Terms of Service

1. Definitions

• "Howdy Dispatch," "we," "us," or "our" means Yikes Dude LLC, operating as Howdy Dispatch.
• "Service" means the Howdy Dispatch web application, iOS driver application, marketing website, APIs, and any related software or documentation we provide.
• "Carrier" means the U.S. licensed motor carrier (or owner-operator) that holds an account on the Service.
• "Authorized User" means a person the Carrier permits to use the Service on its behalf, including dispatchers, drivers, owners, and administrators.
• "You" or "your"means the individual using the Service. If you are using the Service on behalf of a Carrier, "you" also includes that Carrier, and you represent that you have authority to bind it to these Terms.
• "Load Data" means information about a load that the Carrier or its Authorized Users upload to or generate within the Service, including pickup and delivery details, photos of cargo, manifests, delivery proof, and timestamps.
• "Driver Data"means information about a Carrier's drivers, including profile data, GPS coordinates collected while on assignment, photos uploaded by the driver, and license information voluntarily provided.
• "MC#" and "USDOT#" have the meanings given by the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

2. Acceptance of Terms

By creating an account, signing in, or otherwise using the Service, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Service. These Terms constitute a binding agreement between you (and your Carrier) and Yikes Dude LLC.

If you create an account on behalf of a Carrier, you represent and warrant that (a) you are at least 18 years old, (b) you have the legal authority to bind that Carrier, and (c) the Carrier accepts these Terms.

3. The Service

The Service is dispatch and operations software for U.S. licensed motor carriers. Core functions include creating loads, assigning drivers and trucks, capturing pickup and delivery photos, displaying continuous driver GPS on a dispatcher map, maintaining a per-load record, and producing analytics for the Carrier.

Important non-claims about the Service:

• The Service is NOT an Electronic Logging Device (ELD) under 49 CFR Part 395 and is not registered with FMCSA as such.
• The Service is NOT a property broker, freight broker, or freight forwarder under 49 USC §13102 and does not arrange transportation on behalf of a shipper.
• The Service is NOT a carrier of record and does not issue or assume legal responsibility for any Bill of Lading.
• The Service does NOT verify or monitor a Carrier's operating authority, safety ratings, insurance, or compliance status with FMCSA, DOT, or any state regulator.
• The Service is NOT cargo insurance, liability insurance, or a financial guarantor of any kind.
• The Service does NOT provide tax, legal, accounting, or regulatory advice.

We may change, add, or remove features of the Service at any time. We will not materially reduce core paid functionality during a billing period without giving Carriers reasonable notice and a refund or credit for the affected period.

4. Eligibility & Account Registration

The Service is offered exclusively to (a) U.S. licensed motor carriers with active operating authority (MC# or USDOT#) and (b) owner-operators registered in the United States. You must be at least 18 years old. The Service is not offered to consumers, individual drivers without a Carrier sponsor, freight brokers, shippers, or non-U.S. entities.

You agree to provide accurate registration information, keep it current, and safeguard your credentials. You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account. Notify us immediately if you suspect unauthorized use.

5. Subscriptions, Billing, and Refunds

The Service is offered on monthly and annual subscription plans as fixed-price tiers tied to a maximum truck count: Standard (1 truck), Pro (5 trucks), Advanced (10 trucks), and Enterprise (more than 10 trucks, custom). You pay the plan price regardless of how many of the included truck slots you have actively running in a given month. Pricing is published at https://howdydispatch.com/pricing. Subscriptions auto-renew at the end of each billing period until canceled.

14-day free trial.New Carriers receive a 14-day free trial when they create an account. No payment method is required to start the trial. To continue using the Service after day 14, you must select a paid plan and add a valid payment method from your account's billing page. If you do not subscribe before day 14, your account will be paused at the end of the trial; you may reactivate at any time by subscribing.

Annual plans. Annual plans are a 12-month commitment paid at the start of the term. We do not pro-rate refunds for partial unused months on annual plans unless the Service materially fails to function for an extended period (more than 7 consecutive business days during the term) and we cannot restore it.

Payment processing. We process payments through Stripe, a PCI-compliant payment processor. We never see or store your full card number. Disputed charges should be raised with us directly within 60 days at hello@howdydispatch.com before initiating a chargeback.

6. Acceptable Use

You agree not to, and not to permit any Authorized User to:

• Use the Service in violation of any law or regulation, including FMCSA rules, hours-of-service requirements, and laws governing controlled substances or hazardous materials transport;
• Use Driver GPS data for stalking, harassment, retaliation, or any purpose unrelated to legitimate dispatching operations;
• Reverse-engineer, decompile, scrape, or extract the Service's underlying systems or data, except as allowed by applicable law;
• Submit malware, exploit code, or content intended to disrupt the Service or other Carriers;
• Resell, sublicense, white-label (except via our Enterprise tier), or provide access to non-Authorized Users;
• Use the Service to send unsolicited communications;
• Misrepresent your identity or your Carrier's identity, MC#, or USDOT#;
• Circumvent rate limits, authentication, billing controls, or any technical restriction.

Detailed acceptable-use rules are at https://howdydispatch.com/acceptable-use.

7. Load Data, Driver Data, and Data Ownership

The Carrier owns its Load Data and Driver Data. We process this data on the Carrier's behalf to operate the Service. We do not sell or share Load Data or Driver Data with third parties for their own marketing or advertising purposes.

Driver GPS collection. When a driver is signed in to the iOS application and assigned to an active load, the application collects GPS coordinates at regular intervals (typically every 60 to 90 seconds) for the duration of the assignment. The Carrier is responsible for obtaining any consents required by applicable state law from its drivers. We will not collect GPS coordinates while a driver is not on assignment unless the driver explicitly enables continuous tracking.

Data export and portability. Carriers may export their Load Data and Driver Data at any time through the Service or by written request to hello@howdydispatch.com. On termination, we retain Carrier data for 30 days during which a final export may be requested, then delete it from active systems within a reasonable time (backups follow our standard retention cycle).

For enterprise carriers with their own privacy programs, we sign a standard Data Processing Addendum on request. The clickwrap DPA is published at https://howdydispatch.com/dpa.

8. Third-Party Services

The Service uses third-party providers in defined categories: cloud infrastructure, payment processing, email delivery, web analytics, customer support, and mapping. We name Stripe explicitly because users are visibly redirected to Stripe-hosted checkout for subscription billing. For all other categories, named vendors are disclosed to enterprise carriers under NDA.

We use commercially reasonable efforts to vet our service providers' security and privacy practices. We are not responsible for service interruptions, data incidents, or actions of third-party services beyond our control.

9. Intellectual Property

Yikes Dude LLC owns all right, title, and interest in and to the Service, including all software, designs, content, trademarks, and documentation, except for content uploaded by Carriers (Load Data and Driver Data). We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the Service during your subscription term, subject to these Terms.

Carrier content license. You grant us a limited license to process Load Data and Driver Data solely to operate, secure, support, and improve the Service for you, and to generate aggregate, de-identified analytics. We will not use Carrier content to train AI models or for any purpose outside operating the Service.

DMCA takedown. If you believe content on the Service infringes your copyright, send a notice to hello@howdydispatch.com that includes (a) identification of the copyrighted work, (b) identification of the allegedly infringing material with enough detail to locate it, (c) your contact information, (d) a good-faith statement that the use is unauthorized, (e) a statement under penalty of perjury that the information in your notice is accurate and you are authorized to act, and (f) your physical or electronic signature. We will review and act in good faith. Counter-notices follow the same form. This procedure does not constitute, and we do not claim, the safe harbor described in 17 USC §512(c).

10. Privacy

Our handling of personal information is described in our Privacy Policy, which forms part of these Terms by reference.

11. Suspension & Termination

You may cancel your subscription at any time through the Service or by written request. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period; we do not refund partial months on monthly plans.

We may suspend or terminate your account, with or without prior notice, if (a) you breach these Terms or the Acceptable Use Policy, (b) you fail to pay for more than 14 days past due, (c) we are required to do so by law or legal process, or (d) continued operation creates undue risk to us or other Carriers.

On termination, we will provide a 30-day window for final data export. After 30 days, we delete Carrier data from active systems within a reasonable time. Sections that by their nature should survive termination will survive, including Sections 1, 7, 9, 12-19.

12. Disclaimers

The Service is provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE," without warranties of any kind, express or implied.

We specifically disclaim that:

• GPS coordinates are accurate, complete, or available at all times. GPS accuracy depends on the driver's device, cellular signal, and external factors outside our control;
• Push notifications will be delivered at any specific time or at all. Delivery depends on the recipient's device, network, and operating-system policies;
• The Service will operate uninterrupted, error-free, or with any specific uptime, except as expressly provided in a Service Level Agreement attached to a written Enterprise contract;
• The Service verifies Carrier authority, driver licensure, vehicle registration, insurance status, cargo coverage, or compliance with any law or regulation;
• The Service is a substitute for an Electronic Logging Device, freight broker, accounting system, payroll service, or insurance product;
• Records exported from the Service satisfy any regulatory record-keeping obligation that applies to the Carrier (the Carrier remains the record-keeper of record for FMCSA, IFTA, IRP, and similar purposes).

We disclaim all implied warranties, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law.

13. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, our total aggregate liability arising out of or relating to the Service or these Terms is limited to the amounts you paid us for the Service in the 12 months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

In no event will we be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, punitive, or exemplary damages, or for lost profits, lost revenue, lost data, business interruption, or cargo loss, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages. This limitation applies whether the claim is based on contract, tort, statute, or any other legal theory.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages. To the extent such law applies, the limitations in this Section apply to the maximum extent permitted.

14. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Yikes Dude LLCand its officers, employees, and agents from and against any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, and reasonable attorneys' fees arising out of (a) Load Data, Driver Data, or other content you submit to the Service; (b) your use of the Service in violation of these Terms or any law; (c) your obligations as a motor carrier, including FMCSA compliance, driver employment, cargo handling, and customer or broker disputes; and (d) any claim by a driver or other individual relating to your collection or use of personal information through the Service.

We agree to defend, indemnify, and hold you harmless against any third-party claim that the Service itself, as provided by us and used in accordance with these Terms, infringes a U.S. patent, copyright, or trademark. This is our sole liability for infringement claims.

15. Modifications to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes that adversely affect your rights, we will give you at least 30 days' notice by email to the address on file for your account and by posting a notice in the Service. Continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not agree to the changes, your sole remedy is to cancel your subscription.

16. Force Majeure

Neither party is liable for failure or delay caused by events beyond reasonable control, including natural disasters, acts of war or terrorism, civil unrest, labor actions, internet or power outages, third-party service outages, or government action.

17. Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Subject to the arbitration agreement below, exclusive venue for any action arising out of these Terms is the state and federal courts located in Travis County, Texas.

Mandatory binding arbitration.

Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be resolved by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Commercial Arbitration Rules. The arbitration will be held in Travis County, Texas, or by video conference. Judgment on the award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Class-action waiver.

You and we agree to bring any dispute in arbitration only on an individual basis. You and we waive the right to participate as a plaintiff or class member in any class, collective, or representative action.

Jury-trial waiver.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, both parties waive the right to a jury trial.

Small-claims carve-out. Either party may bring an individual action in a small-claims court of competent jurisdiction in lieu of arbitration, provided the action remains in that court and is brought on an individual basis.

30-day arbitration opt-out. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement within 30 days of first agreeing to these Terms by emailing hello@howdydispatch.comwith the subject line "Arbitration Opt-Out" and your full name, account email, and Carrier name. Opting out does not affect any other provision of these Terms.

18. Miscellaneous

These Terms (together with our Privacy Policy and any DPA or order form) are the entire agreement between you and us with respect to the Service. If any provision is held unenforceable, the remainder will continue in effect. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. You may not assign these Terms without our written consent; we may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets. Notices to us must be sent to hello@howdydispatch.com. These Terms may be accepted by electronic signature or click-to-accept, which is legally binding.

19. Contact

Questions about these Terms, or notices required under them, may be sent to:

Yikes Dude LLC
Operating as Howdy Dispatch
Austin, TX
hello@howdydispatch.com