How Far Can Car Shippers Drive in a Day?
If you’ve been searching for a company that can transport your vehicle for you, chances are you’ve already done a bit of research and understand a bit about how the vehicle shipping industry works and how carriers operate and some of the differences between shipping a car and shipping a box through USPS.
One of the major aspects of shipping a vehicle – and one that most people don’t really think about – is how long it can take for a carrier to get to or from one pickup and delivery location to another, and, simply put, how far car shippers can drive in a day. The answer may surprise you.
According to existing laws and regulations, most car carrier companies can manage anywhere from 350-450 miles per day, though these are estimates and vary wildly based on a number of different factors, which we will explain.
As long-haul companies, auto shippers are grouped in with other interstate haulers in other industries, so the rules apply pretty much the same to any and every company that employs drivers to haul freight across interstate lines.
Federal rules have a maximum per-day of how far and how long carriers can drive before it becomes unsafe for them to continue, so they have to stop after so many hours (usually 8) and take a break in order to keep themselves fresh.
Therefore, a cross-country trip usually takes, at minimum, ten days to complete, because in addition to the limitations that carriers have on how far they can drive in a day, there are also things like pickups and deliveries you have to factor in as well.
Picking up a vehicle can take anywhere from a half hour to two or more, depending on where you’re shipping from and to, what you’re shipping, how many vehicles have to be loaded and unloaded, and simply waiting on customers who aren’t prepared. All this will have an impact on your transit times and how far car shippers drive in a day.
If you are interested in shipping a vehicle, take a moment and fill out our free online auto shipping quote request form. It’s completely free and will get you a free quote to ship your vehicle right away. We work only with top-rated, licensed and insured carriers, so your vehicle will be in good hands from booking to delivery. If you have questions about our services, or would like to speak to someone over the phone about getting your quote, you can contact us any time at 800-930-7417.
Since 2007 Dave has written all the content and blogs for American Auto Shipping and during this time added the duties of customer support and transport logistics.
He currently resides in Washington with his three kids and their mom and cat. A fan of Marvel movies and good stories, when not shipping cars Dave can be found working on his novel, enjoying a good book or playing some tournament HALO.
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