There are a lot of regulations that truckers have to follow, and the FMCSA has a Safety Measurement System (SMS) that includes seven BASICs. The BASICs address different safety areas for trucking businesses. One of those categories concerns the fitness of drivers to operate commercial vehicles. It’s called, quite appropriately, the Driver Fitness BASIC. We’ll explain what this BASIC is, how it’s measured, and how motor carriers can improve in this safety category.
Clearinghouse is still big news in the trucking world. There are a lot of parts to it and aspects about it that anyone who employs CDL or CLP drivers needs to understand. One of these things is Clearinghouse queries. Trucking employers are going to have to query the Clearinghouse about their drivers, but what exactly does that mean? We’ll explain what queries are and go over what you need to know about querying the Clearinghouse.
Trucking involves a lot of inspections from the DOT. That is just a fact. The DOT is going to conduct inspections on your vehicles, and those inspections are going to drive your DOT scores. This can have bigger effects than might be immediately apparent. It all comes back to your truck insurance rates.
Trucking is not the easiest industry to get into. It’s not just starting up the business itself. It’s the insurance. Truck insurance can be a challenge. There are a lot of coverages you have to think about, of course, but it’s also the cost. Truck insurance is expensive, especially for new ventures. This is why it’s important for business owners of new ventures to understand some of the things that affect their truck insurance rates. It’s all part of navigating a cost-effective way to start a business.
Motor carriers are subject to a lot of regulations, something that anyone who’s spent in the trucking world knows all too well. The FMCSA regulates commercial motor vehicles, and motor carriers have to comply with relevant laws and regulations. A lot of questions can come out of these regulations, and one question motor carriers might be is what safety ratings from on-site investigations are and what they mean. We’ll explain.
The FMCSA’s goal is to make the roads safer – they regulate the trucking industry with safety as a top priority. Trucks are subject to many different laws, regulations, and requirements. Inspections can be stressful, but they are inevitable. Trucking safety is important, and that includes the proper handling of hazardous materials. That’s why there’s an entire BASIC (Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category) about it, and it’s called, unsurprisingly, the Hazardous Materials Compliance BASIC. We’ll go over what you need to know about this particular BASIC.
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.
