Optimizing Fleet Compliance

Key credentials to keep your vehicles on the road

Trucking companies need to have their basic credentials – including operating authorities, tax documents, titles and registrations – squared away in order to keep their trucks in compliance and generate revenue. 

While maintaining these credentials may seem simple, the complex nature of the logistics industry can undermine a carrier’s efforts to stay above board. With so many programs, sporadic regulatory changes, numerous agencies involved and deadlines for filing spread throughout the year,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/key-credentials-to-keep-your-vehicles-on-the-road

How MVR monitoring makes corrective action training more effective

For carriers, being informed about driver behavior – especially violations and licensing changes – is the first step to creating a safer and more cost-effective fleet. 

Unfortunately, not all carriers are as informed as they could be, often following the bare minimum requirements of going a year between motor vehicle records (MVR) reviews. This leaves significant time for costly issues to go undetected.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations require motor carriers to review all of their...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/how-mvr-monitoring-makes-corrective-action-training-more-effective

What will 2025 mean for your regulatory risk?

Next year is expected to be a transformative one for carriers. With the incoming Trump administration’s promise of widespread deregulation, carriers may finally see a long-awaited boost to their bottom lines in the coming months. 

The freight recession has had an unprecedented impact on carriers, with the state of the economy to the top of the list. 

“The freight recession since mid-2022 is the most protracted downturn since I entered trucking in 1991. Even some of the most profitable carriers...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/what-will-2025-mean-for-your-regulatory-risk

Top 4 hours-of-service areas carriers should be concerned about

Carriers and drivers are governed by federal hours-of-service (HOS) regulations on a day-to-day basis. These rules dictate schedules and often determine whether a shipment will be delayed. Despite the regulations’ outsize impact on operations, confusion surrounding the rules continues to plague the industry. 

Hours of service is consistently one of the topics carriers ask about most often, according to Richard Malchow, a transportation industry business adviser with J. J. Keller.

There are four...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/top-4-hours-of-service-areas-carriers-should-be-concerned-about

FMCSA auditors are always ready. Are your DQ files?

The trucking industry has seen the devastating impact of nuclear verdicts play out over the past several years. In order to avoid this fate, carriers must focus on hiring qualified drivers – and keeping pristine paperwork.

Carriers are operating in an environment where every new driver hire could result in a productive driver tenure or a multimillion-dollar negligence lawsuit. At the same time, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration audits can happen at any time. 

Paperwork can be easy to...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fmcsa-auditors-are-always-ready-are-your-dq-files

How do you create a best-in-class safety program?

The increasing prevalence of nuclear verdicts – and the resulting insurance hikes – have prompted carriers to reevaluate their safety strategies. Carriers with best-in-class safety programs enjoy the most competitive insurance rates while simultaneously protecting driver wellbeing and making positive changes in the industry as a whole. 

Best-in-class safety program benefits include, but are not limited to: 

  • Improved company safety metrics, leading to lower risk costs and increased profitability
  • R...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/how-do-you-create-a-best-in-class-safety-program

Understanding HOS compliance: Top violations for carriers

Federal hours-of-service (HOS) regulations are often an area of concern for both individual truck drivers and motor carriers. This has been especially true since the Federal Motor Carrier Administration (FMCSA) introduced multiple significant changes to existing rules in September 2020. 

The regulation changes in 2020 shifted the landscape of the average driver’s day-to-day routines. Those changes included:

  • The 30-minute off-duty break changed from continuous, on-duty hours to a 30-minute...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/understanding-hos-compliance-top-violations-for-carriers

How to return a driver to duty following a drug or alcohol violation

Drug and alcohol violations quickly sideline drivers, creating stress for all parties involved. When drivers fail or refuse testing – or when carriers have concrete knowledge of a driver’s illegal drug or alcohol usage – they must be immediately removed from the driver’s seat. The journey back can be daunting for drivers and carriers alike. 

The U.S. Department of Transportation has provided a detailed framework surrounding driver drug and alcohol violations – including return-to-work...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/how-to-return-a-driver-to-duty-following-a-drug-or-alcohol-violation

How to prepare for CVSA International Roadcheck 2024

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) International Roadcheck is coming up next month. It is a high-visibility, high-volume inspection and compliance enforcement initiative, and carriers should begin preparing now to avoid racking up unexpected violations.

This three-day Roadcheck — which takes place in Canada, Mexico and the United States — is scheduled for May 14-16.

“Don’t let this three-day event sneak up on you. Out-of-service inspections can dramatically impact a carrier’s safety...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/how-to-prepare-for-cvsa-international-roadcheck-2024

Video review services change the game for carrier risk mitigation

These days, dashcams do much more than record events on the road and in the cab. Dashcams can detect accelerometer-triggered events to relay back to a carrier in real time, and AI-powered dashcams take it to the next level with the ability to alert a carrier to everything from distracted and fatigued driving to speeding and failure to obey the rules of the road. This gives carriers a newfound ability to exonerate drivers in the event of a crash, as well as proactively prevent accidents and...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/video-review-services-change-the-game-for-carrier-risk-mitigation

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