Professional Skills · Driver Training VideoCommunicating with Dispatch

Every day you're relaying ETAs, load status, and delays. Get sloppy here and it isn't just an inconvenience — it can become a hazard. A false "I can make it" promise turns into speeding to catch up.

Start with the basics: every message to dispatch should be accurate, timely, and calm. If your ETA changes, say so the moment you know it — not twenty miles from the dock.

Know this cold: federal rule 49 CFR 390.6 makes it illegal for a carrier, dispatcher, shipper, or receiver to coerce you into violating hours-of-service, drug and alcohol rules, or your CDL.

Same goes for your phone

49 CFR 392.82 bans hand-held phone use while the truck is moving — that includes texting, dialing, and reading a screen, full stop. If dispatch needs an answer, get safely stopped and parked first, then respond. No message is worth more than the wheel.

Your company standard: use hands-free or the in-cab macro system for routine updates while under way, and only work a handheld phone when you're safely parked. Report ETA changes as soon as you know them, not after the fact.

Good communication isn't about sounding good on the radio. It's about giving dispatch the truth early enough that they can actually do something with it — and keeping every message you send something you'd be comfortable reading back in front of a safety officer.