# Trucking Safety and DOT Compliance Support for San Antonio Carriers Canonical page: https://fleetregulators.com/locations/san-antonio-tx Page type: Location guide | Published: 2026-11-07 | Last updated: 2026-11-07 Summary: Remote safety and DOT compliance help for San Antonio carriers: I-35 and I-10 truck parking and HOS planning, log auditing and driver files. --- Fleet Regulators supports San Antonio trucking companies remotely from Austin as an outsourced safety department: HOS and ELD log auditing, driver qualification files, drug and alcohol program records, DOT audit preparation and CSA score work. We have no San Antonio office. San Antonio carriers operate at the junction of I-35 and I-10, which the Alamo Area MPO identifies as the region's significant freight corridors, and its draft regional freight study reports truck parking facilities near or over capacity. For a San Antonio fleet, planning where drivers will take their required rest is part of staying compliant. The San Antonio freight figures on this page come from the Alamo Area MPO's draft Regional Freight Study (October 2025). Figures may change in the adopted version. On this page 1. Who this page is for 2. Texas and federal rules: the short version 3. I-35, I-10 and the truck parking problem 4. Hazmat routes and truck parking in San Antonio 5. Compliance problems San Antonio fleets run into 6. What San Antonio carriers get 7. Frequently asked questions 8. Sources ## Who this page is for The Texas Company Census lists 7,168 active carriers with a physical address in the city of San Antonio, 1,633 of them interstate (suburbs excluded). Most run under Texas intrastate rules at least part of the time. This page is for: - Regional carriers running I-35 toward Austin and Dallas and I-10 toward Houston and West Texas. - Local construction, aggregate and delivery fleets operating entirely within Texas. - Owner-operators and small fleets of 2 to 10 trucks without a dedicated safety person. - New authorities preparing for their [new entrant safety audit](https://fleetregulators.com/new-entrant-audit-help). 7,168 Active carriers with a San Antonio city address 53,222 Texas-based interstate carriers in FMCSA's census 25.1% Vehicle out-of-service rate at Texas inspections (U.S. 22.5%) ## Texas and federal rules: the short version For trucks over 26,000 pounds on trips entirely within Texas, Texas intrastate rules apply, including TxDMV registration; interstate trips follow the federal hours limits and the 30-minute break. The difference matters most for parking-driven HOS planning, because the limit a driver is running against depends on the trip. Our [Texas compliance guide](https://fleetregulators.com/locations/texas) covers the rules and sources. ## I-35, I-10 and the truck parking problem The Alamo Area MPO's draft Regional Freight Study identifies IH-35 and IH-10 as significant freight corridors and estimates about 151,000 daily truck trips originating in or destined for the region, using TxDOT's Texas Truck Analysis Tool. The study's October 2025 presentation reports an average of more than 100 trucks per weekday parking illegally in TxDOT right-of-way along I-10 and I-35 in the region, and 21 truck parking facilities in TxDOT's San Antonio district near or over capacity. Why this belongs on a compliance page: when parking is full, drivers are pushed toward running past their limits to find a spot, or stopping on a ramp or shoulder. Neither is a defense at a roadside inspection or in a crash investigation. Dispatch that plans the rest stop before the truck leaves, and log reviews that flag drivers who habitually finish at the edge of their limits, are how San Antonio fleets keep this from becoming an HOS violation pattern. Our guides to the [11-hour driving limit](https://fleetregulators.com/blog/11-hour-driving-limit-explained) and [preventing HOS violations early](https://fleetregulators.com/blog/how-do-fleet-managers-prevent-hos-violations-before-they-escalate) go deeper. ## Hazmat routes and truck parking in San Antonio - **Downtown hazmat ban.** San Antonio City Code (Chapter 19, Article XVI) bans placarded hazmat loads at all times, through and local, on IH-35 and IH-10 (upper and lower levels) through the central business district and on IH-37 from the IH-35/IH-37/US-281 interchange to Durango Street, including the frontage roads. - **Through hazmat on Loop 410.** Through hazmat traffic may use only Loop 410 and the highways running outward from it to the Bexar County line. Local deliveries must use the highest-classification roads available, and the carrier must be able to show that it did; stops for food, fuel, rest, safe haven or repair are a defense. - **Truck parking.** Truck-tractors and semitrailers may not park where "no truck parking" signs are posted, and large commercial vehicles may not park in residential districts except while loading, unloading or making emergency repairs. The City lists a $500 fine. With truck parking already tight (next section), the $500 parking rule and the hazmat routing rules are the San Antonio items most likely to end up on a driver's record. ## Compliance problems San Antonio fleets run into - **Hours run to the edge.** Drivers finishing every day at the limit because the planned stop was full. - **Intrastate habits on interstate loads.** Using Texas 12/15-hour limits on a trip that crosses a state line, where the federal hours limits and the 30-minute break apply. - **Construction and aggregate fleets.** Heavy-duty brakes and tires wear fast and lead Texas inspection findings. - **Driver files built once and never updated.** Annual reviews and MVRs missed; see our [annual MVR review guide](https://fleetregulators.com/blog/annual-mvr-review-requirements). ## What San Antonio carriers get There is no San Antonio office to visit, and the work does not need one: you share read-only ELD access and documents through a secure folder, and we review, fix and report on a set schedule. We look at where drivers finish their days and how close they run to their limits, not just whether a violation appears. - [HOS and ELD log auditing](https://fleetregulators.com/hours-of-service-compliance) with patterns flagged before they become violations. - [Driver qualification files](https://fleetregulators.com/driver-qualification-files) with expirations, annual reviews and MVRs tracked. - [DOT audit preparation](https://fleetregulators.com/dot-audit-help) and [new entrant audit](https://fleetregulators.com/new-entrant-audit-help) support. - [CSA score work](https://fleetregulators.com/csa-score-improvement) focused on maintenance and HOS BASICs. - For small fleets without a safety manager, our [fractional safety department](https://fleetregulators.com/fractional-safety-manager). Client results reported on our [Results page](https://fleetregulators.com/results), with each client's context: SBS Trucking Services' Vehicle Maintenance BASIC moved from 93% to 65% in six months; Sandhu Trucking Services' HOS BASIC moved from 85% to 71% over five months; and Tamana Truck Lines' monthly HOS violations were reduced to near zero for extended periods. These are client-reported results, not guarantees. ## Frequently Asked Questions **Can hazmat trucks use IH-35 through downtown San Antonio?** No. San Antonio City Code bans placarded hazmat loads at all times on IH-35 and IH-10 through the central business district and on IH-37 from the IH-35/IH-37/US-281 interchange to Durango Street. Through hazmat traffic uses Loop 410. **What is the fine for parking a semi on a posted San Antonio street?** The City of San Antonio lists a $500 fine for parking truck-tractors or semitrailers where no-truck-parking signs are posted. **Is parking illegally a valid reason to exceed hours of service?** No. Neither running past the limit to find parking nor stopping on a shoulder or ramp is a defense. Planning rest stops before departure is part of HOS compliance, especially around San Antonio, where the regional freight study reports parking facilities near or over capacity. Sources and Regulatory References - [City Code Chapter 19, Article XVI (hazardous materials routes) ↗](https://library.municode.com/tx/San_Antonio/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICO_CH19MOVETR_ARTXVINDIHAMARO) City of San Antonio (Municode), Ord. 94321, 2001; accessed 2026-11-07. - [Oversized commercial vehicle parking ↗](https://www.sa.gov/Community/Streets-Parking/Oversized-Commercial-Vehicle-Parking) City of San Antonio, ordinance effective April 19, 2025; accessed 2026-11-07. - [Regional Freight Study executive summary (draft) ↗](https://alamoareampo.org/committees/tpb/minutes/2025/10-oct/07a%20AlamoMPO_RrgFreightStudy_Executive%20Summary_Oct25.pdf) Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, October 2025, draft; accessed 2026-11-07. - [Regional Freight Study presentation ↗](https://alamoareampo.org/committees/tpb/minutes/2025/12-dec/6%20Regional%20Freight%20Study%20TPB%20October%202025.pdf) Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, October 2025; accessed 2026-11-07. - [Texas Motor Carrier Safety Regulations summary (MCS-9) ↗](https://www.dps.texas.gov/internetforms/forms/mcs-9.pdf) Texas Department of Public Safety, revised May 2021; accessed 2026-11-07. - [Company Census File (dataset az4n-8mr2), Texas extract ↗](https://data.transportation.gov/d/az4n-8mr2) FMCSA via data.transportation.gov; accessed 2026-11-07. - [SMS Input - Inspection (dataset rbkj-cgst) ↗](https://data.transportation.gov/d/rbkj-cgst) FMCSA via data.transportation.gov, rows updated 2026-10-13; accessed 2026-11-07. - [SMS Input - Violation (dataset 8mt8-2mdr) ↗](https://data.transportation.gov/d/8mt8-2mdr) FMCSA via data.transportation.gov, rows updated 2026-10-13; accessed 2026-11-07. - [SMS Input - Motor Carrier Census Information (dataset kjg3-diqy) ↗](https://data.transportation.gov/d/kjg3-diqy) FMCSA via data.transportation.gov, rows updated 2026-10-13; accessed 2026-11-07. Last updated November 2026. Prepared by Fleet Regulators from the sources listed above. This page explains regulations in plain English and is not legal advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements with the agency named in each source before acting.