Driving and transport reference checking — professional references for HGV and logistics placements

What transport sector references should cover

Transport sector employment references should address driving conduct and road safety awareness, adherence to drivers' hours regulations and tachograph compliance, vehicle care and pre-use inspection standards, customer service in delivery operations, conduct under time pressure and in adverse conditions, management of transport compliance where applicable, relationship with transport management, and any accidents, incidents, endorsements or regulatory issues during the candidate's employment. For transport manager placements, references should also address operator licence compliance, DVSA relationship management, fleet maintenance standards and driver management. Standard employment reference templates provide almost no useful information for a transport sector placement.

HGV driver reference checking and driver shortage pressures

The UK logistics sector faces ongoing driver shortages that create pressure to place HGV drivers quickly. Reference checking is one of the steps most commonly cut under this pressure — creating compliance and safety gaps. An HGV driver placed without adequate references into a logistics operation has unsupervised control of a heavy goods vehicle. The safety and liability implications of inadequate reference checking in this context are significant. RefAssure's automated process makes compliant HGV driver reference checking achievable even within the tight timescales of logistics agency placements.

Transport agencies placing drivers into roles requiring operator licence compliance — as employed drivers or subbies — may need references that address compliance history and any DVSA encounters. RefAssure transport templates can include these fields alongside standard employment reference content. From 99p per reference with no subscription.