Not So Fast: Car Rental with a Poor Driving Record

You’ve made all your plans and scoped out all your locations. You’ve survived the flight and gathered your bags.

All that’s left to do now is saunter up to the rental car desk, grab the keys, and you’re on your way, cruising from hot spot to hot spot at your own pace. Unfortunately, it’s your cruising pace that might be the problem.

Having a history of driving violations can put the brakes on getting a sweet set of wheels to roll in while on holiday.

Rental car agencies did not used to be so stringent with their background checks of potential car hirers. But in the early 1990s, companies started to pay more attention to the past transgressions of drivers.

Throughout the years, as it has become easier to examine behind-the-wheel histories, background checks have become more commonplace. You can visit Drivenow today to book your own rental car for your next trip.

The result is customers arriving at the desk ready to rent a car and being turned down. The companies don’t usually decide about a person’s ability to drive until they’re handing over the keys. That means reckless renters might not know their fate until it’s potentially too late.

Although car rental companies do not perform a background check on every single driver that makes a booking, they do reserve the right to do so.

They flag people who have a history of incidents such as driving while intoxicated, driving without insurance and driving with a suspended or revoked license.

Even perceived “smaller” indiscretions such as operating a vehicle without a seatbelt, rolling through a stop sign and disturbing the peace by playing music too loudly can play into a rental car company’s decision.

There are several reasons why companies have become more careful with who they allow to get behind the wheel of their automobiles.

For one, rental car agencies got sick of doling out so much money in liability after poor drivers were involved in accidents in hired vehicles. Also, it’s bad public relations for a company to be involved in potentially dangerous accidents.

However, the thing to remember is that while a poor driving record can hinder your ability to rent a car, it is not a definite deal breaker.

Car rental companies don’t like to get in the habit of turning away business, and it takes time and money to do background checks on every driver that makes a reservation.

That being said, don’t be surprised if your checkered driving past keep you from getting behind the wheel when hiring.

________

This post was provided and brought to you by Drivenow.