March 31, 2005
Howdy Drivers

Well, as I promised you, I’ve started the process of getting my own authority. I really had no idea how involved it can get. For instance, there are several levels of authority a driver can apply for.
The authority that I’m interested in getting is limited to hauling freight in the lower 48 states. But this authority can also be expanded to include Canada and even Mexico if interested. Freight in Canada does not pay very well and with the currency exchange rate fluctuating sometimes several times during the course of the day, only large carriers like Swift or J.B. Hunt have enough trucks on the road to absorb these kinds of variable costs.
The cost of obtaining your own authority, especially applying by using an established service specializing in these applications will cost you anywhere from $250.00 to $650.00. On top of these costs Oregon and Illinois require you to post bonds guaranteeing state road tax payments.
Owner operators also have to put up a $1,500.00 insurance fee and spend about $400.00 to $500.00 per month to get their insurance in place before the paper work is submitted to the state and federal offices. I’m still working on the limits of insurance that are required and I’ll go over that next month.
Because I only operate one truck, I will not need a DOT log review/compliance service. But I will need a random drug testing service in place, as well as road tax filing and payment service for each state that I drive through. Sounds easy? Well keep in mind that except for Oregon, owner operators pay road taxes each time that they fuel.
In Oregon, the state doesn't trust the truck stops to report and pay fuel tax money so these revenues are paid by owner operators on a quarterly basis. As a result, truckers must have a special state tax permit to purchase fuel in Oregon. Trips and mileage figures are randomly audited and enforcement of taxable mileage figures is routine. The state also operates web cams on almost every bridge in the State of Oregon that snaps pictures of truckers, including their license plates These are stamped with a date/time notation on the picture.
OOIDA (the Owner Operators and Independent Drivers Association) can establish and help drivers meet all necessary authority requirements. The association is fairly reasonable in their pricing. They charge about $150.00 per year for the drug testing requirements which includes two tests a year. The road tax filling will cost owner operators about $150.00 per quarter, and I’m sure that if you look around, drivers will find brokers who will charge far more for these road tax filing services.
Well, this is quite a lot of info for now. Next issue I’ll try and cover the positives and negatives of factoring loads, fuel cost posting, your load insurance coverage's with brokerages (so owner operators will meet minimum liability insurance and eligibility requirements to haul particular types of freight) the cost of the IFTA stickers, base plates, and NY Hut stickers, New Mexico Cab Cards, Single State Registration, and other various state registration requirements. Just remember this is a learning experience for me as I go along too!
As always drivers, be safe out there and keep the shinny side up. If you have any questions you can contact me directly at the email address posted below.

Fred

A friend recently suggested that I start posting a couple safety tips each month as we go along.

HERE IS SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT-- which is more dangerous to pull out in front of:
A.) gas tanker
or
B.) Food grade tanker?

A.) food grade tanker! A food grade tanker has no baffles in the tank and with 45,000lbs plus shifting forward, just think what that load will do to the driver as he tries to control his steering, get slowed down and/or stop in time! A gas tanker has several walls installed in each tank and they have several holes installed through these walls. These walls are called baffles and they are intended to help keep the gas from shifting forward all at once. This helps keep the weight more evenly distributed though out the tanker itself. Most gas tankers have three compartments in a trailer, enabling them to carry the various different grades of gas or to include diesel fuels in their deliveries.


Fred is an OTR driver who has 24 years experience hauling a multitude of freight including dry van and refer. He has trucked in all 48 States as well as every province in Canada. Trucking as both a company driver and an owner operator, Fred brings to the GTA the kind of success story many drivers would like to experience including the last 15 years trucking with his own rig.
If you have a question for Fred just forward it to him through the contact page on the website.

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