Random Question-Reporting Accidents to Potential Employer

[bmilla35]

This question is probably best suited for a lawyer, but I'm curious if anyone has similar experience with this situation Thanks for any help ahead of time!

So I had a final interview on Monday, and got an email asking several questions regarding my driving record. Such questions include: (I will bold the questions and put my response underneath)

-Have you been involved in any motor vehicle accidents while driving during the past three years?

Yes, but it wasn't reported to insurance because the other party (who was at fault...I have a police report) ended up not having insurance...it's a long story and one that I would rather not get into because it ruined my life.

-Have you been convicted of any moving violations during the past five years?

Yes, I have had an occasional ticket for going through an intersection that had red light camera and I didn't see a "no turn on red" sign, in addition to a speeding ticket that was entered as something else and only resulted in a fine (no points).

I ran my "Motor Vehicle Report," which surprisingly came up clear? So, my main question is, should I say I haven't had any issues. I don't want to lie, because nothing I did was serious. At the same time, if they're going to check my MVR and it's clear, maybe I should just say nothing.

Does anyone have experience with this? I'm at a loss!!!

 

[madcap_magician]

Honesty is always the best policy. Exact honesty. Answer the question, don't answer any question that isn't there.

That being said, answer the question. Have you had any MVAs in the past three years? Report them, but don't include one from four years ago. Had a moving violation ticket in the past five years? Report them, but not the one from six years ago.

I only have experience with law enforcement hiring with regard to this question. Usually running a driver record report only gives you X years of your driving record, but what I had inspected was my complete driving record, not just the abstract.

 

[Ajack60]

Be honest, just because your DMV record is clean doesn't mean you're in the clear. If the employer has connections to the police or local city council, it can be found out.

 

[lieferung]

Good luck OP.

 

[annr]

Does this job involve driving by you?

I don’t know about this screening process specifically, but I would stick to the facts and not editorialize. Also, I don’t know if this is a yes/no questionnaire or essay…if, essay I would describe as neutral and non-emotionally as possible without sounding like I’m making up excuses or explanations.

I would stick with the truth and if they need details they can ask.

 

[bmilla35]

Thanks for the help, guys. I agreed with you and decided to answer honestly. My logic is, nothing I did would deter them from hiring/not hiring me, so why risk it? There is nothing to hide. I am human.

What really confused me was why it wasn't on my record. I selected to go back 10 years. I haven't even been driving for that long!

The job requires little/no driving as far as I know. It's a huge company, and location basically is it's own functioning town with over 100 buildings. So maybe I would occasionally have to drive from building to building?

Also, there was a box below the yes/no questions to explain any details you wish to add. I just briefly explained the situations.

 

[bmilla35]

By the way, when I said I was putting my responses below the bolded questions, those weren't literally my responses to the questions. I meant my response out loud, as in my thought processes. I want to be clear on that...lol.

I was much more professional in my description.

 

[annr]

I hope things work out, whatever happens, and that if you get this job, you'll like it!

ETA: Is this kind of questioning normal now? For most jobs? Or just the type of job you are applying for?

I'm not up-to-date on the job search scene.

 

[lieferung]

I hope things work out, whatever happens, and that if you get this job, you'll like it!

ETA: Is this kind of questioning normal now? For most jobs? Or just the type of job you are applying for?

I'm not up-to-date on the job search scene.

Most jobs involving driving a company vehicle will have these questions asked, yes. As recent as 4 years ago.

 

[22-rimfire]

I would answer the questions succinctly and no further. The potential employer can find out if they choose to and then they have cause for termination if you lied. Credit reports are a big one these days as they may shed a lot of light on your behavior. Obviously, what position you might be filling makes a lot of difference in the relevance of such things.

My brother in law was to do work at TVA and they asked if he had a criminal record of any kind. Security is a big deal at nuclear plants. Anyway he had an instance when he was in his teens (20+ years before) that was later dropped. They wouldn't hire him and found out. To him, the charges were dropped. But TVA thought differently.

 

[bmilla35]

It's for a job in the pharmaceutical industry.

Thanks Annr! I really didn't expect it given I don't expect to drive. Then again, nothing about the interview process had been conventional. The questions they asked REALLY caught me off guard, in that it started of with, "Walk me through your resume," to ALL SITUATIONAL QUESTIONS. I was very prepared to answer any and all of the more standard questions, but of course didn't get one. Like not even the classic "greatest strength" or "greatest weakness."

My understanding of credit checks is that they are of the "soft" variety, which more or less check to see you make payments on time, etc (i.e. not your income:debt ratio, number of open credit lines, etc), but please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[22-rimfire]

With regard to credit checks, I think if the employer is interested and the credit report raises some sort of red flag, they will probably ask you about it. Just my opinion.... I have hired what turned out to be drug addicts and alcoholics.... they didn't last long.... a day or two. They simply aren't dependable if you want to generalize.

 

[bmilla35]

With regard to credit checks, I think if the employer is interested and the credit report raises some sort of red flag, they will probably ask you about it. Just my opinion.... I have hired what turned out to be drug addicts and alcoholics.... they didn't last long.... a day or two. They simply aren't dependable if you want to generalize.

Agreed. I have one major issue with my credit, but nothing I'm afraid of talking about or need to hide. More importantly, I don't think it's something that would deter any potential employers.

 

[22-rimfire]

If it comes up, you deal with it. We are all flawed in some sort of way. Things that are important if you are to be president are a lot different if you're in sales or in the shipping department.

I started my own business.... a small one. When I started my credit was perfect. I had credit cards with 50K limits, several. Within two years, my credit was smeared because I couldn't always pay my bills on time. But I always paid my bills. The cards disappeared for one reason or another. I never used that kind of credit in my life.

 

[madcap_magician]

It's for a job in the pharmaceutical industry.

Thanks Annr! I really didn't expect it given I don't expect to drive. Then again, nothing about the interview process had been conventional. The questions they asked REALLY caught me off guard, in that it started of with, "Walk me through your resume," to ALL SITUATIONAL QUESTIONS. I was very prepared to answer any and all of the more standard questions, but of course didn't get one. Like not even the classic "greatest strength" or "greatest weakness."

My understanding of credit checks is that they are of the "soft" variety, which more or less check to see you make payments on time, etc (i.e. not your income:debt ratio, number of open credit lines, etc), but please correct me if I'm wrong.

Good Lord, people still use questions like "What's your greatest strength and weakness?"

 

[bmilla35]

Good Lord, people still use questions like "What's your greatest strength and weakness?"

You'd be surprised! It's a shame, because I had such great answers lol. To get ONLY asked situational questions doesn't seem normal, though. I think I did an OK job at answering them. The two men I interviewed with did a nice job guiding me through any problems I had brain storming.

If it comes up, you deal with it. We are all flawed in some sort of way. Things that are important if you are to be president are a lot different if you're in sales or in the shipping department.

I started my own business.... a small one. When I started my credit was perfect. I had credit cards with 50K limits, several. Within two years, my credit was smeared because I couldn't always pay my bills on time. But I always paid my bills. The cards disappeared for one reason or another. I never used that kind of credit in my life.

Yeah, my situation sucked. Basically, I had just moved to another area and had a fair amount of money saved away. Within less than a year, I was an accident where the other party didn't have insurance (I later found out that 60% of drivers DONT have insurance in Philadelphia, which explains why insurance is so high) and I didn't have uninsured motorist or collision for whatever reasons (mostly ignorance). I had to spend $5,000 out of pocket, which just about wiped be clean, and fell behind on my student loans. Unfortunately, one of my private loans defaulted, as my payment had arrived 1 day "late." It's been about 30 months since then and I haven't missed a payment.

And, in case you're interested. I still never heard back from the guy that hit me. I have the option of suing him, but have been advised by multiple lawyers to save my time, energy, and resources because they have no money, or they'd have insurance anyways. It's a terribly faulty system.

 

[22-rimfire]

....Yeah, my situation sucked. Basically, I had just moved to another area and had a fair amount of money saved away. Within less than a year, I was an accident where the other party didn't have insurance (I later found out that 60% of drivers DONT have insurance in Philadelphia, which explains why insurance is so high) and I didn't have uninsured motorist or collision for whatever reasons (mostly ignorance). I had to spend $5,000 out of pocket, which just about wiped be clean, and fell behind on my student loans. Unfortunately, one of my private loans defaulted, as my payment had arrived 1 day "late." It's been about 30 months since then and I haven't missed a payment.

And, in case you're interested. I still never heard back from the guy that hit me. I have the option of suing him, but have been advised by multiple lawyers to save my time, energy, and resources because they have no money, or they'd have insurance anyways. It's a terribly faulty system.

I am interested. But you shouldn't provide too much detail on a public forum. Been in your shoes, but I have always had insurance. I even had collusion ($250 deductible) on a 20 year old pickup that had over 200K miles on it. I considered many times dropping the collusion on that vehicle, but the premiums were quite manageable. But that was because the truck wasn't really worth anything by today's standards... but I loved that truck. Be nice to sue and attach their wages for however long it takes.... but they might not have any wages.....

 

[madcap_magician]

You'd be surprised! It's a shame, because I had such great answers lol. To get ONLY asked situational questions doesn't seem normal, though. I think I did an OK job at answering them. The two men I interviewed with did a nice job guiding me through any problems I had brain storming.\

Hope it went well for you! My employer (~65,000 employees) has used only behavioral situational questions for something like 20 years now. I'm so used to them it's weird to see some place that doesn't!

 

[bmilla35]

I am interested. But you shouldn't provide too much detail on a public forum. Been in your shoes, but I have always had insurance. I even had collusion ($250 deductible) on a 20 year old pickup that had over 200K miles on it. I considered many times dropping the collusion on that vehicle, but the premiums were quite manageable. But that was because the truck wasn't really worth anything by today's standards... but I loved that truck. Be nice to sue and attach their wages for however long it takes.... but they might not have any wages.....

Yeah, don't want to say toooooo much. The guy was sooooooooo shady, man. I'm still tempted to sue.

Hope it went well for you! My employer (~65,000 employees) has used only behavioral situational questions for something like 20 years now. I'm so used to them it's weird to see some place that doesn't!

Yeah, I guess it just caught me off guard! None of the research I did suggested such a style. Regardless, I hear a lot of it is to see your personality and how you respond to such questions, and they liked my personality. That has to count for something right? The way I look at it, my resume got me there

I also had to take a ridiculous pre-assessment test that took over 2 hours to do.

 

[GWashington1732]

If youre already workig there, yes. Because they can run a background check and fire you for lying. You can always explain the situation later.

If you're doing a job application, yes. Because they're going to run a background check and if you lie, you'll end up not getting the job. You might not get the job if you put yes, but they'll blacklist you if you lie. Even if they don't run a check, it can cause big problems later.

BTW in some places, like Delaware, traffic camera violations are fine only and don't show up on a DMV check.