By Vanlines.com Staff

When using an auto transportation company, there is a whole new set of rules and guidelines to learn. We recommend conducting through research when deciding to use an auto transportation company - starting by checking that the company is licensed and bonded. Ask family or friends for referrals and obtain quotes from licenced and professional car movers like those featured on Vanlines.com. All vehicle transport companies that you use should be licensed and regulated by the US Department of Transportation (DOT). Ask for and check the DOT license number as well as what a companies Better Business Bureau rating is and if any compliants were taken out againist the company.

The Interstate Commerce Commission, which once regulated many of the functions of trucking companies, was terminated in 1995 and many of its functions were rolled in to DOT. The ICC's safety functions were transferred to the DOT when that department was created in 1966; the ICC retained its rate-making and regulatory functions. However, in consonance with the deregulatory movement, the ICC's powers over rates and routes in rails and trucking were curtailed in 1980 by the Staggers Rail Act and Motor Carriers Act. Most ICC control over interstate trucking was abandoned in 1994, and the agency was terminated at the end of 1995. Many of its remaining functions were transferred to the new National Surface Transportation Board.