Drivers lying about experience

tasuinam

Well-Known Member
20
Wanted your thoughts on what to do:
We had a driver apply as a team driver and his resume indicated he had been driving since 1/2018 - his driver's lic shows 9/2020 (which could be he lost it and they issued a new one, he moved) - it took him a week to get all the documents to us - so we waited.
My safety guy met him at our yard - did a test drive - all was good, he sent in documents and we agreed on a pay scale taking into account the experience (over the weekend). Drug test was scheduled and completed and he went on the road as part of a team (on Monday). The other driver complained - can't follow GPS, woke him up in the middle of the night to ask how do do stuff, etc..)

When we confronted him he said he had three weeks of driving experience and when I called his former employer (the day he left on the trip) they said he only drove for two weeks. I am okay with new drivers - but need to tell the other person to train him / maybe the other person doesn't want to drive with a newbie. I know I should've checked references BEFORE - hindsight is 20/20

I feel I need to report him so whoever hires him knows he is inexperienced - and can provide training. Who do I report him to / what should be my next step? How do you guys deal with drivers who lie about experience - it's a huge safety issue for us. Being new is not the issue its the lying.
He obviously doesn't work for us anymore - was thankfully a short trip - got him back as soon as we found out.
 

Jim L

Well-Known Member
20
The drivers abstract shows the date that they the licensee obtained their first license - usually their G or sometimes a M license if they got that first. This date never changes if their license is lost or replaced. You definitely need to pull a drivers abstract so you can identify how this person drives their car. Usually if they are aggressive in their car they will be aggressive in a truck. Infractions in Ontario and some neighboring jurisdictions will show up here.

A drivers CVOR will show all the inspections/accidents in Ontario and some neighboring jurisdictions. This will show you how the driver manages the truck. The CVOR confirms the license type, conditions, expiry date and medical due date.

If the driver says they have experience from Jan 2018 (2.75 years) you should contact those employers and confirm the dates, if they took any leaves of absences, what type of vehicle they drove, any infractions/accidents, and if they would hire them again. If you cannot get this, you need to have a really good road test and not just a drive around the block.

A good road test will usually bring out a lack of experience. I find that asking them where the air compressor or the air dryer on the truck is will usually bring about a dazed look and an alarm bell for me. If they back up onto a dock and look only in their driver mirror that is a sign of a lack of experience or a lack of confidence. I put more faith in my road test than anything that the driver will state.

Remember Humboldt? That carrier is in big trouble because he put the driver on the road with a lack of experience. Doing your due diligence will keep your insurance rates in check. Knowing the driver you put in the truck will help you sleep better. A really good road test will help you identify the lack of experience or a complacent attitude that should be addressed and confirm what the driver is stating. No matter who you put in the truck, you don't want to be red faced when something goes sideways. The driver in the Humboldt accident has lost his career but the owner of the carrier lost a lot more.

There is no way that I know of that you can report him. The only way is to avoid him or someone like him in the future.
 

lowmiler88

Site Supporter
30
We use a company called Professional Drivers Bureau out of Alberta to check all their past employers for actual start/finish dates, any accidents or tickets, whether they would rehire, any large gaps in employment (which usually means they are hiding a job that went bad) etc. We have used this company for years and they do all the follow up with previous employers and report when they cannot get a response.
 

TRKINSURE

Active Member
15
Wanted your thoughts on what to do:
We had a driver apply as a team driver and his resume indicated he had been driving since 1/2018 - his driver's lic shows 9/2020 (which could be he lost it and they issued a new one, he moved) - it took him a week to get all the documents to us - so we waited.
My safety guy met him at our yard - did a test drive - all was good, he sent in documents and we agreed on a pay scale taking into account the experience (over the weekend). Drug test was scheduled and completed and he went on the road as part of a team (on Monday). The other driver complained - can't follow GPS, woke him up in the middle of the night to ask how do do stuff, etc..)

When we confronted him he said he had three weeks of driving experience and when I called his former employer (the day he left on the trip) they said he only drove for two weeks. I am okay with new drivers - but need to tell the other person to train him / maybe the other person doesn't want to drive with a newbie. I know I should've checked references BEFORE - hindsight is 20/20

I feel I need to report him so whoever hires him knows he is inexperienced - and can provide training. Who do I report him to / what should be my next step? How do you guys deal with drivers who lie about experience - it's a huge safety issue for us. Being new is not the issue its the lying.
He obviously doesn't work for us anymore - was thankfully a short trip - got him back as soon as we found out.
Be proactive, don’t do the background check after you’ve hired. I’ve seen carriers lose their insurance over stupidity like hiring drivers without due diligence.
Drivers are your biggest exposure. I’ve seen fleets in the same industry thrive and the same time others hemorrhage because of the quality of the drivers they hire!
 

tasuinam

Well-Known Member
20
We use a company called Professional Drivers Bureau out of Alberta to check all their past employers for actual start/finish dates, any accidents or tickets, whether they would rehire, any large gaps in employment (which usually means they are hiding a job that went bad) etc. We have used this company for years and they do all the follow up with previous employers and report when they cannot get a response.
Thank you - will look into that
 

tasuinam

Well-Known Member
20
Be proactive, don’t do the background check after you’ve hired. I’ve seen carriers lose their insurance over stupidity like hiring drivers without due diligence.
Drivers are your biggest exposure. I’ve seen fleets in the same industry thrive and the same time others hemorrhage because of the quality of the drivers they hire!
Lesson learned - thank God nothing happened
 

tasuinam

Well-Known Member
20
The drivers abstract shows the date that they the licensee obtained their first license - usually their G or sometimes a M license if they got that first. This date never changes if their license is lost or replaced. You definitely need to pull a drivers abstract so you can identify how this person drives their car. Usually if they are aggressive in their car they will be aggressive in a truck. Infractions in Ontario and some neighboring jurisdictions will show up here.

A drivers CVOR will show all the inspections/accidents in Ontario and some neighboring jurisdictions. This will show you how the driver manages the truck. The CVOR confirms the license type, conditions, expiry date and medical due date.

If the driver says they have experience from Jan 2018 (2.75 years) you should contact those employers and confirm the dates, if they took any leaves of absences, what type of vehicle they drove, any infractions/accidents, and if they would hire them again. If you cannot get this, you need to have a really good road test and not just a drive around the block.

A good road test will usually bring out a lack of experience. I find that asking them where the air compressor or the air dryer on the truck is will usually bring about a dazed look and an alarm bell for me. If they back up onto a dock and look only in their driver mirror that is a sign of a lack of experience or a lack of confidence. I put more faith in my road test than anything that the driver will state.

Remember Humboldt? That carrier is in big trouble because he put the driver on the road with a lack of experience. Doing your due diligence will keep your insurance rates in check. Knowing the driver you put in the truck will help you sleep better. A really good road test will help you identify the lack of experience or a complacent attitude that should be addressed and confirm what the driver is stating. No matter who you put in the truck, you don't want to be red faced when something goes sideways. The driver in the Humboldt accident has lost his career but the owner of the carrier lost a lot more.

There is no way that I know of that you can report him. The only way is to avoid him or someone like him in the future.
Noted - lesson learned - I understand employment gaps - but such blatant lies !
 

Freight Broker

Well-Known Member
30
Years ago when I worked as the hiring manager for Sunbury Transport we encountered this type of problem often. But fortunately we discovered the lack of experience before putting the driver in a truck. We required references from previous employers going back at least three years and preferrably more. It was tough.. as well needed to nail down exact dates of hire and termination so that no time is unaccounted for. Often we could not verify the day, and we'd have to pass on the candidate.. i.e. left one employer in June 1992 and started with new employer June 1992.. so possibly 29-30 days unaccounted for if he quit June 1 and hired on June 30.. and you guessed it. anything bad that happened in June could have gotten missed. We had to turn a lot of people away because of that. Often we found that drivers who claimed to have five years experience really had only a year or less spread over five years.. not quite the same.
 

tasuinam

Well-Known Member
20
Years ago when I worked as the hiring manager for Sunbury Transport we encountered this type of problem often. But fortunately we discovered the lack of experience before putting the driver in a truck. We required references from previous employers going back at least three years and preferrably more. It was tough.. as well needed to nail down exact dates of hire and termination so that no time is unaccounted for. Often we could not verify the day, and we'd have to pass on the candidate.. i.e. left one employer in June 1992 and started with new employer June 1992.. so possibly 29-30 days unaccounted for if he quit June 1 and hired on June 30.. and you guessed it. anything bad that happened in June could have gotten missed. We had to turn a lot of people away because of that. Often we found that drivers who claimed to have five years experience really had only a year or less spread over five years.. not quite the same.
Thank you - am learning all the ways people hide bad experiences.
 

chica123

Site Supporter
30
Don't most companies ask for letters of verification from Insurance Companies themselves now before hiring a driver, now? I know back in the day, drivers could weasel their way around a few dates, but now most insurance companies that insure smaller carriers require this, don't they? And take Truckinsure's advice, you don't want to play around like this. If you are not diligent, an insurance company will pull the rug out from under you. Best to come up with a solid set of verification checks before hiring a driver.
 

TRKINSURE

Active Member
15
Don't most companies ask for letters of verification from Insurance Companies themselves now before hiring a driver, now? I know back in the day, drivers could weasel their way around a few dates, but now most insurance companies that insure smaller carriers require this, don't they? And take Truckinsure's advice, you don't want to play around like this. If you are not diligent, an insurance company will pull the rug out from under you. Best to come up with a solid set of verification checks before hiring a driver.
Chica, you are correct. The smaller carriers, still need to provide the letters of experience.
For my next post, I’ll show you how to help expedite the process..... stay tuned.
 

PSTC

Member
10
Are you obtaining the drivers MVR from the driver or only the CVOR? If the driver is newly licenced, the MVR will show when he completed his MELT training as well as when he passed is road test.
 

tasuinam

Well-Known Member
20
Are you obtaining the drivers MVR from the driver or only the CVOR? If the driver is newly licenced, the MVR will show when he completed his MELT training as well as when he passed is road test.
only the CVOR - We have now implemented a new checklist and unless ALL of it is there we will not have them on the road. This includes verification from previous employers, MVR a completely filled out application AND a road test.... I guess going off someone's word till all documents are received is not an option....
 

Freight Broker

Well-Known Member
30
That's how we used to do at Sunbury.. put the onus on them to bring in a complete file.. references.. phone numbers.. supporting documents.. the works. I would then take the file and have someone do the checks.. and if that checked out they'd be hired and ready for orientation. You read that right.. we didn't road test anyone. Ah.. the good old days.
 

tasuinam

Well-Known Member
20
That's how we used to do at Sunbury.. put the onus on them to bring in a complete file.. references.. phone numbers.. supporting documents.. the works. I would then take the file and have someone do the checks.. and if that checked out they'd be hired and ready for orientation. You read that right.. we didn't road test anyone. Ah.. the good old days.
yes .... some days I lament the 24/7 connectivity as well....
 
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