Guides for the road
The rules and know-how behind a good trip plan, written in plain English and checked against the primary source. Each guide lists the regulations and agencies it relies on.
- Hours of service
Adverse driving conditions exception: the extra 2 hours, explained
When weather or road conditions you couldn't have known about slow you down, the adverse driving conditions exception allows up to 2 more hours of driving and a longer window. Here is what qualifies and how to log it.
- Hours of service
Hours of service rules for truck drivers, explained
The federal driving and duty limits for property-carrying drivers, what each rule means in practice, and how they fit together in a real working day.
- Parking and stops
How to find truck parking: a practical guide for drivers
Truck parking runs short at night across much of the country. Here is how to pick the stop before your clock forces it, which kinds of lots to use, and what the federal parking survey found.
- Money and taxes
IFTA fuel tax basics for truck drivers
Who needs an IFTA license, when the four quarterly returns are due, which records to keep, and how the net tax math works, with a worked example.
- Road and route
Low bridges and truck restrictions: how to stay on legal roads
Why a loaded truck needs its own route, how to read clearance and weight signs, and what to do when a route points you somewhere your rig can't go.
- Road and route
Mountain driving and steep grades: a guide for truck drivers
How to pick your gear before the crest, brake without fading, read grade signs and use a runaway truck ramp, with I-70 in Colorado as a worked example.
- Money and taxes
Per diem for truck drivers: who can deduct it and how much
The IRS transportation rate, the 80% limit for drivers under hours of service, partial days, and why company drivers can't deduct per diem on their own returns.
- Hours of service
Sleeper berth split rules: how the 7/3 and 8/2 options work
The split sleeper-berth provision lets you take your 10-hour break in two pieces. Here is how a pair qualifies, how it pauses the 14-hour clock, and where drivers get the math wrong.
- Hours of service
The 11-hour and 14-hour rules: how the two clocks work together
How the driving clock and the duty window interact, why breaks and waiting time don't stop the 14, and how a qualifying sleeper berth split changes the math.
- Hours of service
The 30-minute break rule for truck drivers, explained
The break is tied to 8 hours of driving and can be taken on duty. Here is how it is counted, what satisfies it, and the mistakes that lead to violations.
- Hours of service
The 70-hour rule and 34-hour restart, explained
How the 60-hour and 70-hour limits are counted, how hours come back day by day, and when a 34-hour restart makes sense, with numbers you can check.
- Trip planning
Trip planning checklist for truck drivers
A step-by-step list to work through before you roll, from appointment times and a route that fits your truck to where your 30-minute break and 10-hour reset will happen.
- Road and route
Truck GPS vs. phone maps: what car navigation misses
Phone map apps plan routes for cars. Here is what they miss for a truck, what a truck GPS should do, how to test one before you trust it, and where Fort Route fits.
- Parking and stops
Weigh stations explained: what happens at the scale
What happens when you pull into an open weigh station, how bypass and weigh-in-motion work, the federal weight limits you're measured against, and how to check your weight before you get there.
- Road and route
Winter driving and chain laws for truck drivers
Winter technique for heavy trucks, how chain controls work in California, Colorado and Washington, and how to check conditions before you reach the pass.
- Road and route
Work zone safety for truck drivers: speed, space and lane closures
Why work zones are riskier for large trucks, how to handle speed, following distance and lane closures, and how DOTs publish live work zone data.
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