The Department of Transportation and its sister agency the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulate the safe operation of Commercial Motor Vehicles and their operators to ensure they are in compliance with all current regulations which change frequently.

DOT Inspections occur at random. Generally speaking DOT officers are State Troopers who have received additional training regarding the rules and regulations surrounding trucks and buses. Sometimes they may be Federal Officers independent of the State Police. The purpose of these inspections are to ensure that trucks and buses driving on public roads are safe to operate. Making sure the vehicle is safe to operate is both the responsibility of the Driver and the Carrier (company).

Pre Trip Inspections: Every single day a professional driver comes to work, he/she must inspect their vehicle to make sure it is safe to operate. This is done with what is called a pre trip inspection. Every company has different guidelines as to what their pre trip entails but generally they are similar in nature. A pre trip inspection involves walking around the vehicle and inspecting various components to make sure that they are safe, secure and in working order. It is during this inspection that many accidents can be avoided if any faults with the vehicle are detected. If any essential components are deemed unsafe, broken or missing by the driver, the carrier MUST put the vehicle in a state known as "out of service" this state means that the vehicle is deemed unsafe until further inspection or repair and may not be used in the normal operation of the business. Usually the driver will log these findings on a report as evidence that they inspect their vehicles. Once the appropriate repairs have been made the vehicle may be put back "in service" and resume its normal duties.

DOT Compliance: There are many markings and identification numbers which must be fitted to the exterior of the truck or bus in operation. Every company operating a fleet of trucks or buses has to purchase "operating authority" from the Department of Transportation. After doing this the company is given a DOT number which must be placed on their vehicles. You may have seen these numbers which are usually marked "USDOT 534532" etc. If the vehicle does not display this number the company faces large fines. DOT Inspection stickers must also be displayed and valid. These stickers are given after the vehicle has been inspected at a DOT station for safety. This inspection is done every year. Operating the vehicle without a valid sticker also brings heavy fines. The vehicle must also carry a number within its own fleet. (Truck #12 out of 50 for example) In addition to all of this proper registration must be valid. Trucks and Buses are given special license plates which must be properly displayed and carried with the proper registration papers.

Random Surges: Random DOT Inspection stations are set up at the roadside and signs telling truckers and sometimes bus drivers to pull into this station are put up miles ahead. Sometimes DOT Officers ride along with State Troopers and pull trucks and buses over at random. Transit vehicles are often exempt from these random inspections due to the direct impact on service. A DOT inspection can last hours. The DOT will inspect a fleet of transit vehicles all at once at the fleet's home garage or depot. This practice increased after September 11 as the government feared that terrorists might try to damage infrastructure using commercial vehicles.

Golden Era: Truckers often remark about the golden era of trucking which occurred in the early 1970's to mid 1980's when regulations in place now were much more lax or didn't exist. Movies like Smokey and The Bandit highlight this era. Trucking was not regulated and there were no regulations on how long one could drive. This led to a series of accidents due to drivers falling asleep. There wasn't as much emphasis on inspecting vehicles for safety either. Using the CB Radio truckers often warn each other of "county mounties" or "Smokey Bear" terms used to signal police officers operating at the County or State level known for their Smokey Bear hats. Truckers must keep a log book regarding how long they drive and work. This in turn shows how many hours of sleep they got. It is a Federal Requirement that truckers can work for 14 hours a day but only 11 of those hours may they drive, and during those 11 hours they must take at least 2 30 minute breaks. If there are inaccuracies on a truckers log sheet it could be an indicator they lied to get more money and violated the sleep rule. This can end a truckers career as no company will hire them after this serious violation. New Trucks are fitted with electronic logs which cant be tampered with. Each State also sets a limit on how much trucks can weigh. Trucks must pull into DOT weigh stations to ensure that the cargo is properly distributed and the truck is not overloaded.