The trucking world comes with a lot of regulations, especially when it comes to maintaining the truck itself. You and your drivers need to make sure you’re taking care of your vehicles and following all relevant federal regulations. There is even an FMCSA BASIC Category (Behavioral Analysis and Safety Improvement Category) called Vehicle Maintenance. We’re going to go over what the Vehicle Maintenance BASIC is and how you can improve in this category.
Truck businesses with clean loss records might wonder why their insurance costs so much. Maybe there aren’t any speeding tickets accidents on your record, but you’re still seeing rates that are higher than what they could be. Your DOT Number might be the reason why. Your business’s DOT Number keeps track of violations you have received, which can hurt your insurance situation. Your DOT Number has a big effect on your insurance rates.Read More
At the invitation of Wes Passmore, operator of Classic Towing and Recovery, I attended the Slow Down, Move Over rally in Hueytown, Alabama. The rally was held to bring awareness to the dangers of being a tow operator on the side of the road in traffic. Though there are state laws requiring drivers to slow down and move over for emergency vehicles, plenty of drivers don’t. That results in tow operators getting injured and even killed while they’re working on the side of the road.
The trucking industry has been facing a truck driver shortage, and some have proposed that hiring more women could be part of the solution to the problem. But despite the fact that there’s definitely room for more women in trucking, it can be difficult to persuade more women to become truck drivers. We’ll go over some of the obstacles that prevent women from entering the industry, and we’ll also go over some tips for truck companies to keep in mind if they want to hire more women.
I have been writing transportation insurance for quite a while and one of the things that I hear most from my customers is, “Why is the premium so high when I am not a new driver?” Great question. There isn’t a clear answer though. You will find that the world of trucking insurance can feel cruel toward you and your business, whether you are starting out or have had a trucking business in the past and are now returning. Sometimes life happens and we must move with it. Tough decisions need to be made.
If you’re a trucking business, you know that there are a lot of regulations you need to follow – and a lot of organizations and programs you need to know about. Safety is a big deal, and there are many oversights and organizations that oversee safety for motor carriers and commercial vehicles. If you feel that all of this is overwhelming, don’t worry – you’re not alone. One organization that you might be wondering about is the CSA. We’re put together a few frequently asked questions about the CSA to help break it down.
Truckers are expected to adhere to a lot of regulations. One of the big “breaking news” events in the trucking world as far as regulations are concerned is the Clearinghouse. There’s a lot about the Clearinghouse that you have to know, and it’s totally understandable if you have a bunch of questions. We’ll go over a few common FAQs about the new Clearinghouse.
If you have a trucking business, your vehicles cover a lot of ground. And sometimes that ground is within the borders of one state, and sometimes that ground takes truckers through multiple states (or even countries). So – with that in mind, there are a couple of words that are often tossed around in the trucking world: intrastate and interstate. What’s the difference? Aside from the definition, what differentiates an intrastate business from an interstate business? We’ll explain the implications of intrastate vs. interstate in trucking.
When you work in trucking, you’re subject to many, many regulations. The goal of these regulations is to keep the roads safe for all drivers – CMV drivers and passenger cars alike. That’s the reason that the SMS (Safety Measurement System) exists. It’s a way for the FMCSA to keep track of a motor carrier’s safety record. How do they do this? They use data from different sources and organize it into seven different categories, called BASICs. We’ll go into more detail.
At InsuranceHub, we believe in continuing education. Insurance is a constantly changing industry, and we like to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, technologies, and knowledge. There’s always something to learn about insurance, especially when it comes to transportation insurance. It’s a very specialized niche, and there’s always plenty to discover. That’s why we’ve got six team members – Lee LeBaigue, Ed Hemmer, Monica Lott, Chrisann Richards, Kristina Insley, and Robyn Roberts – headed to Orlando to attend the annual MCIEF (Motor Carrier Insurance Education Foundation) Conference! The MCIEF meeting is from Oct. 3 to Oct. 4, and our team is really looking forward to it.
