Brand New to running under my own authority

Hi everyone,

I've been an owner operator for 4 years now, but I've only been running under my own authority for a few months now. I'm thinking about adding another driving team to my fleet. When I was running under the company I lease to's authority it was really simple to add a team. All you had to do was fill out the paperwork and get signatures and you were good. Well running under my own authority now it all falls on my shoulders to DOT driver qualify a driver and keep the records. Can anyone please explain to me what all has to be done to keep proper records and to properly qualify a driver? And I've heard there are companies that will do this process for you for a fee. Is it worth it to pay a company to do this or is it simple enough to do it yourself. If it's important I'm driving straight box trucks under 26,000lbs. Also I run a truck as well so I do not have a lot of time to handle a ton of extra record keeping work, but a little extra simple record keeping would be fine.

Thanks for the help,
Mike.

 

Thank You Chinatown

 

Thank you for all the advice. I'm a member of ooida sorry for being so ignorant to the situation, but I was kind of thrown into all this by the company I work for. Just trying to do the best I can to provide for my family. So far until I found this forum the only resource I thought I had was the company that hired me and they just gave me loose advice and told me everything is ok and that the entry audit is more of a learning experience so they can help you get compliant. It wasn't until I thought about expanding that I found out I may have been mislead. They told me everything was good cause they had everything on file at their office for me and that I had access to it. Whether that's right or wrong I don't know, but I'm doing the best I can to get compliant... That's why I'm here.

 

I contacted ooida and they emailed me all the paperwork to fill out and be compliant for free. Fortunately since I'm under 26,000 I do not fall under the drug and alcohol program which saves me $200. Just out of curiosity I've posted 2 questions on the forums looking for information and it seems like I'm getting some flack because I'm not very familiar with things. My question is what is expected when you're thrown in to something some people may have grown up wanting to own a trucking company. Some people may have grown up just driving a truck. Some may have just found them in a job and they perform well and found that they've got to be owner operators to keep providing for their families. I understand it would have been great to have a mentor to teach me everything before I got started. Or if there was a school I could have went to to learn all this because it was my dream for a long time. But that's not the case. I'm just trying to make a living. Just like you guys. I was forced in to this. Seems to me some credit is due for being here trying to do it right. I understand I'm the one who will benefit in the long run, but then again I'd be the one paying the price if I don't get it right. So why all the animosity towards questions?

 

Agreed both that dot won't cut slack and also that people on this particular thread aren't being all that rude. But again that's why I am here. To get the slack before I face the fire.