Driver resources
The reference desk for owner-operators.
The vocabulary, the free government tools, and the guides — everything we wish every driver had before their first lease signing, kept in one place.
Verify anything
Four free tools that keep carriers honest.
Government databases, no login required. Use them on us and on everyone else.
The vocabulary
Lease-on terms, in plain English.
Sixteen words that decide how your money moves. Learn them before anyone uses them at you.
- MC number
- A carrier's interstate operating authority, issued by the FMCSA. When you lease on, you run under the carrier's MC — it's the number on the door.
- DOT number
- The FMCSA's identifier for a carrier's safety record — inspections, crashes, audits. Public, searchable, and worth reading before signing with anyone.
- Truth-in-Leasing
- 49 CFR Part 376 — the federal rules requiring written leases between carriers and owner-operators, with compensation, deductions, and escrow terms stated.
- Settlement
- The weekly statement of what your truck earned and what was deducted. If you read one document carefully every week, make it this one.
- Chargeback
- A deduction on your settlement for a service or cost — insurance items, ELD, plates. Must be itemized in your lease to be legal (§376.12(h)).
- Escrow
- Money a carrier holds against future costs. The lease must state what it's for and when it comes back — within 45 days of termination, accounted for.
- Rate confirmation
- The broker's written confirmation of a load and its rate. Keep every one; it's the paper your settlement math gets checked against.
- Rated freight bill
- The billing document showing what the carrier was actually paid for a load. If your pay is percentage-based, §376.12(g) entitles you to see it.
- Fuel surcharge
- A per-load amount meant to buffer fuel price swings. Where it goes — to you or the carrier — is a lease term. It should be visible, either way.
- COI
- Certificate of Liability Insurance — proof of the coverage that runs with the carrier's authority. You'll deal with it at shippers and at onboarding.
- ELD
- Electronic Logging Device — the federally mandated hardware recording your hours of service. Under our program, installed and managed by the carrier.
- HOS
- Hours of Service — the federal limits on driving time. The ELD records them; the violations follow the driver.
- CSA score
- The FMCSA's carrier safety scoring. Roadside inspections feed it — a carrier's score and a driver's record ride together.
- IFTA
- The interstate fuel-tax agreement. Quarterly filings reconcile fuel bought vs. miles run per state. A back-office job — ours, under this program.
- PrePass
- A transponder that lets qualifying trucks bypass many weigh stations. Less time on scales, more time on schedule.
- Deadhead
- Miles run empty between loads. Unpaid, but not free — good dispatch exists to keep this number down.
From the Logbook