If your nonprofit regularly uses staff (including employees or volunteers) to drive your vehicles, you need to make sure those drivers will be safe on the road. In particular, you should establish a written policy to manage your driving program that includes requiring an annual Motor Vehicle Report (MVR) for every individual who drives on behalf of your organization.

To assist with this process, Church Mutual offers MVR checks at discounted rates through our partner Trusted Employees – visit Trusted Employees for additional information and pricing. You can also request an MVR for each of your drivers through your state’s department of transportation for a small fee. Before you do, decide what you consider to be acceptable or unacceptable in the results of the record check, based on the nature of the driving to be performed.

Church Mutual recommends that organizations prohibit drivers who have had the following driving violations in the last five years:

• Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
• Driving with an open container of alcohol.
• Reckless/careless driving.
• Speeding in excess of 14 miles per hour over the speed limit.
• Hit and run.
• Eluding a police officer.
• Driving with a suspended or revoked driver’s license.
• Vehicular assault, manslaughter or homicide.
• Operating a vehicle without the owner’s permission.
• Speed contest/racing.
• Use of a vehicle to commit a felony.
• Passing a stopped school bus.

It is also recommended that organizations prohibit an individual from driving if they have had two or more of the following violations in the last three years:

• All other speeding violations.
• Distracted driving.
• Improper lane changes.
• Failure to yield.
• At-fault accidents.
• Tailgating.
• Running a stop sign or red light.

Remember, however, that the above list should not be the only factors you use when selecting drivers for your organization. You may also want to consider a candidate’s age and amount of driving experience (e.g., requiring drivers to be 18 years old or older), if they have any cognitive or physical disabilities, and whether they have recently participated in a defensive driving course.

Guidelines for managing your drivers

Whether your staff is transporting people, food, furniture or other items, they need to know what is expected of them. The following are some best practices to follow in establishing your Safe Driver Program:

1. Identify a driving program supervisor who can hold the drivers accountable. Unless you only use one or two drivers, you will need someone to whom they can come with any concerns. There also needs to be a person with the authority to terminate a staff member’s driving privileges with the organization.
2. Establish expectations for drivers. Setting expectations up front will not only hold staff accountable for safe driving, but also protect them from potentially uncomfortable situations with passengers. Some areas to consider highlighting include training and commitment to any protocols around loading/unloading cargo or passengers, ensuring passengers are seated and secured before driving, how to deescalate situations between passengers and following any organizational requirements around using specific routes, distraction free driving, use of telematics, etc.
3. Ask drivers to sign a pledge form. This form spells out whose insurance is responsible in the event of a crash and asks drivers to maintain the vehicle while they are using it.
4. Make drivers aware of proper use of organizational vehicles. It is preferred vehicles belonging to an organization are used only during regular business hours and for business purposes. They should not be taken back to a staff member’s home after work hours or used for personal use. Additionally, staff members’ family members should not drive or be allowed in the organization’s vehicle.

Learn more about transportation safety, as well as access information, resources and more intended to keep your people safe and assist you in preventing road accidents.