# Plan the permits before the load is on the deck.

> Roadmark plans oversize permits, escorts and curfews by jurisdiction, checks equipment fit against legal height, and holds the driver's securement checklist.

URL: https://roadmark.ai/flatbed
Language: en

Flatbed lives or dies on equipment fit, securement and, for anything oversize, the permits, escorts and curfews of every jurisdiction the load crosses. Roadmark checks all three before the forklift sets the first piece down.

## Permits, escorts and curfews for every jurisdiction on the route.

Hamilton ON to Columbus OH, 12 ft 6 in wide, 14 ft 2 in high, 98,000 lb gross, over the Blue Water Bridge at Sarnia–Port Huron. Roadmark pulls the permit, escort and travel rules for Ontario, Michigan and Ohio into one plan before the load moves.

## The deck height decides whether it's oversize at all.

This freight is 9 ft 2 in tall on its own. Loaded on the flatbed that ran it, the total comes to 14 ft 2 in, 8 inches over the 13 ft 6 in legal height, which is why it needed a permit and an escort in Michigan. A lower deck would have cleared it.

## The driver's checklist, before the truck leaves the yard.

The driver app holds the securement count for the load's weight and length, and won't let the trip start until the tarp photos are in. Every photo lands in the customer's tracking the moment it's taken.

- **The count comes from the load,** not memory: weight and length set the minimum chains and edge protectors.
- **A tarp photo is required per side** before the trip status can move to "en route."

## Tarp pay to the driver, permits and escorts to the customer.

Once the trip closes, the driver's settlement and the customer's invoice are built from the same load, so a tarp charged to the customer and a tarp paid to the driver never disagree on how many there were.

## Plan oversize moves in Roadmark and dispatch them from your current TMS.

Run permits, escorts and securement in Roadmark beside the TMS you dispatch from today. Add quoting, billing and the rest of the fleet when you're ready.

## Questions before an oversize move.

- **How does Roadmark plan oversize permits?** For a route that needs one, Roadmark pulls the permit, escort and travel-hour rules for every jurisdiction the load crosses into a single plan before the load moves, rather than handling each state or province one at a time.
- **How do you know if a load needs an oversize permit?** Roadmark checks the loaded height, width and weight against the legal limits and each trailer option. The same freight can clear on a step deck or RGN while a standard flatbed needs a height permit and escort, though width still needs its own permit whichever trailer is used.
- **How is securement checked before a driver leaves the yard?** The driver app holds the securement count set from the load's weight and length, so the minimum chains and edge protectors aren't left to memory, and it won't let the trip move to "en route" until a tarp photo is in for every side.
- **Do drivers get paid for tarps the same way customers are billed?** Yes. The driver's settlement and the customer's invoice both build from the same load record, so the tarp count paid to the driver matches the tarp count on the customer's invoice; permits and escorts are passed through, not paid to the driver.
- **Can Roadmark run beside our current dispatch system?** Yes. Plan permits, escorts and securement in Roadmark while dispatch stays in your current TMS, and add quoting, billing and the rest of the fleet when you're ready.

## Related pages

- [Driver app](https://roadmark.ai/driver-app): Stops, documents and pay on the phone
- [Tracking](https://roadmark.ai/tracking): The few loads that need you, with reasons
- [Quoting and CRM](https://roadmark.ai/quoting): Customers, lanes, rates and RFQs
- [Asset carriers](https://roadmark.ai/carriers): Fleets that plan, dispatch and settle
- [Fuel surcharge calculator](https://roadmark.ai/tools/fuel-surcharge): Surcharge per mile from the diesel price, the base price and miles per gallon, the total for a trip and its share of the linehaul.
- [Cost per mile calculator](https://roadmark.ai/tools/cost-per-mile): A truck's fixed and per-mile costs over the miles it runs, as a cost per mile, and the margin at a rate per mile.

Companies, people and shipment figures in product examples are fictional. They illustrate workflows and are not customer testimonials or measured results.