Truck driver hire sites on the internet abound, but how do you go about determining which is best for you? You might be looking to hire a driver for a long haul across the country, or maybe you are thinking of becoming a driver yourself. In either case, there is much to consider.

If you already own your truck, you should look into companies like Drivers4HIre or HiringTruckDrivers.com, both of whom specialize in matching truck drivers with companies looking for truckers. These sites and several others also allow drivers to advertise their services for a fee.

It is important to realize that even if you buy your own truck, if you want to drive it yourself you are going to need to pass the test for a Commercial Driver’s License. The passage of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 limited the powers of individual states to allow persons who might be licensed to drive an automobile the same rights to drive a big rig truck. There are now minimum Federal standards that have to be met before a state can issue a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL). There is now no state in which you can operate a big rig truck without a CDL. Additional testing is required for driving trucks that have double and triple trailers, tank vehicles, and trucks that carry hazardous materials. Moreover, there are many conditions on the personal driver’s record with the previous two years of the application that can keep him or her from getting the CDL: Any suspended, revoked or canceled license; more than one conviction for a serious traffic violation such as speeding, any violation of traffic laws in connection with any traffic accident.

While these may seem like stringent requirements, think about what you would want in a driver if you were hiring someone to drive a truck for you. For that matter, we all want the other people on the road to be as safe and skilled as possible, especially when they are operating a behemoth truck and trailer rig that can possibly cause immense harm, injury and death if control is lost and an accident ensues.

Now, let us look at the facts you will want to take into consideration if you are thinking about hiring a driver for your own business. Let us say you run a small farm outside of a good-sized city and want to get your produce to market locally. You might want to pay by the mile rather than the hour, because one never knows what is going to happen and you do not want to be paying your driver because he gets a flat tire while driving his own truck. The IRS currently allows 50.5 cents per mile, which should help you compute the wage, although the current wage is more like 35 cents a mile. On the other hand, you might consider paying your driver by the stop, which will encourage him to make better time (without crashing his truck, of course).

Perhaps you are only looking for someone to help you move some things into your storage facility. How hard can that be, right? Well, if they drop and break something precious to you, do you have recourse? You do not unless you have signed a contract and reviewed their insurance restrictions carefully. It may seem all well and good to hire one of the guys standing next to his beat up truck outside of Home Depot but you are more than likely going to get what you pay for.

Truck driver hire can be tricky, but—like almost everything else—if you do your homework, you will come out with a good driver and a good experience.