Recently, I retired at the ripe old age of 48. I want a second career in truck driving. My driving record with the great state of Arkansas shows one violation that dates back almost three years. However, in June of this year I was involved in a minor traffic accident where I was at fault (rear ender). Hardly any damage was done and no one was hurt. I was issued a ticket for "unsafe driving" which is the least of violations that could be issued. The officer said he was sorry but he was mandated to issue the citation. I was placed on probation and the event is not part of my public driving record. My question is... am I going to have a problem with this issue if I report it and if I don't report it, is there any way an employer will see it on a background check? I keep getting documents from the state showing that someone has checked my driving record and the only item is the one that is almost three years old.

Hmmm, something sounds a bit fishy. If you were cited, then it will show when a prospective employer checks your MVR. And the great thing about a cited accident is that it's two strikes: An accident, and a citation. I had a similar accident before I started driving, and it limited me to a less-than-decent company [COVENANT].
So if you are interested, it may be worth a try; but it may be worth waiting till your old citation is more than three years old. That way, if your citation and accident BOTH showup, it's only two strikes, not three. And if you are unsure of what exactly your MVR says, get a copy and see if its on there or not. If it is, you better disclose it, otherwise when the company finds out, they may think you were trying to hide it from them.
Good luck!

OH and BTW, I had a non-cited accident (in my car), where the Staties did show up, and wrote a report. But because the weather was at fault (and it was), I got off easy. OK, not that easy, cause the car was later totaled by the insurance company! But it showed up on my MVR, as a non-fault, non-injury accident (without an accompanying citation)

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It does not show up on my MVR. During this process, I have submitted my driver # to perspective companies and with each one I get a notice that someone has inquired about my driving record along with a copy of said record. The only thing that shows up is the violation from almost three years ago. The accident was in June of this year. I didn't go to court. I simply paid the fine and was put on probation.

Hey then it sounds like you got off easy. If trucking is something you want to try, then go for it! As for disclosing it, if it doesn't show then you may not have to. You may want to try NOT disclosing it to a company you really don't want to drive for (one you are using as a backup), and see what happens. If they somehow find it, then you know to disclose it to a companies you'd really want to work for.

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I was on the phone with CFI today and told them about it. It was a deal breaker with them.

Sorry to hear that, obviously you will keep trying, good luck!

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