The US Department of Transportation is changing their rules every year. Not every one of them but at least 10 to 15 of them a year.
Someone would say that they are implementing new rules constantly and that it is hard to cope with and follow them.
However, the point of changing the rules and implementing new ones is in order to ease the life of drivers on the highway.
More importantly, to ease the entire process of documentation, or waiting for a particular process to be finished in the Department of Transportation.
The aim of the US DOT is to create simplicity in the complexity of transportation and the world of trucks.
What is Motor Vehicle Report?
To begin with, Motor Vehicle Report, shortly MVR is a driving record which shows the driving history. Notably, it includes information about the driver’s license.
For example, it includes the following information:
- Past and Current Status of Driving Licenses (Suspensions, Revocations, and Cancellations)
- Driver License’s Class
- Endorsements
- License Restrictions
Continually, it has a further information which involves traffic violations such as the following:
- Traffic Citations
- Vehicular Crimes
- Accident Reports
- Driving Record Points
Having numbered all of the above, it is simply amazing how much information is gathered on MVR.
On the subject of this, there is an additional personal information on it. For instance:
- Your Age
- Birth Date
- Gender
- Hair Color
- Eye Color
- Weight/ Height
Generally speaking, one Motor Vehicle Report shows information about a particular truck driver and has a determined validation.
Having said this, every state has a validity of a specific number of years.
Continually, the Illinois Department of Transportation has different MVR rules than the DOT in New York.
For example, in some states, the MVR has a 3-year validity while in other parts of the United States has a 5-year validity or less.
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Furthermore, there is a maintained record for every driver in the Qualification File of Drivers.
Notably, each driver must keep the record for a time period of 3 years. The carrier will then review the driver’s MVR
Why is MVR Important?
The motor vehicle reports or a driving record is easing the job for the health insurance companies.
Keeping a clean driving record, or obeying the Safety and Fitness Electronic Records System (SAFER) is crucial and it is the same with MVR.
Having said this, the motor vehicle report is important to be ordered for a variety of reasons.
First of all, they help the insurance companies how to set rates.
To continue with, it is useful for identifying a particular truck driver. For instance, if a trucker is a hazmat transportation driver, this information will be put on its driving record.
More importantly, it will notify you on what to expect when your insurance company is used for other purposes as well. For instance:
- Employment Purposes (employers that use driving records in order to determine whether to hire you for driving)
- Background Check
- Court Proceedings
Furthermore, the MVR will most certainly help you to assess if the information is accurate by having a copy of it.
To put it in a different way, the state you live in may allow you to complete the traffic school in order to decrease the driving record points.
However, the MVR will not reflect this.
If this is the case, you can correct the record before you apply for insurance quotes.
To continue with, if the time period for a point removal has finished but the points are still there then contact the licensing agency to remove them.
MVR’s Role in the Trucking Industry
When truck drivers are applying for a particular driving job this means that they need to look into their CDL Class A license.
Having said this, they need to make sure that they have a copy of their MVR.
Why having a copy of the MVR is important?
First of all, it has all the information of your profile as a truck driver. Second, you need to have this information for your potential as a future truck driver.
The trucking companies are always looking into the motor vehicle record of every future truck driver in their company.
Whether it is a new truck driver or experienced truck driver, they always look into every single record.
The trucking companies are doing this in order to avoid hiring felon truck drivers which it is actually a smart move.
This is mostly due to the fact that some businesses respect the safety of truck drivers as well as cargo securement, as their priorities.
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Department of Transportation’s New Medical and MVR Rule
As shown above, it is crucial to order the MVR for your sake mostly, as a truck driver as well as for the Department of Transportation.
To put it in a different way, DOT is changing the rules and regulations.
On the subject of this, there is again a new rule applying to the Motor Vehicle Record.
This new rule applies not only to the MVR but the medical examination as well. To emphasize, DOT voted this rule in order to make it easier for the companies and drivers in the trucking industry.
Correspondingly, the companies are still not aware of the new rule of the Department of Transportation.
According to the new DOT rule, when a driver does a medical test, the company has a due date of 14 to 15 days to make changes.
By this period of time, the companies are ought to get a new MVR for that particular driver.
In comparison to the previous MVR rule, the companies did not have to do anything related to the medical test.
Conclusion
To sum it up, a change is always good. According to The Department of Transportation, they are doing their best in order to ease every complexity of the trucking industry.
