Trucking is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the United States. With its robust safety guidelines and numerous checks and balances, the Department of Transportation (DOT) uses every resource at its disposal to keep trucking companies in line when it comes to operational and road safety. This article explains how DOT safety ratings work, how they are determined, why it’s important to get the best rating for your business, and how to do so in a cost-effective way.
The annual Department of Transportation (DOT) inspection can be a potential stumbling block for both newly established and experienced motor carriers. Annual DOT inspection audits are costly and time-consuming to prepare for, especially if, like most businesses, you’ve spent the year focused on customer satisfaction and meeting internal goals. Motor carriers know full well what it means to receive an “unsatisfactory” rating on the annual compliance audit—blacklisting from potential clients, increased insurance costs, poorer industry reputation, and lost profits.
This blog outlines some of the important dates in the history of the ELD mandate, from its inception to its institution. We’ll also discuss the implementation timeline for the policy, including the fast-approaching deadlines for compliance.
When you think of truckers, do you imagine the long-hauling road warriors armed with CB radios often seen in classic movies? Nowadays, most truckers don’t go as much as one day without using a smartphone or GPS device to improve their workday. In this article, we take a look at some of the high-tech devices commonly found on the modern trucker’s dashboard.
With the trucking industry preparing to embrace the new ELD legislation, some commercial vehicle operators are already looking for ways to resist the new changes. It’s true that the new ELD mandate doesn’t and shouldn’t apply to everyone, and that’s why the governing body that created it has included a list of exemptions. If you qualify for one, you can avoid scrutiny under this new mandate and keep your operations going as you’ve always done, lucky you! Keep reading to find out which ELD exemptions are outlined in the new ELD mandate and whether you qualify to sidestep this legislation.
On the 10th of December 2015, a 516-page ruling was released by the United States Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) that requires all truckers operating in the USA to completely change how they account for their hours of work. This article discusses how and why this new law was enacted, how the new electronic logging devices will work, and why now is the right time to introduce this legislation that reduces paperwork for truckers in the industry and increases their safety.
A few years ago, most fleet management challenges surrounded rising maintenance and vehicle acquisition costs. While these issues are still relevant today, recent changes in the industry mean that there are even more problems to address. The following is a round-up of 5 common fleet management headaches faced by drivers and managers in 2017.
The new mandate concerning ELDs has been in the works for decades. Now, with a new mandate having been passed and deadlines for compliance rapidly approaching, it’s time to look at the new laws and what they mean for the trucking industry. This blog talks about the new ELD mandate, explaining how and why it came to exist and who will be most affected by this new law. ELD legislation promises to change the trucking industry from top to bottom. In this article, we explore how this will be done.
Trucking is one of the most highly regulated industries in the United States. The Department of Transportation (DOT) is responsible for overseeing regulations for this lucrative industry and does so through a variety of laws contained within Title 49.
In the commercial vehicle fleet industry, compliance with DOT regulations isn’t just a good idea—it’s the law. To avoid time-consuming audits and expensive penalties, it’s important that you and your drivers follow all mandates and regulations issued by the DOT this year. Make an effort to make DOT compliance a goal that your whole fleet works towards. To help, we’ve created the following 2017 DOT compliance checklist for commercial vehicle fleets:
