You can keep up with industry updates, DOT compliance, drug and alcohol testing by employers, DOT regulation updates, and other laws or regulations that pertain to your job and industry with little effort since that requires more research than paperwork. Keeping up with your paperwork, however, can be easier than you think with a few record keeping tips for truck drivers.
Keep Track of Paperwork
Rather than tossing receipts on your dash or in the glove box, you should keep a file, folder, or other container to store trip receipts and other paperwork in that you’ll need, whether it’s for recording expenses on a trip or preparing your year-end taxes. When you get home, take that paperwork and file it in a filing cabinet based on the type of paperwork and what it will be needed for. This makes it easy to find it when you do need to put your hands on it.
Record Everything
Log book requirements can seem to be overwhelming, especially when you have to record everything legibly and it seems like you have to note everything about a trip from your tire pressure to the hazard level of the load you are carrying. While it can be frustrating to record all this information, you still need to ensure that your log book is current and correct. Preventing fines, down time, lost work due to layovers, and other expenses – financial and otherwise – is important, so you do need to record everything. Make it a habit to jot down information as you go, rather than waiting until your trip is done to backtrack and try to remember all the necessary details.
Retain The Data and Paperwork
Staying organized is the best way to stay on top of your paperwork requirements, and you can best do this when you’ve got a place to store all your load sheets, log books, health records, and other paperwork that are required as part of your job. While your current paperwork should be kept handy until the end of the year, you still need a location where you can store your records and paperwork in order to meet record retention requirements of the DOT and other involved agencies. This protects you, so it’s important to manage properly.
You can find plenty of other record keeping tips for truck drivers that will help you make your job easier and less of a burden when it comes time to handle your record-keeping functions. For more information on staying on top of the regulations and requirements that apply to motor carriers, contact us today.
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