Leaders can't afford to assume that anyone who drives or owns a car is suitable to drive for the church. Instead, leaders should use only qualified drivers who are properly insured, and who have safe driving records.

For the purpose of screening, drivers can be classified into two groups: regular and occasional drivers. The first group consists of individuals who drive church vehicles, or who drive their own vehicle for the church, on a frequent basis. The second group includes individuals who drive their own vehicle for the church, but only infrequently.

It should be noted that both groups represent the church, and that the church potentially can be held liable for the actions of both groups while driving on their behalf. Because of this, reasonable care must be taken when it comes to the selection and screening of drivers for both groups.

Establish Standards for Drivers

A starting point in the screening process is to establish standards that all drivers must meet. At the very minimum, all drivers should have a valid driver's license for the type of driving they perform, and should have insurance.

A church needs to exclude drivers with bad driving records, though establishing these standards is challenging since not all leaders share the same perspectives on this issue. One approach to this problem is for the church to consult other community organizations as part of a comparative needs assessment.

For example, leaders can check with the local public school district concerning their standards for school bus drivers, and for any other driver (paid or volunteer) who drives for school-related activities. The public school's policy may serve as a good baseline for local churches in establishing their own standard of reasonable care.