Terms of Service

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the Smart Lane Solutions website at smartlanesolutions.net (the "Site") and, where you engage us, the dispatch, back-office and administrative support services we provide (the "Services"). By using the Site or engaging the Services, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Site or the Services.

1. Who we are

"Smart Lane Solutions", "SLS", "we", "us" and "our" refer to Smart Lane Solutions, a provider of dispatch and back-office support services to motor carriers. "You" and "your" refer to the motor carrier, owner-operator, or authorised representative using the Site or the Services.

2. What our services mean

When you engage us, we act as your agent for the limited purpose of arranging freight on your behalf and performing the administrative tasks agreed with you. Depending on what we agree, this may include:

• Searching load boards and our broker contacts for freight matching your equipment and preferred lanes;
• Communicating and negotiating rates with brokers or shippers on your behalf;
• Completing carrier setup packets and broker paperwork on your instruction;
• Passing rate confirmations and load details to you;
• Assisting with scheduling of pickup and delivery appointments;
• Collecting and organizing rate confirmations, bills of lading, proofs of delivery and related documents;
• Preparing invoices and factoring submissions on your instruction, issued in your name;
• Providing track and trace updates and check calls to brokers and shippers;
• Preparing detention, layover, TONU, lumper and other accessorial documentation;
• Administrative support for compliance documentation. This is not legal or regulatory advice, and responsibility for compliance remains with you.

All loads are booked under your own operating authority and MC number. The rate confirmation is issued in your name and the contractual relationship for carriage is between you and the broker or shipper.

3. Your responsibilities as the carrier

You remain solely responsible for all obligations of a motor carrier, including but not limited to:

• Holding and maintaining valid, active operating authority and any required permits;
• Maintaining insurance at the levels required by law and by the brokers you contract with;
• Compliance with all FMCSA, DOT and state regulations, including hours-of-service and ELD requirements;
• Driver qualification, licensing, drug and alcohol testing programmes, and vehicle maintenance and inspection;
• The safe, timely and lawful transportation of every load you accept;
• Cargo claims, damage, detention, and any dispute arising from the carriage itself.

You confirm that the information you give us, including your authority status, insurance, equipment and contact details, is accurate, and you agree to tell us promptly if it changes.

4. Load approval and authority

No load is booked without your approval. We present freight to you; the decision to accept or decline any load is yours. Where you authorise us to accept a specific load on your behalf, that authorisation is limited to that load.

We do not sign contracts in your name except where you have given us express authority to complete a specific carrier packet or setup document, and we do not accept or waive claims on your behalf.

5. Fees and payment

Our fees depend on the services you choose, the number of trucks you run and your equipment. They are set out in your carrier agreement or another written arrangement agreed with you before we begin work, and your applicable fees are confirmed to you before any service begins. Prices are not published on this Site.

We do not charge a fee on a load you decline. Any setup fees, minimums, invoicing cycle and payment terms are set out in your written agreement.

6. Term and cancellation

Unless you have agreed otherwise with us in writing, our Services are provided on an ongoing basis with no long-term contract and no early-termination penalty. Either party may stop the arrangement on reasonable notice. Fees already earned on loads booked before the arrangement ends remain payable, and both parties remain responsible for completing any load already accepted.

7. No guarantee of freight or income

8. Calls, texts and consent

If you submit the form on this Site or otherwise give us your number, you consent to be contacted at that number about dispatch services, including by automated dialling systems and artificial or prerecorded voice, and by text message. Consent is not a condition of purchasing any goods or services. Message and data rates may apply.

Some of our outbound calls are placed by an AI assistant, which identifies itself as an AI at the start of the call. You may ask to speak to a person, ask to be removed from our calling list, or reply STOP to any text message, at any time, and we will action it immediately.

How we store and use this information is described in our Privacy Policy.

9. Website use

You agree not to use the Site to submit false or misleading information, to submit another person's contact details without their permission, to attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Site or its systems, to scrape or harvest data, or to interfere with the operation of the Site.

All content on the Site, including text, layout, and the Smart Lane Solutions name and mark, is our property and may not be reproduced without permission.

10. Limitation of liability

The Site and its content are provided "as is" without warranties of any kind, to the fullest extent permitted by law.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, we are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for lost profits, lost revenue, or loss of business, arising from the Site or the Services. Our total aggregate liability arising from the Services is limited to the total fees you paid us in the three (3) months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited under applicable law.

11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Smart Lane Solutions and its personnel from any claim, loss, damage, fine or expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising from the transportation of freight, your compliance or non-compliance with regulations, cargo loss or damage, personal injury or property damage arising from your operations, or your breach of these Terms.

12. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the United States and of the state in which Smart Lane Solutions maintains its principal place of business, without regard to conflict-of-law rules.

Before commencing any formal proceeding, both parties agree to first attempt to resolve the dispute informally by contacting the other and allowing thirty (30) days to reach a resolution.

13. Changes to these terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page shows when they were last changed. Continued use of the Site or the Services after a change means you accept the updated Terms.

14. Contact

Questions about these Terms, or requests to be removed from our contact list:

• Phone: (612) 225-9651
• Or use the fleet assessment form on our site and tell us what you need.