Truck Permits
Managing truck permits correctly is a critical part of running a safe, compliant, and profitable trucking operation. Regulations change frequently at the city, county, state, and federal levels, and the consequences of an oversight can be costly: delays, fines, or even being taken off the road. At Simplex Group, we have refined our methods over […]
Read More
CDL Pre-Trip Inspection Texas
What Texas DPS Evaluates and How You Are Scored Texas requires every CDL applicant to demonstrate a systematic Vehicle Inspection Test. The examiner expects you to show that the vehicle is safe to operate by naming, pointing to/touching, and clearly explaining what you are inspecting and what defects you are checking for. If you do […]
Read More
Semi Truck Insurance
Whether you own or drive an 18-wheeler, the right insurance program is the backbone of a sustainable trucking operation. In our practice, we have spent more than two decades advising owner-operators and fleets on commercial truck insurance while also supporting core transportation tasks; DOT compliance, permitting, factoring, and freight planning. That end-to-end view lets us […]
Read More
New Entrant Safety Audit Checklist
What the DOT New Entrant Safety Audit is and how it works The New Entrant Safety Audit is a one-time review conducted by FMCSA (or a state partner) to verify that your company has fundamental safety management controls in place. It typically occurs within the first 12 months of beginning interstate operations and sits within […]
Read More
DOT Random Drug Testing Time Limits
The essentials: how long does a driver have after random notification? When a CDL driver is notified, the expectation is immediacy, the driver must proceed to the collection without delay. In practice, I coach teams to treat random notifications like a stop-work order for anything not needed to get to the collection site (secure the […]
Read More
Trucking Insurance in Houston
In this post we are going to see: How Much Does Commercial Truck Insurance Cost in Houston? Houston pricing swings based on radius, commodities, driver MVRs, equipment value, garaging ZIP, and loss runs. Local, intrastate box trucks hauling general freight with clean records tend to pay less; interstate semi-trucks pulling higher-risk loads (oilfield, hazmat, high-theft […]
Read More
Types of Commercial Truck Insurance Coverage
The right commercial truck insurance program is more than a policy, it’s a revenue enabler. In this guide we’ll cover: As a specialist at Simplex Group, I help carriers, small fleets, and owner-operators tune their insurance mix so they can run profitable miles without compliance headaches. We’ve supported America’s trucking industry for more than 20 […]
Read More
What Does CGL Insurance Cover for Trucking Businesses?
What It Covers and How It Works a CGL for Truckers If you run trucks for a living, you deal with risk every day, at a shipper’s dock, even in your own office when a vendor trips on a cord. Commercial General Liability (CGL) exists to protect your business against third-party claims that aren’t caused […]
Read More
Trucking Insurance Guide for Fleets & Owners
If you run trucks for a living, commercial trucking insurance isn’t a “nice to have”, it’s your financial seatbelt. In my day-to-day advising fleets and owner-operators, the right policy doesn’t just tick FMCSA and state boxes; it prevents downtime, fines, lost contracts, and claim headaches. At Simplex Group, we’ve spent more than 20 years as […]
Read More
Houston DOT Safety Compliance for Trucks
What are we going to find into this post: Houston is a major freight hub—Port of Houston, petrochemical corridors, and busy beltways mean more inspections and stricter attention to safety basics. Below is a practical, Houston-focused guide to DOT safety compliance, plus where Simplex Group plugs in to keep you audit-ready while you keep freight […]
Read More