As noted, the rules are already in place to examine a Commercial Drivers' Driving record. Within the industry, the Responsible Trucking Companies ( i.e. - those with something to lose ) already perform a 10 year background check on all driver applicants BEFORE they are even offered a job. This task can be made difficult by previous employers who do not return the Letter of Background Inquiry, and by previous trucking companies going out of business. The Prospective Employer is only required to show a Good Faith effort to obtain the background check information. Then there are the Trucking Companies who just don't give a @#$%&; they need to put a warm butt in the seat NOW. My present employer has had several Owner - Operators leave recently for another company, yet the new employer has made no effort towards obtaining background checks. One of the O-O drivers who left had too many tickets and the insurance co. dropped him.
In my opinion, the enforcement of the Commercial Drivers' Background Check is a joke. The recent CSA Score deal ( Compliance - Safety - Accountability ) initially put a scare in both Trucking Co's and drivers, especially those with questionable safety records ( both employer and driver ). But now the standards for reportability and accountability are both being revised downward. While it is no longer possible for a Commercial Driver to hold multiple licenses at one time, there are still too many ways for the bad drivers to slip through the cracks. A common method for container - haulers here in Puget Sound is to hire recent immigrants from Eastern Europe and Africa, many of whom have a clean driving record because they just learned how to drive !!! Once these drivers pile up a few tickets and an accident or two, they are fired and replaced with their brother / cousin / friend. And so it goes...