Driver Management¶

Drivers are the people behind the wheel. Every driver belongs to a carrier, and the system tracks their license, medical card, availability, and performance so you know who is ready to dispatch.

Overview¶

You create driver records, link them to a carrier and a truck, and manage their credentials. The system enforces that a driver's license and carrier information are complete before they can be activated for dispatching.

Getting There¶

From the main menu, click Carriers in the top navigation bar, then click Drivers. The list opens showing non-archived drivers by default (this includes drivers in Pending, Active, On Probation, and Inactive status -- only archived drivers are hidden).

You can also reach a carrier's drivers by opening the carrier record and clicking the Drivers smart button, or by going to the Drivers tab on the carrier form.

How It Works¶

Driver Statuses¶

Drivers follow a lifecycle similar to carriers:

Status	What It Means
Pending	New driver, still being onboarded. Cannot be dispatched.
Active	Cleared to haul loads.
Inactive	Temporarily removed from service.
On Probation	Under performance review but can still be dispatched.

The status bar at the top of the driver form shows the current state. Drivers start as Pending and must pass validation before activation.

Creating a New Driver¶

Open Carriers > Drivers and click New.
Enter the driver's First Name and Last Name at the top of the form. You can also upload a Photo by clicking the avatar placeholder on the left.
Fill in the primary contact fields:
Primary Phone Number (required, format: +1 555-123-4567)
Secondary Phone Number (backup number)
Email Address
Click Save.

Licensing and Credentials¶

Open the Licensing & Credentials tab to enter the driver's CDL information:

Fill in Driver License Number as printed on the physical card.
Select the License State from the dropdown (all US states and Canadian provinces are available).
Set the License Expiry Date. If the license is expired, a red warning banner appears automatically.
Enter any DL Endorsement codes (for example, H for Hazmat, T for Doubles/Triples, N for Tank, P for Passenger).
Select the CDL Class:
Class A -- Tractor-trailers over 26,001 lbs
Class B -- Single vehicles over 26,001 lbs
Class C -- Vehicles carrying hazmat or 16+ passengers
Upload a copy of the license in the Driver License Files section.

Medical Card¶

Scroll down on the same tab to the Medical Card section:

Set the Medical Card Effective Date (when it was issued).
Set the Medical Card Expiration Date. An expired medical card shows a red date highlight.
Upload a copy of the medical card in the upload area.

Linking to a Carrier¶

Open the Carrier Information tab:

Select the Associated Carrier from the dropdown. Only active carriers are shown.
The Drives For field shows the carrier's owner name automatically.
Set the Hire Date and Date of Birth if known.
Check On Probation if the driver is under review.

When a carrier is selected, additional contact fields appear:

Carrier Contact Name -- The contact person at the carrier for this driver
Carrier Contact Phone and Carrier Contact Email

Activating a Driver¶

Click the Activate button in the header. The system checks that:

First Name and Last Name are filled in
Phone Number is filled in
An Associated Carrier is selected and that carrier is in Active status
Driver License Number, License State, and License Expiry Date are all filled in

If anything is missing, you see an error listing what needs to be fixed. Once all checks pass, the status changes to Active and the Active Since date is set to today.

The Activate button is visible for all non-active states -- Pending, Inactive, and On Probation. This means a driver who was previously deactivated or placed on probation can be re-activated using the same button, provided all the validation checks still pass (carrier is active, license is on file, etc.).

To remove a driver from active duty, click Deactivate. Their status changes to Inactive.

Driver Availability¶

Beyond the lifecycle status, each driver has an Availability Status that reflects what they are doing right now:

Availability	What It Means
Available	Ready to take a new load.
En Route	Currently assigned to a leg.
Off Duty	Not working.
On Break	Taking a break.
Maintenance	Unavailable due to maintenance.

These statuses are configurable. Your admin can add, rename, or remove availability statuses under the system settings to match how your dispatch team works.

The availability status updates automatically when a driver is dispatched to a leg (changes to En Route) and when they are released from a leg (changes to Available). Dispatchers can also set it manually.

Linking a Driver to a Truck¶

The Truck field on the driver form shows which truck the driver is assigned to. This link is managed from the truck side -- when you assign a driver on a truck record, the driver's Truck field updates automatically.

You can see the truck assignment in the list view under the Truck and Truck # columns.

Driver Documents¶

Open the Documents tab to see all uploaded files for this driver. You can upload additional documents here using the inline table. Each document has:

Name -- A description of the file
Category -- Driver License, Medical Card, or Other
File -- The uploaded document
Uploaded By and Uploaded date (set automatically)

Driver license and medical card files uploaded on the Licensing & Credentials tab also appear here.

Team Drivers¶

Open the Team Operations tab to configure team driving:

Check Works in Team to mark this driver as part of a two-driver team.
Select the Team Driver (the partner driver). A driver cannot be their own team partner.
Check Cross Border if the driver is authorized for US/Canada routes.

When a driver is part of a team, both drivers share a truck and keep it moving around the clock. Both should be assigned to the same legs.

When working on the Legs list, you can quickly see all key contact information for a driver without leaving the page. Click the driver name in the Truck column of any leg, and a Driver Info popup appears with:

Driver section -- name, primary and secondary phone numbers, email, and home address
Carrier section -- carrier name and mailing address
Owner section -- carrier owner name, phone, and email
Primary Contact section -- the carrier's primary contact person, phone, and email

This popup is read-only and pulls information from the driver, their carrier, the carrier's owner, and the carrier's primary contact. Click Close to dismiss it. This is especially useful for dispatchers who need to reach someone quickly without navigating away from the legs board.

Performance Tracking¶

The Performance & Statistics tab shows:

Performance Rating on a 0-5 scale (color-coded: green for 4+, yellow for 3-4, red below 3)
Total Miles Driven -- Cumulative across all completed legs
Total Loads Completed -- Number of legs finished

These numbers update automatically when legs are marked complete.

Tips & Common Questions¶

Q: Why can't I activate this driver? The button gives an error about the carrier. The driver's associated carrier must be in Active status before you can activate the driver. Open the carrier record, complete any missing information, and activate the carrier first.

Q: A driver's phone number is rejected as a duplicate. How do I find the other driver? The system checks phone numbers across all drivers (including archived ones). Search for the phone number in the driver list, and make sure to check the Inactive filter. The error message tells you which driver already has that number.

Q: What is the difference between "Status" and "Availability"? Status (Pending, Active, Inactive, On Probation) is the driver's lifecycle -- are they onboarded and cleared to work? Availability (Available, En Route, Off Duty, etc.) is what they are doing right now. A driver must be Active to be dispatched, and their availability tells dispatchers whether they are free to take a new load.

Carrier Setup -- Creating and activating the carrier a driver belongs to
Equipment -- Linking trucks to drivers