Month: January 2012

A truck driver’s DAC (Drive-A-Check) report highlights his employment history with other truck driving companies, as well as his motor vehicle record, or MVR. If negative information is in the DAC report, it can prevent the driver from gaining employment as a trucker. A trucker is entitled to one free copy of his DAC each year. DAC reports were originally issued by US Investigations Services, a commercial services business. In 2008, USIS merged with HireRight, a company that provides on-demand background checks. As of 2011, HireRight is responsible for issuing driver DAC reports

Contact HireRight at 800-381-0645 to request a copy of the USIS Consumer Report Request Form. This form can also be downloaded and printed from the USIS website (see link in Resources).

Complete the request form by entering information, such as your name, Social Security number, date of birth and contact information. In Section 3 of the form, select the options that are labeled “Employment History Information” and “Motor Vehicle Report Information.”

Submit the completed form, along with the required processing fee, to the address that is listed on the form. As of March 2011, the processing fee for a DAC report is $10. If you are entitled to a free copy of your DAC report, specify this in Section 4 of the request form. Wait to receive a copy of your DAC report in the mail. This can take up to 15 days from the date your request is received and processed by HireRight.

Alternatively, you can apply for a copy of your DAC report online if you don’t want to mail in a request form (see link in Resources). For an online request, a valid credit card is needed. Upon submitting an online request form, your DAC report will be mailed to you within 15 business days.

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A DAC (“Drive-A-Check”) report is a combination driving and employment record for truck drivers. This report shows how many tickets and accidents you have, how well you performed in the past, who you’ve worked for, and if you’ve ever abandoned a truck. This last can be a particular problem, since it’s a serious black mark against you and against your performance. It is possible to clear or change an abandonment, but you will often need legal assistance to do so.

Review your DAC report to see what is and isn’t on it. If you don’t have a reported abandonment, then there’s no reason to go any further because there’s nothing for you to remove.

Contact the company that claims you abandoned a truck. If you did not abandon a truck then ask the company to review the records and to change the entry. If there is a contention, then attempt to negotiate the label of an abandoned truck being changed due to circumstances. As an extreme example, if the truck was hijacked then you didn’t have much choice about leaving it. If there’s a cause for the abandonment to be changed, attempt to get it changed. If necessary, hire a legal representative to fight the company in court to change this.

Contact HireRight, the company that manages the DAC reports, and inform them of the change made to your record from the employer in question. Once the original incident has been changed with your former employer, you need to be sure that it’s also changed on the DAC report. Once again, legal representation is always helpful to have on your side.

Continue working. If you did in fact abandon a truck and there is no way around the fact, then you can’t get it removed from your record. However, the DAC report only goes back approximately 10 years. Additionally, when a company goes out of business, their information is supposed to be removed from the DAC report.

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The items you’ve accrued in your home often hold sentimental value and financial worth. That’s why you should be careful when it comes to finding movers. After all, movers are responsible for handling these items and, in some cases, packing and unpacking them. To ensure that your items are handled with utmost care and are not damaged, broken or stolen, you must hire a good moving company with an upstanding reputation.

Call local real estate agents for recommendations. They work closely with movers, packers and various moving-related companies and likely have a list of reputable movers.

Look in your phone book or online for moving companies in your area.

Contact moving companies and ask them how long they’ve been in business. Hire a company that has been around for at least 10 years and has positive reviews online and is spoken highly of.

Ask questions. Ask for the company’s address, their website and for references from clients. Ask for their DOT (department of transportation) and MC (moving company) license numbers.

Go to SaferSys.org to verify that the company’s DOT and MC license numbers are real and in good standing. While looking at the numbers, verify that the contact information matches the information the company gave you.

Request that the company come to do an in-home estimate. Moving companies that refuse to do this should be disregarded. It’s only possible to get an accurate estimate if the movers have actually seen the items they’ll be moving.

Types of Transportation By Rosallee Scott, eHow Contributor When planning a vacation, it is imperative that you plan not only how to get there, but how you are going to get around once you reach your destination as well. There are many modes of travel that you can use when seeing the sites in one city or traveling to multiple cities during one adventure. Vacationing is all about making the most of your time visiting and touring new or familiar favorite places again, and depending on what you consider exciting, there are many ways to accomplish your goals.

On Foot
There are many types of transportation that will get you to your destination, but few that offer the adventures that walking offers. This is where the old idea of backpacking through Europe became such a popular goal in life (see Resources).

Renting Cars
There is always the option of renting a car at almost any city that you choose to visit. This allows you to get places faster but still on your own time and schedule.

Public Rides
Buses, trains, subways, taxis and other chauffeured automobiles give you the leisure of having someone else who knows the area drive you around. Most popular hotspot cities even offer these types of transportation with guided tours, so all you have to do is sit back and look during your vacation.

Air Travel
Planes are still one of the most popular means of getting to a particular destination fast. This includes public flights, private jets and even helicopter tours.

Water Traveling
Another popular vacationing travel ideas is on the water. Everything from riverboat tours and whale watching voyages to long cruises, offers all the conveniences of home with different types of transportation to see the world in a whole different way than you would on land.

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One of the biggest challenges of long-distance truck driving is how to schedule your rest. It can be very easy to fall asleep while driving, and when you’re paid by mileage, sleep can become a secondary priority. Some drivers have started teaming with their spouse or another driver in order to maximize miles while still getting some rest. Sleeping in a moving semi-truck is challenging, but there are options to make it easier.

Add extra padding to your bed. There is a lot of road vibration, and the constant weight shifting can make it difficult to sleep and cause health problems over time. Adding extra padding can make it easier to sleep and protect your neck and shoulders from impact trauma.

Drive with people you trust. Driving with someone you are not familiar with is more likely to keep you on edge and prevent you from getting proper rest. Your partner should respect the fact that you are sleeping by keeping the radio at a low level and driving slowly over speed bumps and rough terrain.

Wear a sleep mask. Sleeping during the day or facing the glare of consistent headlights can prevent you from getting proper rest. A sleep mask will cut out the uninvited light and make it easier to sleep in bright conditions.

Use earplugs. The road and engine noise can be very disruptive, especially when combined with the radio or a backup beeper. Earplugs or a set of white-noise headphones can eliminate that distraction.

If it pains you to think about riding the bus or taking the subway to work, think about taking a few simple measures to improve your public transportation experience while reducing the cost of your commute.

Don’t incite “commuter rage.” Have your electronic fare card, paper fare transfer or cash/coins ready before you board the bus, subway or light rail so you aren’t left with an annoyed driver and a line of angry people behind you while you fish through your wallet.

Sit in a window seat, if one is available. If you are claustrophobic, shy or just tired, gazing out the window is a good way to relax in the midst of a commuter crowd.

Bring an activity to improve the quality of your ride. Whether you use your commute to read a book, pay bills or work on your laptop, you’ll enjoy your travel experience more when you use your time wisely and multitask on your ride.

Be observant, reporting shady characters to the transit driver, a security guard or police officer if you are followed, harassed or assaulted while using public transportation.

Buy some antibacterial wipes and hand sanitizer. Public transportation is not known for being the cleanest way to travel, so come prepared to wipe off dirty or wet seats. Clean off your hands after your travel experience in order to prevent the spread of community germs.

Keep an inexpensive pair of earplugs to store in your briefcase or bag in case you want to work or read on your commute. LuggageOnline.com sells sets of inexpensive, disposable earplugs in a small travel case (see Resources below).

Bring your MP3 player or portable radio and headphones so you can block out crowd noise and enjoy your music during the ride. Invest in a pair of foldable, noise-canceling headphones at TravelProducts.com (see Resources below). The headphones reduce noise up to 20 percent more than similar products.

Strike up a conversation with your neighbor. Socializing is a great way to pass the travel time, and you may make a new friend who lives or works near you.

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