The United States Department of Transportation oversees federal highway, air, rail, and maritime regulations. In trucking, the term almost always refers to the USDOT number, a unique identifier assigned to commercial vehicles by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to track safety records and compliance.
Heard on the job
Make sure the new rig has the USDOT number decaled on the door before it leaves the yard.
Insider tip
When a trucker says DOT, they usually mean the FMCSA inspectors or the compliance number itself, not the cabinet department.
Also heard as
- DOT number