FMCSA's Motor Carrier Safety Planner
The agency's own plain-English guide to complying with Parts 393 and 396. The best single starting point for a one-truck carrier, and we link it rather than rewrite it.
- Author
- Relay Dispatch Desk
- Published
- 18 Aug 2026
- Verified
- 15 Aug 2026
- Re-checked
- quarterly
Key takeaways
- It is FMCSA's own plain-English walkthrough of what a motor carrier has to do to comply.
- Chapter 5 covers parts and accessories under Part 393 and inspection, repair and maintenance under Part 396.
- It lists the violations that actually come up at roadside, which no regulation text does.
- It is a live agency page, so we link it and never mirror it.
Why this one is worth your time
The Code of Federal Regulations tells you what the rule is. It does not tell you what complying looks like in practice for a carrier with one truck. The Safety Planner is the agency's own attempt at the second thing, and it is the best free version of it.
Chapter 5 is the one to start with: parts and accessories under Part 393 — brakes, cargo securement, emergency equipment, tyres, wheels — and then inspection, repair and maintenance under Part 396, including the records a carrier is expected to keep and the violations that come up most often.
Why we link it and do not host it
It is a live, dynamic page that the agency updates. A dated copy on our server would be wrong the first time FMCSA edits it, and a wrong copy of a compliance guide is worse than no copy. Our own cards cite the regulation directly for exactly this reason.
Sources
- FMCSA · Motor Carrier Safety Planner — Chapter 5, Vehicle Requirements · accessed 15 Aug 2026
Re-verified quarterly. Educational summary — the regulation controls. Not legal advice.
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One flat 12%, and a dispatcher who answers.
We plan the week around your hours and your equipment — and we keep the compliance calendar so it stops ambushing you.