OOIDA Regulatory Department seeks to assist truckers in any way possible

Within its business services offerings to its more than 150,000 members, OOIDA has a team of experienced specialists who assist truckers with certain complexities of the industry.

The team handles lease reviews, carrier complaints, warranties and repairs, broker-carrier agreements – and the list goes on.

The Regulatory Department at OOIDA is comprised of employees who all have experience as professional drivers: Jim Jefferson, compliance and regulatory supervisor; Tom Crowley, regulatory specialist; and Aron Lynch, Mike Wood and Gene Haun, compliance specialists.

“We help members with anything that arises in the trucking industry,” said Jefferson, who drove professionally for eight years before joining OOIDA in September 2015. “We help with contract reviews, discuss business strategy, help with freight fraud, filing comments with FMCSA and attorney referrals. We try to do as much as we can to assist in any way that we can.”

Much of that assistance revolves around contracts.

“We review anything from lease agreements to factoring agreements,” said Lynch, who has been with OOIDA since 2021 and spent six-and-a-half years as a truck driver. “We look for any pitfalls or benefits and give them a bullet-point list of guidance in regards to what we see. We’ve seen enough of these that we’re able to help them in any (trucking) endeavor.”

Knowing just how much capital is needed to run a successful business is at the forefront of most conversations, as well.

“So many take the leap (to become an owner-operator) without the advice we provide, and one breakdown or sickness later, they’re out of business,” said Wood, who has been a CDL holder since 1988. “The first thing I stress is having that capital, that safety net, so they at least have the peace of mind if something were to happen, they can continue to operate and feed their family.”

Crowley, who started driving at 18 years old and has been at OOIDA since 2008, said without the knowledge of what it takes to be profitable, many drivers are “paying to haul the freight.”

Unfortunately, many drivers assume the money they pay to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to get their authority is all they need to get up and running, Jefferson added.

“There’s so much more tied up in it than that, and if you don’t have the funds available … underfunding is where most people in this business go bankrupt,” Jefferson said. “They get out there and then they realize they’re not going to get paid from a load for 30 to 45 days. Then they don’t have any money for fuel or have a problem with factoring, and all of a sudden, they’re in a hole with no way out.”

Not to mention unforeseen mechanical issues, which in trucking or elsewhere are bound to occur.

“Just to rebuild an engine could cost you $18,000, and that’s with it inside the frame,” said Haun, a fourth-generation trucker with 15 years of diesel experience who’s worked at OOIDA since October 2024. “If you can learn to do one thing on your truck, do it. Simple maintenance will keep you from being on the side of the road trying to fix it. Even just changing a light bulb. Of the violations that we see, it’s often a simple fix that could have been avoided.”

Haun admitted, however, that some issues are just out of your hands.

“There’s certain things we can’t do. Like some tickets you can get erased, (but) a warning ticket is not something you can do anything about,” he said.

More times than not, though, doing your research will pay off in the long run.

“Make sure you are vetting everyone that you are working with, because they’re vetting you,” Lynch said. “That’s how a lot of double brokering and fraud goes on, and those will put you under sooner than a mechanical malfunction. Drivers need to do their due diligence, like checking the SAFER website. We can help check some of that stuff, too, so I’d advised drivers to call in here.”

The importance of communication, documentation and education cannot be overstated, Wood added.

“Those go hand-in-hand, and there’s unlimited resources on the OOIDA website,” he said. “It takes some time, but I stress to our members they need to educate themselves. When you’re dealing with brokers and customers, document everything. Communication is paramount.”

Rates are an item of increased interest as of late, said Crowley, who recalls ELDs being a concern in 2017.

“The best advice I can give to a new owner-operator would be to know your cost of operation,” added Crowley, who owned three trucks when the 2008 recession hit. “We speak to owner-operators every day that are operating without this basic knowledge.”

More specifically, it’s crucial for truckers to know their cost per mile.

“If you don’t know what it costs you to run that truck per mile, there’s no way for you to be profitable,” Jefferson said. “That’s one of the services we provide, and we even have a free cost-per-mile calculator on the OOIDA website. We’re more than happy to go over that document with drivers and show them how to use it so they understand where their costs are and how all that translates into the bottom line.”

It’s all an effort to give drivers the best advice for prospering, whether as an owner-operator or not.

“We give them the facts and back everything up with documentation,” Jefferson said.

Learn more about how the Regulatory Department can help by visiting the OOIDA website or calling 816-229-5791. LL