived, worked or attended school — including addresses that come up on the social security trace.
While Ransom admits that nothing is foolproof, it would take someone who is "very, very sophisticated" to fabricate an identity that passes this scrutiny.
Verification of previous employers usually takes the longest because all listed employers are contacted by telephone, but Ransom says they close 90% of their cases in less than four working days. Reports are available online. U.S. Search notifies customers via e-mail when reports are completed or if they run into a problem
You can find out more about DAC/STA at www.dacservices.com or (800) 331-9175. U.S. Search is at www.ussearch.com or (877) 733-2243. For names of other companies offering driver screening services in your area, check with your state trucking association or look in the telephone the yellow pages under Investigative Services.
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