Trucking glossary for CDL-A drivers
The words you will hear from recruiters and dispatchers, in one sentence each.
- APU
- Auxiliary power unit: heats and cools the cab while the engine is off, so you can rest comfortably without idling.
- Backhaul
- A load picked up after a delivery so the truck does not return empty.
- Bobtail
- Driving a tractor without a trailer.
- CDL-A
- Class A commercial driver's license, needed for tractor-trailers over 26,001 lbs combined.
- Clearinghouse
- The FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, a database of DOT drug and alcohol violations that carriers must check before hiring.
- CPM
- Cents per mile: the rate paid for each mile driven.
- CSA score
- The FMCSA safety rating system for carriers and drivers, based on inspections and crashes.
- Day cab
- A tractor without a sleeper, used on local and shuttle jobs.
- Dedicated
- A fleet that hauls for one customer on regular routes.
- Detention pay
- Pay for waiting at a shipper or receiver beyond a set time, often one or two hours.
- Drop and hook
- Leaving one trailer and picking up another without waiting to load or unload.
- ELD
- Electronic logging device that records hours of service.
- Endorsement
- An extra CDL qualification: H (hazmat), N (tanker), T (doubles/triples), X (hazmat and tanker).
- Hours of service (HOS)
- Federal limits on driving and on-duty time, including the 11-hour driving limit and the 70-hour/8-day limit.
- Household goods (HHG) miles
- A shorter mileage standard than practical miles; the same rate pays less.
- Intermodal
- Moving containers between rail ramps and customers.
- Layover pay
- Pay when you are held overnight away from home waiting for a load.
- Lease purchase
- Leasing a truck from a carrier with the option to own it, working as a contractor.
- Live unload
- The customer unloads the trailer while you wait.
- Local
- A job where you return home after each shift.
- MVR
- Motor vehicle record: your state driving record.
- No-touch freight
- Freight you do not load or unload yourself.
- OTR
- Over the road: long-haul driving across many states, usually out for weeks at a time.
- Owner-operator
- A driver who owns the truck and contracts with a carrier.
- Per diem
- A tax-advantaged daily allowance for meals on the road, offered by some carriers.
- Practical miles
- A mileage standard based on the real route; usually pays more than HHG miles.
- PSP
- Pre-Employment Screening Program report: your 5-year crash and 3-year inspection history from FMCSA.
- Reefer
- A refrigerated trailer for temperature-controlled freight.
- Regional
- Driving within a set region, usually home weekly or every other weekend.
- Reset (34-hour restart)
- Time off that resets your weekly hours-of-service clock.
- SAP
- Substance abuse professional who manages the return-to-duty process after a drug or alcohol violation.
- Slip seat
- Sharing a truck with other drivers on different shifts.
- Spotter / yard jockey
- A driver who moves trailers around a yard or campus.
- Team driving
- Two drivers sharing one truck to keep it moving longer.
- Touch freight
- Freight you load or unload yourself, often with a pallet jack or liftgate.
- TWIC
- Transportation Worker Identification Credential, needed to enter many ports.