An electronic on-board recorder will be required for carriers and drivers who are found to have hours of service (HOS) violations of 10% or more, according to a rule enacted last week by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA.) According to a statement posted on the FMCSA web site, nearly 5,700 carriers will be required to ...

Everyone agrees that it is dangerous to drive while talking or texting on cell phones. Carriers must do their best to reduce the temptation for drivers to use handheld devices. But many dispatchers rely on these technologies to stay in touch with drivers. Carriers can eliminate routine check calls and reduce driver distractions by installing ...

For the first few years of operation, each of the two dispatchers at Joe Tex Xpress called 25 drivers every morning to locate the fleet’s 50 trucks. Even when every driver answered his cell phone immediately, the check calls would take more than an hour for each dispatcher. “A driver might be on the road or in a situation where he couldn’t ...