The operation of vehicles is a critical part of many businesses and creates one of the greatest risks to your employees, your organization, and your reputation. You should have a robust fleet safety program that includes training, maintenance, monitoring, and accountability. One effective and non-optional tool in your program is monitoring MVR’s or motor vehicle records.
What Are MVRs?
MVRs are historical driving records of your employees that are maintained by your state’s Department of Motor Vehicles. You can use MVRs to evaluate current and potential drivers. Specifically, MVRs provide an overview of an individual’s:
- Driving history over a specific period of time, usually five years or more
- Moving violations
- Chargeable accidents
- DWI, Reckless Driving or other major violations
- Suspensions or revocations
- Driver’s license and restrictions
- Administrative Violations – i.e. failure to pay
- Vehicular crimes
A driver’s accident and violation history is a good predictor of the risk of future problems.
Insurance carriers use MVRs when assessing risk. Poor drivers will increase the cost of your insurance and can jeopardize a carrier’s willingness to insure you
Obtaining and reviewing MVRs for every driver improves your risk profile, reduces the likelihood of accidents, and will help you secure more affordable insurance coverage.
How to Obtain MVRs?
You can secure an MVR through:
- Have the employee bring the MVR to you
- Your state’s DMV
- A third-party service
The benefit of having the employee bring the MVR is that they must face you directly about potential issues.
Before you request a current or prospective employee’s MVR, you must first obtain their written consent. MVRs should be reviewed before making a hiring decision and at least annually thereafter.
Driver qualification will vary by business. You should consult with your insurance broker and insurance carrier risk control representative. A sample MVR qualification form follows this article which is a good starting point. It is important to set clear standards that your employees understand and that you uniformly enforce. Ideal MVR guidelines for each employee include the following:
- A valid driver’s license should much the state of residence.
- Five years of driving experience is recommended.
- There should be no serious violations in the last four years, such as the following:
- Reckless driving
- DWI or DUI
- Passing a stopped school bus.
- Driving without a valid license
- Vehicular assault, homicide or manslaughter.
- Hit and run
- Other moving violation considerations:
- No more than one in the prior year
- No more than two in the prior three years
- No more than a total of three accidents and moving violations in the prior three years.
Review your drivers’ MVRs at least annually. Some states provide services that notify businesses when there is a change to an employee’s MVR. This is an effective tool. We recommend that you require employees to notify you whenever they have a moving violation.
Driver Qualification Policy
It is in the best interest of our organization to hire skilled, safety-conscious drivers. To that end, below is our policy to evaluate the Motor Vehicle Report for all of our drivers.
| Violation Type | Drivers should have no more than the following violations to continue to be an eligible driver for our company, OVER age 25 | Drivers should have no more than the following violations to continue to be an eligible driver for our company, UNDER age 25 |
|---|---|---|
| Severe: DWI or DUI, Reckless Driving, Driving with a suspended license, or other very serious violation | None in the previous 4 years | None in the previous 5 years |
| “At-Fault” Accidents | 1 accident in the previous 3 years | No accidents in the previous 3 years |
| Moving Violations | 1 violation in the previous 12 months and no more than 2 violations in the previous 3 years | 1 violation in the previous 3 years |
| Combination of accidents and violations | 1 accident or violation in the previous 12 months and no more than 2 accidents or violations in the previous 3 years | 1 accident or violation in the previous 3 years |
Continued Safety
Having a consistent system for collecting, retaining and reviewing MVRs will help put safe, qualified drivers in your vehicles. If you would like assistance with your fleet safety program, contact us at Dominion Risk Advisors.