Owner-Operators
Hot Shot Trucking Requirements: USDOT, CDL, Insurance and ELD Rules
The federal weight lines that decide which rules a pickup-and-trailer operation must follow, with a table by truck and trailer combination.
Tag: owner-operators
Regulations
Truck Speed Limiter Rule: What Was Proposed and Why It Was Withdrawn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.
Owner-Operators
How Trucking Fuel Cards Work: Discounts, Fees and Controls Compared
A fuel card discount is only as good as the network you actually fuel in and the fees behind it. How the main card types work and what their published terms say.
Owner-Operators
Commercial Truck Insurance Requirements: Federal Minimums by Cargo
What the federal rules require, what lenders and brokers add on top, and how FMCSA knows a carrier is covered. Plus the terms owner-operators mix up most: bobtail, non-trucking liability and occupational accident.
Freight Rates & Fuel
Truck Dispatcher Rules: When a Dispatch Service Needs Broker Authority
FMCSA does not license dispatch services, but its 2023 guidance draws a line between a carrier's agent and an unlicensed broker. Where that line falls and what owner-operators should check.
Owner-Operators
Truck Driver Per Diem: The $80 IRS Rate and the 80% Meal Deduction
How the transportation-industry meal rate works, why drivers deduct 80% instead of 50%, the partial-day rule, and why most company drivers cannot claim it.
Owner-Operators
Freight Factoring Explained: Advance Rates, Recourse and Contracts
Factoring turns a 30- or 60-day broker invoice into money in a day or two. How the advance and fee are calculated, what the notice of assignment does, and the contract clauses that cost carriers the most.
Owner-Operators
How to Get Your Own Authority: USDOT Number, MC Number and Motus
The order of filings that takes a new trucking company from application to active authority, what changed with FMCSA's Motus system in 2026, and the state registrations that follow.