It’s time to look at hiring a driver…is there anything I should know before I do so? Often a food truck operation starts with an owner or co-owner driving the catering truck. However, there may come a time when you need to hire a back-up driver or want that cook to get behind the wheel occasionally or perhaps you are adding a second truck.

Regardless of the situation, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS check their motor vehicle report (MVR) prior to hiring them or allowing them to drive the truck! Require the potential employee to go to the DMV and get a copy of their MVR. The last thing you want to do is hire an employee with a poor driving record. You are putting the company at risk and incurring additional auto insurance premiums.

What to Know When Hiring a Driver

Here are some good guidelines to use when hiring a driver…

Within the last 36 months, no driver can have more than:

  • 1 violation and two accidents
  • 2 moving violations and one accident.
  • 3 moving violations and no accidents

No driver may have any serious violations (i.e. DUI, suspended, auto felony convictions, or other serious violations) these drivers will be excluded from most insurance companies policies.

Keep in mind that when your broker is obtaining Auto quotes, they are getting a list of drivers and running their MVR’s. If you have an ineligible driver, then most of those competitive insurance companies will pull their quote because of a bad driver. Then you are stuck going with an insurance company that will charge an arm and a leg to provide Auto coverage for that poor driver.

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Matt Carlson, CIC is an insurance broker that specializes in insurance and risk management solutions for food and catering trucks. He is a foodie and second generation commercial insurance broker. He provides his clients with General Liability, Auto and Workers’ Compensation coverage. Matt currently insures over 25 food trucks. Some of his more notable clients are Krazy BBQ, Kogi BBQ and The Fox Pizza Bus.