CDL Disqualification Offenses and How Long Each One Lasts
Federal rules set minimum CDL disqualifications for major offenses, serious traffic violations, railroad crossings and out-of-service orders. Some apply even to tickets in your own car.
Category: Regulations
FMCSA and DOT rules in plain English: hours of service, ELDs, CDL rules, the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, English proficiency and what is changing.
Truck Classes 1 to 8 and GVWR: Which Weights Trigger Which Rules
Truck classes describe the rating on the door label, and federal rules key off a handful of weight lines. One table maps each line to what it triggers.
Truck Speed Limiter Rule: What Was Proposed and Why It Was Withdrawn
For almost two decades a federal speed limiter mandate for big trucks moved through petitions, proposals and comment periods. What it would have required, how it ended, and where truck speeds are governed today.
Truck Weight and Size Limits: 80,000 Pounds and the Bridge Formula
The federal numbers behind every scale ticket, a worked Bridge Formula example, and the trailer length and width rules states must allow.
Hours of Service Rules for Truck Drivers: 11, 14 and 60/70 Explained
The federal driving limits for property-carrying trucks in one table, with worked examples of a legal day, the sleeper berth split and the exceptions that buy extra time.
California Trucking Rules: Clean Truck Check, AB5 and 55 MPH
The state runs its own emissions testing, engine and labor rules on top of federal ones. Some reach out-of-state trucks, and two of them changed in 2025 and 2026.
Cargo Securement Rules: Tiedowns, Working Load Limits and Checks
The federal cargo securement rules in 49 CFR 393.100 to 393.136 set force limits, tiedown math and commodity rules. Most roadside violations come down to too few straps or the wrong count.
English Proficiency Rule for Truck Drivers: Out-of-Service Checks
What 49 CFR 391.11(b)(2) requires, how inspectors run the two-step check, what an out-of-service order means for the driver and the carrier, and where the 2026 proposed rule stands.
Hazmat Placard Rules: When a Truck Must Be Placarded and With What
The two placarding tables in 49 CFR 172.504 decide whether a truck shows a placard and which one. A class-by-class table, the exceptions drivers use most, and what has to be in the cab.
EPA 2027 Truck Emissions Rules: NOx Limits, Warranties and DEF Derates
The 2027 NOx standard still stands, but EPA has proposed to keep today's warranty periods and drop DEF power derates, and it repealed the truck greenhouse gas rules in 2026.