These days, almost everything we do is recorded. Whether we're featured on the feeds of thousands of video cameras per day as we walk the streets or we're signing up for another website with our personal details stored in their data, almost everything we do leaves a trace. Whenever we buy a product online and enter our details, this profile is partly for protecting consumers if you're signed up and have an account with the business, you can then contact them via that profile. You get the information you need, when you need it. Your information is safe on the vast majority of sites – all businesses will feature their security providers or certificates on most pages – and so you have no need to worry. One record many people may forget about easily, however, is their personal driving record – the history of their time spent on the road. This, too, is now accessible online.
Whilst some people worry that they may fall victim to some kind of financial crime while making purchases or entering their details online, accessing your driving record is sure to be safe on a reputable website with confirmed certification of security. Your sensitivity information will only be made available to proper clients, and will be used purely for a background check – nobody can access your details without registering themselves. Why would anybody want to evaluate your driving record? Well, there are many reasons – which we'll go into below – but the long and short of it is to assess your driving profile. A potential employer may want to check you're reliable behind the wheel, or your insurance company may want to study your history before providing you with coverage. Any traffic collisions show on your record, and there are various legal legal regulations on hand to help you work to remove violation points from your record (though each State has its own way of dealing with this).
So, if you're asking why would an employer want to view my driving record and how will this affect my job prospects”, read on.
Employers and your Driving Record
Everybody makes mistakes in life, regardless of age or intelligence, and this applies as much to driving as it does anywhere else. For some people, getting behind the wheel involves preparation, a careful focus on the road ahead and the drivers around them, and a determination to get where they need to be a measured way. For others, however, they become different people behind the wheel: aggressive, angry, convinced the roads are designed purely for themselves. These people can be dangerous on the roads, and may be more prone to becoming involved with violations of all sizes: speeding, running red lights, minor and major accidents.
However, there is no guarantee of any specific outcome when you're driving, and accidents can an do happen. If you're the cause of one, though, you may find a significant blemish on your driving record which goes on to affect your life in a multitude of ways. One of these may be your job. For anyone whose work involves driving, no matter how much or how little, a good driving record is essential to remain in that role. For a cab driver or a trucker to have a long list of violations, any employer would be remiss to take some form of action. All businesses have clients, and both the reputation of the brand and the safety of their clients and property is of paramount importance – sacrificing these aspects of the business for any driver is likely to be out of the question. Even for roles which require only a little driving, there are likely to be repercussions: you may lose the job entirely, or face yourself moved into another one.
Now, not every current or potential employer will seek to get rid of you or turn you down because of one or two minor violations – speeding a few miles over the limit can be done by mistake, and is unlikely to cost you a job with a taxi firm. When a prospective employer checks your driving record, they're doing this as part of an overall background check on your character they aren't looking to snoop or pry into your history, they just want to be sure they're taking on the right person for the job, who can be trusted and depended upon with their property and clients. What happens if you have a few violations and your potential employer wants to discuss them? Well, the best approach is to be honest: explain how the incident (or incidents) in question occurred, and what you have learned from them. If you appear cagey or short-tempered when any blemishes in your record are addressed, this will reflect badly on you. If you speak openly about the mistake, accept responsibility, and demonstrate a willingness to improve your driving skills, the potential employer should be impressed. If they don't offer you the role you applied for, your personality may shine through enough for them to offer you another one.
So, if your driving record is less than squeaky clean, be prepared to discuss it with any interviewers upon applying for a job. Be polite. Be honest. Be willing to improve. Don't just sit there thinking “how can I look at my driving record online” – order yours and check it over.
Will insurance companies check my driving record?
In a word? Yes. Of course they will – your relationship will be based entirely on your driving skills. If you're likely to be a hazard on the roads, to yourself and those around you, your insurance premiums will be higher than those of drivers with a safer history. When you apply for coverage with a specific company, they will check your driving record and assess your potential risk factor – if you're too high, they may choose to pass on your application altogether. Without insurance, you can't drive, so it pays to be as careful and cautious as you can whilst at the wheel.
However, if you are provided with coverage at a high rate, is there anything you can do to reduce those prices? After all, with rent or mortgage payments to keep up monthly, and with health insurance, home insurance, utilities, and the many other costs of day to day living, your car insurance can become a huge burden, particularly if you depend on your car. While many people may be able to get by fine with public transport, for families in rural areas or those with specific mobility issues, having no car will be out of the question.
Every insurance company is different, and while one turns you down, another may be willing to give you coverage. Rates themselves will vary even with a great driving record, so it's always important to check around from one firm to the next – use online comparison site to find the best rates based on your unique criteria. What if you have a bad driving record and want to reduce the number of points you carry to earn better insurance premiums? How can you answer the question: “How to check my driving record and make a difference to my outgoings?”
How can I improve my Driving Record?
So, you want to get back to work as a cab driver or you want to drive your costly premiums down – can this can done? Yes, but only for certain violations, and each state has its own policies regarding this. Typically, you will face two options: either attend a traffic school and reduce your points through undertaking a course, or you can maintain a clean record for a set number of years to earn a cleaner record. Which of the two you're offered is specific to each situation, and each are designed to ensure you're as safe on the roads as you can be. How do these work? Are they effective?
Traffic School
This is usually the preferred option of drivers looking to remove points from their record, as it can be done in a relatively short time and earns a certificate of achievement as proof of a reformed driver. However, there is some expense attached to this – drivers must pay the attendance fee themselves, and will have to invest time too. While this may put some people off, it's very important to consider whether time or money is most important to you in the long run. You may pay to visit traffic school, but you will see the benefits quicker than the alternative option.
Traffic schools are available as brick and mortar establishments or as online services. While there really are no major advantages or disadvantages to either, some candidates may find they prefer having a tutor in front of them and fellow classmates to work along with. Reaching the allocated school will require travel, whereas the online school can be taken at home, on any computer. There is also the comfort and convenience of having to spend less time and money getting to the physical school.
During your time at traffic school, you will face a series of tutorials – typically as videos or animations – which demonstrate effective and safe driving techniques in a multitude of situations. Upon reaching the end of the course, you will either have to take a final exam to prove you've taken the teachings on board, or, dependent on the state you live in, you may simply be given your certification of achievement after your final class. You should then see improvements in your insurance coverage costs straight away.
Time-related Goals
The second option involves maintaining a clean driving record over a set period of time, after which you will then receive a reduction in the number of points on your record, or even have some removed entirely – each state's laws differ. You may also have more points removed over following, shorter periods. Whilst this requires no additional expense, as the traffic school option does, this does mean the driver has to wait years for a cleaner record, which may not be ideal or even viable. However, this teaches the driver to focus on the end goal of a better record during their periods of safer driving, ensuring a better experience for themselves and other drivers around them whilst on the road.
If I run a business, can I view other people's driving records?
Businesses can and do check their employees and potential employees' driving records as part of their background search, but obviously this is a much bigger aspect if the job itself involves driving of any kind (as discussed earlier). If you're a business owner and looking to get hold of employees' driving records, there are various options open to you, but now the internet offers this service faster, easier and cheaper than ever before. But what are your responsibilities when you access this information?
Each site will have its own privacy policies etc., but you should only use the data for as long as you need it – if an applicant's driving record is not to your taste, then you should discard the information once finished with. You should never keep hold of this personal information if it's never to be needed again. If, however, you do wish to see more of an applicant and wish to discuss the various elements of their driving record, you should be prepared to answer any questions they may have regarding their personal information – some people may want to know how you came to hold such data, and what will happen once you're finished with it. Extend them the courtesy of being honest, regardless of the outcome.
So, are you asking “what's the best way to check my driving record?”
Here at 4SafeDrivers.com , we're dedicated to providing the fastest, most secure driving records service available. Whether you're an individual looking to check your own driving record for accuracy or vital information, or a business in need of driving records to screen current and prospective employees, our site offers a simple service you can access and use in next to no time. For companies in need of a series of driving records, you can create an account and log back in from time to time, whenever you need to.
