Recent Episodes:

• An Uber cabbie harassed a female allegedly, in the cab and forced her out of the car in the middle of the road before her destination had arrived. This very incident took place within a week of Uber’s guidelines for “ideal” behaviour of riders nationwide, while in its cabs. The woman complained that during her ride from Mehrauli to Gurgaon where she works, the suffering began. The driver started being over friendly with the woman passenger and then started probing with persistent personal questions like, “Madam, where do you stay and where are you from? Do you stay alone?” This made the woman get suspicious about the driver’s intention. He kept on asking, “Why are you so angry that you are not saying anything”! Upon ignoring the driver, he increased the radio volume and started driving rashly. Ultimately, he asked the passenger to get out of the car in nowhere and continued to follow her till the woman pretended to note down the cab number which made the car speed off and flee.

However, when she complained in the Uber app, she felt assured that she would hear from them soon. But the tormented passenger got a call from an unknown number stating that a complaint has been filed against her instead. Hereafter, when one of her office friends advised her to call back in the same number, the person on the other end of the call posed as an Uber executive and said, he was talking from the head office. Surprisingly, while talking to that “executive”, the woman got doubtful that the same Uber driver who had asked her to get off his cab was talking to her.

Is it possible to prevent unpleasant incidents from happening ?

Drivers or chauffeurs require to be verified seriously, before they are employed by any employer. It is extremely important to have responsible hands behind the wheels and ascertain about the past criminal records of the drivers, such as, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, theft, destruction, inappropriate or rash driving, traffic violations, accidents and the alike.

Failing to verify the backgrounds of drivers or chauffeurs may have serious impacts on any Firm or family hiring them. As vehicles or cars are an integral part of any Company’s or family’s assets. Along with this, the legal liabilities cause severe damage and wastage of time, money and resources. A methodical and professional driver screening process accepts or rejects drivers, based on fundamental evidence. Modern Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are computerized and the component of anonymity is secured. Compliance and stringency are followed to the optimum while performing the background verifications.

Collecting essential documents from the potential drivers prior to hiring them would not only ensure safety of the travellers but would also ensure smart and wise hiring of authentic and trustworthy candidates.

The following steps are completed while conducting a comprehensive background verification for prospective drivers:

In India, professional Driver Background Screening Agencies are qualified in procedure verifications, who provide a complete Driver Background Check report on the person who is about to be hired as a driver. The following steps are completed while conducting a comprehensive background verification for prospective drivers :

• Address Proof Check : The address proof of each driver is checked, where the agencies visit the place of address and confirm with the local neighbour if it is needed. Address verification is the basic step followed for all drivers.

• Id Proof Check : With the increase of the criminal activities happening worldwide, it is crucial to have identity and other important credentials verified for the drivers before we are hiring them on the duty.Identity proofs such as, Voter ID, Aadhar Card, Ration Card, Pan Card and Passport are verified thoroughly.

• Reference Check : The Background Screening Company will check, whether the driver employed by the individual is referred by word of mouth or through any hiring agency. At times, it is important that the individual driver is hired through an agency who has been under a thorough employment process and not only through a word of mouth reference.

The following steps are completed while conducting a comprehensive background verification for prospective drivers:

• Global Database Check : Global Database Verification is a global and country-specific databases verification to validate if an individual candidate has been connected to any actions involving fraudulence or criminalities nationally or globally. A Global Database Check for a driver can disclose if the person in question had any involvements to organized crime or if s/he poses a threat related to reputational, legal or compliance (obedience) issues. A Database check exposes and warns the employer about any offence or misconduct committed by the potential driver earlier in the past.
• Criminal and Court Records Check : Criminal and Court Record Background Verification is must for the drivers as the person who is about to be employed must be authentic and trustworthy. S/he needs to be dedicated and genuine towards the job assigned to him/her. If the person hired has been involved in any kind of misconduct or wrongdoings then, the family or the Organization who has hired him/her, suffers a great deal. Hence, a criminal background check is an absolute must to rule out any possibility of illegal history and be certain about the person. Through a Criminal Record checking the trustworthiness of the driver can be discovered. Primarily, traffic offences like drunk driving, speeding, traffic compliance issues are all checked. Through the Court Records Check of the driver criminal or Court cases of the person (if any) are discovered through reliable District Government portals and verified from the : 

1. Supreme court
2. High court
3. District Civil Courts & Tribunals

Online/Offline Police Verification Checks for drivers:

• Getting the Background Verification checks done for Drivers working at our place is as challenging as finding them near us. Though the usual offline option is available, but people generally look for an online option too.
• When we get into the offline option, you often find it quite unmanageable and lengthy:

1. A hard copy of the Police Verification Form or Driver Background Check Form needs to be collected from the nearest Police Station Office. It can also be found at the Housing Society’s Admin Office at times. Few cities make the Police Verification Form available online. Generally, the rest of the steps still need to be completed offline.
2. The form needs to be filled out for the driver including his/her entire detail.
3. After this, the form needs to be submitted physically to the nearest local Police Station or the driver can be asked to do the same.
4. If required, sometimes, the employer needs to attend the P.S. personally, accompanying the driver.
5. If any relevant documents are still pending, the employer needs to revisit the Police Station.
6. After a few days, finally, the employer gets to collect the sanctioned & stamped copy of the Police Verification Form for the driver.

• The truth is that only about 10% of people follow the entire due diligence procedure before hiring the Driver, Maid, or other blue collar workers at the workplace.
• On the contrary, rest majority of the people just collect a copy of the potential individual’s ID proof and rely mainly on their references before employing them. This brings forward numerous cases of frauds, criminal offences and unfortunate incidents.
• Therefore, the actual assurance can only be achieved, once we have verified the information provided and documents submitted by the potential driver, in a professional method. And typically, it is only a small section of people who taint the entire community of workers.
• By performing a thorough Police Verification on the driver or conducting a Professional Background Verification for the individual, an employer ensures a secured environment for the family or the Organization. In India, the employers can get their drivers’ background authentically verified and validated through numerous online Background Verification Services. These services allow the employers to verify their Drivers online and in the most suitable way imaginable enabling a better hiring decision.