Inspections, Safety & Cost

This part of the site covers what happens after the paperwork is done: the truck gets inspected, the results feed a public safety record, and the operation has to pay for itself. Every power unit and trailer needs a periodic inspection — the rule is in the annual inspection guide and the item list is the annual inspection checklist. At the roadside, the inspection levels guide explains what each level checks.

Roadside results become CSA data. How CSA scores are built explains the weights and the peer groups, and the CSA score estimator shows how far one more violation moves a category. A new carrier meets an auditor within its first year, so the new entrant audit checklist and the broader DOT compliance checklist are worth a pass before the letter arrives; compliance software, a service or doing it yourself weighs the help on offer.

On the money side, the cost per mile calculator gives the number every rate should clear, the truck driver pay calculator prices one week three ways, and owner-operator vs company driver compares a wage with running your own authority.