The emotional and financial toll of violations can be costly to carriers of any size. Smarter tools like Green Light ELD reduce driver stress and inspection risk.
Facing a DOT audit in 2025 doesn’t have to be a nightmare. Learn how fleets can stay ready year-round, avoid common audit pitfalls and keep their trucks rolling smoothly without regulatory worries.
Updates to the CVSA Out-of-Service criteria have been released, set to take effect April 1.
While maintaining these credentials may seem simple, the complex nature of the logistics industry can undermine a carrier’s efforts to stay above board.
Compliance might be about avoiding fines but it’s more about protecting your fleet, securing business, and staying in business. A poor FMCSA safety rating can lead to lost revenue, higher insurance premiums, and even an Unsatisfactory Rating and shutdown. With new Safety Measurement System (SMS) changes ahead, fleets must actively manage their compliance records to avoid increased scrutiny.
Staying ahead of FMCSA regulations is the only way to ensure long-term profitability and operational stability.
Fleet safety and compliance is about protecting lives, reducing liability, and ensuring long-term success. As legal risks grow and operational demands increase, fleets are turning to technology for smarter, more proactive solutions.
From AI-powered dashcams and predictive maintenance to advanced telematics and cargo monitoring, modern trucking tools provide real-time insights that prevent accidents, optimize efficiency, and improve compliance. Fleets that invest in these technologies reduce costs, minimize downtime, and stay ahead of evolving regulations. The question isn’t whether to adopt these tools—it’s how soon they can be implemented to future-proof operations.
Brandon Wiseman, owner and president of Trucksafe Consulting, discusses updates to the FMCSA’s Clearinghouse Phase II monitoring and enforcement practices.
During the last full calendar year, 2023, HOS violations accounted for over 40% of the driver-related violations found during roadside inspections.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has provided a detailed framework surrounding driver drug and alcohol violations – including return to work procedures.
International Roadcheck is a high-visibility, high-volume commercial motor vehicle inspection and regulatory compliance enforcement initiative that takes place in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Augmenting a carrier staff with state and federal regulatory experts can help an organization exceed the minimum recordkeeping requirements, which can reduce the risk of a negligent hiring claim.
The federal heavy vehicle use tax year began on July 1, and taxes for 2023–2024 are due by Aug. 31.
“Poor CSA scores can lead to warning letters from the FMCSA, more inspections, higher insurance rates and negative publicity,” said J. J. Keller & Associate Inc.’s Josh Lovan.
Over 57% of roadside inspections result in at least one violation. Reliance Partners’ director of DOT regulatory compliance shares regulations that drivers and carriers commonly overlook.
“When appropriately managed, your records not only show who your drivers and employees are, but also that they are trained, qualified, properly taxed and work within the limits of the law,” said Daren Hansen of J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.
In just a few weeks, law enforcement personnel across North America will be posted at roads, weigh stations and designated inspection areas to conduct thousands of inspections during CVSA’s 2023 International Roadcheck.
WorkforceQA’s Grady Phillips joined Taking the Hire Road to discuss truck driver qualification.
“If there comes a time when you have a crash and attorneys or law enforcement start digging into your records and find falsifications, it’s all going to come to the surface,” said Brian Runnels, vice president of safety at Reliance Partners.
Adhering to regulations alone is complex in itself, but is it enough for a strong safety program? J. J. Keller & Associates, industry experts in safety and compliance guidance, don’t think so.
The once zero-point violation could cost carriers at least three points in a roadside inspection and potentially many more, according to Reliance Partners’ Mark Barlar.
In order to remain relevant and endure a soft market in this year’s competitive trucking sphere, fleets must put in the legwork to create a positive driver culture and grow their advantage.
“If we take what we’ve learned about compliance over the last 20 years and combine it with the latest technology, it’s possible to speed up the process significantly and make it a better experience for drivers,” Foley and CEO Joel Sitak said.
The American Transportation Research Institute is again investigating the safety and other impacts on the trucking industry of state-level marijuana legalization — as well as additional questions the issue raises.
“Treat every application like it is worth a million dollars. An allegation of negligent hiring in post-crash litigation could cost at least that and more,” said Mark Schedler, senior transport editor at J. J. Keller & Associates.
Legal battle over trucking independent contractors The trucking owner-operator business model is getting more legal challenges. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court decision in May 2021 that ruled in favor of Schneider’s contract terms, creating a situation where an owner-operator is effectively an employee based on its interpretation of the […]
Trucking compliance solutions company co-founder Hunter Yaw explains the “today costs” of compliance programs.
The agency’s acting administrator updated Congress on the status of the agency’s rulemakings at her nomination hearing.
The number of carriers receiving FMCSA conditional safety ratings is increasing as more off-site audits are conducted.
Investing In Data Management The world of supply chain management in health care is evolving extremely fast, as COVID-19 (see graph) has been a significant influencer of technology development. However, like COVID, the state of some organizations’ data was a shock; many were unprepared for the future and the cost associated with modernizing. It is estimated […]
What’s in your Driver Qualification File?
The California Supreme Court recently addressed what the proper rate for paying missed meal, rest, and recovery periods is under California state law. And for employees, it’s a financial win.
Learn the difference between temporary and permanent credentials, whether or not you need them, if your vehicles qualify, and which option is best for you with the help of J.J. Keller.
Drivers often take the blame for roadside violations, but remaining in compliance with regulations is a team effort that includes maintenance personnel and safety operations in a fleet.
Although the pandemic has forced cutbacks in many areas, safety shouldn’t be one of them. In fact, fleets should invest more in safety compliance. Start by hiring a safety manager.
The hot topics you may have missed this week.
Seidl suggests that non-rated carriers are often better than those labeled satisfactory.
For the second time in five weeks, the Federal Aviation Administration is proposing a multi-million dollar penalty against Boeing for allegedly installing improperly manufactured components on the wings of some of its 737s. The latest penalty proposal, announced by FAA late Friday afternoon, is $5.4 million for allegedly installing noncomforming slat tracks on approximately 178 […]
FMCSA has increased the use of off-site audits, giving carriers the opportunity to respond to safety and compliance concerns digitally, but it increases the likelihood of an interaction with an FMCSA official.
Set to go live on Jan. 6, 2020, the drug & alcohol clearinghouse will change the way truck drivers and carriers monitor drug testing.
As peak retail season approaches, the battle for retail compliance only intensifies.
AvatarFleet is in the business of simplifying the process in which transportation companies find not just drivers, but safe drivers.
Technology such as dash cams, ELDs, telematics and even diagnostics systems are helping fleets better manage their drivers and assets, and the opportunities to use this data are plentiful.
Negligent hiring and vicarious liability lawsuits have been around, but there are emerging risks as well.
The latest survey results show the highest compliance rates observed so far.
Small carriers and owner-operators continue to lag behind their larger counterparts in making the switch from automatic onboard recording devices (AOBRDs) to electronic logging devices (ELDs).
Integrating training and coaching programs into the driver experience can save a company significant money and minimize the risk of serious accidents.
Compliance issues can result in large fines for companies, which is why some companies find outsourcing compliance programs to experts can be a financial win.
FreightWaves is monitoring a number of trends that will impact the freight market in 2019. Digitization will play a key role in these trends as companies seek to optimize their supply chain processes.
In addition to overseeing FreightWaves’ legal and compliance elements, Martin will serve as Market Expert for compliance and legal aspects of the freight industry
The latest on legislative, regulatory, administrative, and enforcement issues across the industry.
FreightWaves adds additional risk management and compliance information in the most recent SONAR release.
Despite publicizing that hours-of-service (HOS) violations would be the focus of this year’s International Roadcheck, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) annual June event resulted in 43.7% of all drivers placed out of service done so because of HOS violations.
Beyond the Technology presented by LaunchIt Public Relations …Since the ELD mandate took effect, most of the conversation surrounding the devices has focused on hours of service and compliance issues. However, their uses do not end there.
With a vision of bringing “trucks, trailers and goods online,” KeepTruckin continues to innovate and invest in technologies that improve the lives of drivers.
Rep. Babin introduced a bill that will overhaul the hours of service rules and if it passes it will end up making the industry safer.
The April 1 deadline is a few days away and the ELD compliance rate does not look as good as the surveys make it out to be.
Even with lower levels of automation, trucks could essentially work around the clock, but what will regulators do about the ELD hours-of-service rule?
It seems so simple, but basic attention to detail can help prevent an unwanted interaction with law enforcement, which can lead to increased insurance premiums.
Though the ELD mandate has been in effect since December 2017, the compliance rates for fleets with less than 10 trucks have been low and will stay that way this year.
The overall compliance ELD compliance rates have been going up since the ELD mandate in December. But there is a noticeable difference in rates between the long haul and the short haul fleets.
The adoption rate for ELDs is slowly inching up as more fleets come into compliance with the law, which goes into effect on Dec. 18.
Most carriers are currently coming to terms with the inevitability of the ELD mandate, and scrambling to get ready. Those carriers who are truly ELD-ready are in prime position to benefit.
ZED Connect offers an ELD device that comes with a one-time purchase fee and no monthly charges. COO Chris Harlow offered up some last-minute thoughts as the deadline quickly to implement ELDs quickly approaches.
With less than two months left before the ELD mandate goes into effect, statistics coming from ground zero on the compliance of carriers to the proposed rule are far from satisfactory.
Agriculture industry representatives are still waiting for a response from the U.S. Department of Transportation regarding a delay for agricultural carriers concerning electronic logging device (ELD) rule enforcement.
Trucking companies that have not installed electronic logging devices (ELD) are in a race against time to get them installed on their trucks before the Dec. 18 deadline. Omnitracs and Samsung Electronics are giving drivers another option to meet the regulation, according to Reuters.
Fleets using ELDs say they reduce manual processes related to HOS compliance, reduce compliance violations, and improve driver and public safety. All of these benefits provide fleets another benefit: potentially lower insurance costs.
Leading machine-to-machine (M2M) and Internet of Things (IoT) provider Orbcomm has acquired Blue Tree Systems, a provider of compliance solutions in multiple countries, including the U.S.
There is growing talk of a possible bill in Congress that would kill the upcoming electronic logging device (ELD) rule that goes into effect on Dec. 18 of this year due to the cost to individual truckers, sources have told FreightWaves.
