Hours of Service (HOS) Golden Rules
Intrudispatch Service • March 22, 2025
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The Importance of Providing Compliance Assistance as a Service in the Truck Dispatching Business
Compliance Assistance:
- ✅ Ensures Legal and Regulatory Compliance
- The trucking industry is heavily regulated by agencies such as the FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) and DOT (Department of Transportation).
- Providing compliance assistance helps carriers stay up to date with ever-changing regulations like Hours of Service (HOS), ELD mandates, and driver qualification files.
- By ensuring compliance, you help your carriers avoid costly fines, violations, and penalties.
- 🔥 Reduces Risk of Audits and Penalties
- Non-compliance can trigger DOT audits, which are time-consuming and stressful for carriers.
- Offering compliance assistance ensures that all records, including IFTA (International Fuel Tax Agreement) reports, driver logs, and vehicle maintenance records, are properly maintained.
- This reduces the risk of compliance violations and keeps your carriers audit-ready.
- 💡 Protects Carriers’ CSA Scores
- Compliance, Safety, and Accountability (CSA) scores impact a carrier’s reputation and ability to secure loads.
- By helping clients stay compliant, you protect their CSA scores, which improves their credibility with brokers, shippers, and insurance companies.
- A higher CSA score means better load opportunities and potentially lower insurance premiums.
- 🚦 Enhances Safety and Reliability
- Ensuring compliance with HOS regulations and driver fitness standards reduces the risk of fatigued driving and accidents.
- This promotes safer road operations and builds a reputation for reliability, making your dispatch service more attractive to carriers and brokers.
- 💰 Saves Carriers Time and Money
- Handling compliance requirements can be time-consuming for carriers.
- By offering compliance assistance, you free up their time so they can focus on driving and growing their business.
- It also helps them avoid expensive fines, which can significantly impact profitability.
- 🔍 Boosts Carriers Retention and Loyalty
- Carriers value dispatchers who go beyond simply booking loads.
- Providing compliance assistance makes you a full-service partner rather than just a dispatcher, increasing client satisfaction and retention.
- It also positions your service as a one-stop solution for both dispatching and compliance needs.
- 🚀 Gives You a Competitive Advantage
- Not all dispatching companies offer compliance assistance, making it a valuable differentiator.
- By promoting this service, you can attract more carriers looking for reliable, compliance-savvy dispatchers.
- It adds value to your service, allowing you to charge premium rates.
- 🤝 Helps Carriers Pass DOT Inspections
- With proper compliance management, your clients are more likely to pass roadside inspections without violations.
- This reduces downtime, prevents costly fines, and keeps their trucks on the road, earning money.
🌟 Conclusion
Providing compliance assistance as part of your dispatching service is a value-added offering that protects your clients, enhances their safety and reputation, and strengthens your business relationship. It also gives you a competitive edge by making your service more comprehensive and appealing in the trucking industry. 🚛✅
Understanding Hours Of Service (HOS)
- A driver is allowed to work 14 consecutive hours per day, of which only 11 hours he or she may spend driving.
- After the 14 hours work period ends, the driver must rest 10 consecutive hours in order to start a new work period.
- Once the driver has started his o her truck and turn on the ELD work mode, he cannot pause it. His 14 hours start immediately and cannot be prolonged. A dispatcher's job is to make sure the driver spends most of that time driving and generating income.
- On top of the daily 14 hours limit, there is a weekly limit as well. Drivers cannot work no more than 70 hours within a period of 8 consecutive days.
- In order to fully reset the weekly schedule, the driver may choose to do a 34 hour reset.
- Speed limit on the US highways are 65-75 miles per hour. Given an 11 hours driving window, a truck can drive 500-700 miles on average in a single daily working period.
4 Key HOS Limits For Drivers
- The 14 hours work window.
- The 11 hours driving limit.
- The 30 minute minimum break requirement.
- The 60 hours/7 days or 70 hours/8 days work limits.
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