May 17, 2005
Truck Drivers and Unexplained Employment History Gaps
Most truckers do not know that the DOT will not allow a truck driver who has gaps in his/her employment history to be hired in the United States. One of the main reasons for this is that truck drivers have a great potential for mass destruction. Consider this: A truck driver has a brief stint of employment driving Over The Road for a few years. Then that same driver takes a break from his/her driving duties because they want to go outside of the USA to get some explosives training. After they have gotten their training, they decide to come back to do some high level terrorist activity. No freight carrier company in their right mind would now hire this joker to drive their trucks now if they knew what had transpired.This is an extreme example but makes its point just the same. Big rigs have an extreme capacity for all types of freight, that is how they are designed. Imagine the havoc that could be caused by a 53 foot trailer filled with explosives. We have all seen the footage of railroad tankers filled with gas exploding after a derailment. The same could be true with an 18 wheeler's trailer.
So, with all of that said, when filling out an application for a new driving job. Make sure that there are no unexplained gaps in your employment history. Even if you can't remember all of the information requested, go ahead and put in what you do know. It is better to have something than nothing in most cases. And above all things: BE HONEST! Remember that the final decision to hire you will be made by a human. What I mean by this is that when it comes down to a judgement call, the person recruiting will make a better decision if they have more information about you.