Quitting a trucking company: how to turn in the truck so an abandonment entry doesn't land on your DAC

A driver on Reddit's r/Truckers asked this week whether parking at a company-approved lot, leaving the keys with a co-worker and announcing the exit could show up on a DAC report as truck abandonment. FMCSA does not decide that. Under 49 CFR 391.23, a former employer must give a new carrier the driver's identity, dates of employment, accidents and any drug and alcohol violations from the past three years. Remarks such as abandonment come from the carrier itself, in the Drive-A-Check file run by HireRight, which many carriers pull when hiring, according to the Truckers Justice Center, a law firm that represents drivers.

Disputes over that remark turn on papers made the day the truck is turned in. The first is the drop-off location from dispatch in writing, by ELD message or email, before the driver parks. Then come photos of the truck, odometer, keys, fuel card and permit book where they were left, and a name and signature from whoever takes the keys. A truck handed to a co-worker without written approval leaves the driver with nothing to show.

A DAC report is a consumer report. Under 15 U.S.C. 1681i, once a driver disputes an item, HireRight must reinvestigate free of charge within 30 days, or 45 if the driver sends new information during that time, and delete or fix anything inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable. If the dispute fails, the driver can add a short statement that later reports must carry. HireRight says CDL drivers can request their DAC report at any time.

FMCSA's rule adds a second route. A driver can ask a new carrier in writing to see what former employers sent, and the carrier must hand it over within five business days. The former employer then has 15 days to correct the record or refuse, must attach a driver's rebuttal within five business days, and can be reported to FMCSA if it does neither.