Labour shortages in the transportation sector in Canada are predicted to increase substantially in the coming decade.  Transportation and logistics companies are under pressure to employ fleets of drivers who can be trusted to protect both the public as well as property. This is where driving record abstracts and criminal background checks are absolutely vital.

You likely already leverage criminal background checks  and driving record abstracts when hiring drivers, but what we often see is companies too infrequently rescreen their drivers (or not rescreening at all).

It is a best practice to rescreen your drivers annually.

Many transportation companies also employ drivers with backgrounds on both sides of the border. This is where international checks come in. Checking your drivers’ backgrounds in Canada only may not give you the full picture.

It is a best practice to screen drivers internationally.

Garda recently released an article about cargo theft which highlighted data from a 2023 CargoNet report that revealed an increase of 59% in cargo thefts across Canada and the US in the previous year.

Cargo theft is a major contributor to shrinkage in Canada and the US and amounts to companies losing tens of millions of dollars annually.

If that doesn’t convince you as it relates to protecting property, here are some stats about protecting what is invaluable: life.

In Ontario alone, the OPP reportedly investigated 8,622 collisions last year that involved transport trucks.

The total deaths from collisions in Ontario for the same period was 31, with a shocking 20% resulting from accidents that involved transport trucks.

These numbers are higher than one would expect and further highlight your responsibility to put the safest possible drivers on the road. You can’t ensure that you do that without regularly rescreening your drivers.

While obtaining driving record abstracts and criminal background checks is a given, there is another background check that transportation and logistics companies are using when screening drivers that can reveal more than a driving record history or criminal background check that would require a person be convicted of an offence: social media background checks.

A social media background check will reveal behaviour such as substance abuse or violent behavior that can now be identified without it having gone through a judicial process producing a conviction. There are people who drink and drive and never find themselves arrested, but evidence of this behaviour may be revealed on a social media check.

A strong partnership with a background check provider who can facilitate local and international background checks, including criminal, driver’s abstracts, social media, etc., is central to driver screening. Screening and regular rescreening of drivers using credible and accurate background checks is the best way to ensure that you are putting the safest possible drivers on the road. Diversifying your background checks will help you uncover conduct that the traditional checks you rely on may not uncover.

For more information about screening and rescreening of drivers please visit www.tritoncanada.ca.