Trucking: Rules& Regulations, vehicle safety inspection, motor carrier regulations

Question
QUESTION: I'm A hotshot driver, I'm trying to find out what I need to be
legal to carry freight out of state. I'm a small truck,1ton 9ft flatbed.In
my homestate of Texas I'm under there regulated weight of 26,000gvw so
idont need dot #"s. But I believe I do when I travel Out of
state.Recently had Friend in same size truck ticketed in Louisiana for not having
MC#s,I never really thought I had to worry about this being I drive a
small truck.So what do I need to do to be legal,do I need to stop at
weigh stations? Are there like Brokers That can help me with this and how
do I locate one? Thanks for your time,Marvin



ANSWER: To be able to operate as an Interstate carrier, you must follow Federal Motor Carrier regulations. I'm assuming your not leased to anyone.

A commercial motor vehicle requires: annual vehicle safety inspection (*Part 396.17 Periodic inspection), DOT #, and is subject to roadside safety inspection (*Part 393: Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation)

As a driver and company owner, you are responsible for ALL driver qualifications (*Part 391: Qualifications of Drivers), requires running a log book (*Part 395: Hours of Service)

390.21 Marking of CMVs: Must have company name and DOT # on the truck. As far as your friend, he probably got a ticket for not having proof of Authority to operate as a For Hire carrier. ICC # is not a marking requirement. There has been some recent changes to Operating Authority, so you might not need it. When you go to DOTAuthority.com, they can tell you. For DOT # and Authority Go to www.DOTAuthority.com and they can help you with that part.

You can find these regulation Parts at the FMCSA Regulation home page (www.fmcsa.dot.gov)

If you need more detailed information about certain parts, just shoot me another question.





---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your time Israel,
         One more quick question. Is all this still true if your under 10,000lbs.My empty weight is 7100lbs even loaded 98% of the time Im under 10,000lbs. I was told, and dont know if this is true, but if your under 10,000 then its not regulated.
Once again thanks for your time. Marvin

Answer
As long as the GVWR rating of the truck is NOT 10,001 lbs. or more, then the truck is NOT considered to be a commercial vehicle unless you haul hazmat.
So if your truck has a GVWR of 10,000 lbs., the truck would NOT be considered as a commercial vehicle by Federal definition. The 1 lb. added to 10,000 makes all the difference.

Since Texas is you registered state, you would have to abide by there rules if there different.

I hope this helps. If you have anymore questions, feel free to send them to me. When it comes to commercial motor vehicle regulations, there is no dumb question. Just be careful of what you here from truck drivers. They hear things and spread them around and they will be way off from the facts.