Category: safety and compliance

Tire Safety: Getting Ready for Roadcheck

Posted on May 17, 2016 by - Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, cvsa, FMCSA, roadcheck 2016, safety and compliance, tire pressure, tire safety, truck and trailer safety

It’s official — the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has announced this year’s International Roadcheck will focus on tire safety! Taking place from June 7-9, this event is a joint effort of the CVSA and the FMCSA (and a few others).

So what all will Roadcheck focus on with tire safety? We’re going to break this down so that your wheels start turning.

Under Pressure

A tire which has too much or too little pressure could overheat, or it could be vulnerable to a dangerous blowout.

So how can you avoid dangerous vulnerabilities from low tire pressure?

Ideally, you want to make sure you have an accurate pressure gauge to detect under inflation. If they’re legal in your neck of the woods, you can also use a tire thumper to hear if your tires sound inflated.

Now a thumper won’t give you a precise measurement, but will let you know if you’re a wide margin off.

Tire Condition

Don’t ever underestimate the value of a visual evaluation, truckers.

What should you look for? Mainly anything that is visually wrong with your tires. Obviously, any bubbles and bumps are a sign of an impending blowout. Especially if you were to hit road debris. Speaking of, you want to also see if there is any debris between tires!

Tread Carefully

An often overlooked aspect of tire inspection is tire tread! Not just the treads themselves, but the depth and condition of the treads. Treads with a low depth can have uneven wear, and risk your exposure to blowouts and worse.

Tire Placement

Tires just go in their spots, right? It’s like building a LEGO set, isn’t it?

Well, not exactly. You need to make sure your tires aren’t mismatched. Matching tires are important! It’ll balance out your wear and tear.

And with dual tires, you need to make sure there is no contact between them. While that sounds obvious, it’s these little checks that can make a big difference.

It’s the Details

Overall, just look for little things that’ll set you back. Things to look out for include: damaged rims, missing valve stems, rusty/loose nuts, as well as oil and grease buildup/leaks.

With Roadcheck coming up, it’s a good idea to treat every pre-trip inspection like a big deal. With your tires in great condition, you’ll be able to knockout your trucking route.

As we roll closer to the HVUT 2290 and 2nd Quarter IFTA deadline, the helpful folks at ExpressTruckTax will be here to help you! Reach out to us at any time by email or by phone at 704.234.6005.

Are you ready for Roadcheck 2016?

ExpressTruckTax is Secure!

Posted on July 6, 2015 by - eFiling, EFTPS, Expresstrucjtax.com, Form 2290, HVUT, IRS scammers, safe, safe and secure, safety and compliance, Schedule 1, secure, Tax Professional, tax scams, Truck Tax

Year after tax year, scam artists seem to crop up, claiming they’re CPA’s that can file your 2290 for you. They may even go so far as to print out a fake Stamped Schedule 1 right before they close up shop and disappear.

Unfortunately these types of scams are very common, especially taking advantage of truckers who speak English as a second language.

Here at ExpressTruckTax, we guarantee you a safe, secure, and completely 100% scam-free experience when you file with us. Not to mention we are an IRS Authorized E-file Provider and a link to our website can be found directly on the IRS’s website.

How To Identify A Scam

Trying to identify a scam isn’t always easy, but you should always look for these two red flags.

“Cash Only” E-filing

E-filing providers who claim they only accept cash for their e-filing fee are most definitely not playing by the rules. Those who go by the book will have several payment options available, none of which are “cash only”. And you should definitely never have to pay cash for your taxes. The IRS only accepts three payment methods: Direct Debit, EFTPS, and Check or Money Order. If they ask for anything else, it’s a scam!

Not Listed on IRS Website

You may not always check, but you should. One of the easiest ways to identify and avoid being scammed is to check the IRS website for verified e-filers. If they’re not on that list, the risk they’re a scam goes up. So only use e-filer providers that you trust!

Unless you know and trust a company completely, avoid anyone who isn’t an IRS-certified e-file provider. And you should definitely avoid any company who only wants you to pay in cash! Always know who you’re giving your money to.

Beware of fake Stamped Schedule 1’s! A legitimate Stamped Schedule 1 from the IRS will look like this, complete with the IRS’s real watermark:

It will be that clear and crisp and will contain all of your correct information and vehicles. Anything that doesn’t look like this is not legitimate and will not be accepted by the DMV.

The Secure Promise from ExpressTruckTax

As an industry leader and an IRS-authorized e-file provider, ExpressTruckTax can promise security and peace of mind when you e-file through us.

Our product is McAfee Certified HackerProof and we utilize SSL, which securely encrypts communications between your device and our US-based servers.

With us, you’ll get a legitimate Stamped Schedule 1 emailed right to you within minutes after your return is accepted! Your tax payment will always go straight through us and to the right place—the IRS—in minutes.

With the help of our US-based support legends (operating from right here in Rock Hill, South Carolina!), you can rest assured that your taxes will be filed quickly and correctly. So if you have any questions or need any help, just give them a call at 704.234.6005 or sent them an email at support@expresstrucktax.com for 24/hour support in English and Spanish.

There’s no guesswork, just secure e-filing with ease!

#TruckerTuesday: Roadcheck 2014

Posted on June 3, 2014 by - safety and compliance, truckertuesday, trucking news

It’s #TruckerTuesday, and the ExpressTruckTax team has a very important update for today! The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has begun their annual Roadcheck 2014. The Roadcheck will be from June 3-5.

What is Roadcheck?
2014 will be the 27th year of CVSA’s Road Check. This is the largest targeted enforcement program on commercial motor vehicles in the world. Every minute nearly 17 trucks/buses are inspected from Canada to Mexico within a 72-hour period. There are approximately 10,000 CVSA-certified local, state, provincial and federal inspectors in every jurisdiction across North America to perform the inspections.

During the three-day event CVSA-certified inspectors conduct compliance, enforcement and educational initiatives targeted at various elements of motor carrier, vehicle, driver and cargo safety and security.

Roadcheck has made a difference since its start in 1988, with over 1 million inspections conducted, resulting in more than 301 lives saved and 5,530 injuries avoided.

This Year’s Roadcheck
According the CVSA website, Roadcheck 2014 will include primarily North American Standard Level I Inspections – the most thorough inspection. This type of inspection includes a 37-step procedure that looks at both the driver and vehicle. Drivers will need to present these items when being inspected:

  • Driver license
  • Endorsements
  • medical card
  • hours-of-service documentation
Inspectors will also be checking for seat belt usage and the use of alcohol and/or drugs. When it comes to the vehicle check, inspectors will be looking at things like: braking system, coupling devices, exhaust system, frame, fuel system, lights, safe loading, steering mechanism, suspension, tires, van and open-top trailers bodies, wheels and rims, windshield wipers, and emergency exits on buses. 
This year, Roadcheck Inspections will be focusing on hazardous materials regulatory compliance. Hazmat-certified inspectors will be extremely vigilant about potential hazardous materials/dangerous goods compliance issues. Make sure to have all your documentation together in one place so you can just grab it and hand it over.

Managing Freight Logistics In A Small Trucking Company

Posted on November 20, 2010 by - ”small trucking company”, Express2290, freight logistics, independent trucker, managing freight logistics, outsourcing freight logistics, safety and compliance, small fleet owner

Featured Blogger
Benjamin Bellville
Today I am going to show you some simple ways for managing freight logistics for your small trucking company that will make your day to day operations easier. Meshing all of the different tasks together when you’ve never done so before can get a little tricky for the newcomer yet an ability to do so is important to your success as a small trucking company owner. Let’s look at the ways managing freight logistics can be made easier for the independent trucker or small fleet owner.

Outsourcing Freight Logistics
One of the biggest recurring themes for successful businesses is surrounding yourself with people providing services for you that lessen your work load and allow you to concentrate on the tasks that directly affect your revenue stream. These days there isn’t much that can’t be outsourced in any business, but to do so with all jobs would not be financially feasible with a small trucking operation. So which parts of managing freight logistics should be outsourced for a small trucking company and why?

Safety and compliance for your small trucking company can be outsourced to a service that will keep all of your safety records electronically which can be accessed on their website by you or an officer doing an audit of your files. The best advantage to this is it just looks more professional and you can guarantee that the files are being kept in a legal manner. It may seem a little expensive for just one to a few trucks, but when you consider that almost every little error could cost you a possible $10,000 fine then it doesn’t seem so steep. Think of it as D.O.T insurance and money well spent. One of the top companies that offer this service is Foley Services.

For mechanical upkeep it is something that in most small trucking companies will absolutely be outsourced. The best approach to doing this though is to build a relationship with a shop that is local to your company and get every bit of work needed done there. While many repair shops are out to gouge for every dime they can, you are more likely to get better deals by giving them steady business. Not to mention when one shop does the majority of your repairs they will have all of the records on hand to better evaluate current problems rather than just shooting in the dark and costing you more money. I had a great relationship with a shop local to me where they would often throw me small repairs for free since I always used them for my big repairs.

The last thing that should be outsourced is accounting. You need to make sure that in some way you and your drivers are keeping the best records possible so that when it is time to file your taxes it will cost less by taking less man hours for the accountant to calculate the data. In the future you can be sure to look for a new free program called “TruckLogix” that will help with not only financial record keeping but also mileage and fuel data. By using a program such as this all you need to do is input all of the data and hand over a copy to your accountant for filing.

By outsourcing these tasks you are going to be left with more time to concentrate on the bread and butter of trucking, freight! Finding loads, dispatching them and transporting them as well as working on customer relations. In my next post join me as I will be talking about the importance of including the driver in the freight logistics process to give your company a better chance of succeeding.

It’s never too soon to get set up for quick filing of your heavy tax needs here at Express2290, don’t procrastinate in order to have your filing needs ready for the click of a mouse with the best pricing in the trucking industry.