Module 1 · Start safe
Check that the rule is still current
In short
A model has a knowledge cutoff and can invent article numbers. Take the rule from the latest official text, paste it, ask AI to explain, match it again, then record the source and check date in the SOP.
After this lesson you can
- Explain why a model's answer about driver hours and goods-traffic rules may no longer apply
- Take logistics rules from the latest official text and record the check date in the SOP
- Ask AI to explain rule text you fetched yourself, not to remember the rule
Terms in this lesson
Understand
Logistics work is surrounded by rules that can change: driver working and rest time, vehicle dimension and load limits, requirements for carrying dangerous goods, and restrictions on goods vehicles during long holiday periods, which the government usually announces for each period with content that can differ from the year before. On top of that, your company may have policies stricter than the general rules.
A language model does not read the latest rules every morning. It was trained on text up to a certain point, called the knowledge cutoff (model training). It does not know about changes after that point, unless the tool you use actually searches current sources, and even then you still check the results. Worse, a model can answer a rules question with a regulation number, article and figure that sound exact but are invented. That is hallucination that is hard to spot, because it looks exactly like a correct quote.
A rule dispatchers often ask about is driver working hours. When this lesson was written (October 2026), Law No. 22 of 2009 on Road Traffic and Transport set the working time of public motor vehicle drivers: at most 8 hours a day, a break of at least half an hour after driving 4 hours in a row, and in certain cases up to 12 hours a day including a 1-hour break. Do not make this paragraph your source. Treat it as an example of how to quote: open the latest official text, check whether the article has been amended, and check whether implementing rules or company policy apply to your type of fleet. This material is not legal advice.
The order we use reverses the usual way of asking. Not "AI, what is the rule?", but "here is the rule text, help me understand it":
- Take the text from an official source. Use the government regulation database or the official site of the relevant ministry. Download or copy the article you need, and check for amendments or repeals.
- Paste the text into AI and ask for an explanation. For example: explain it in plain language for a shift coordinator, add nothing that is not in the text, and mark the parts that need a company decision.
- Match the explanation against the text. Read sentence by sentence. As in the lesson on checking output, numbers and conditions are the first things to check.
- Write it in the SOP with its reference. Include the rule's title, number, article and the date you checked it. This is the source citation that lets others check again.
- Schedule a re-check. For seasonal rules such as holiday restrictions, check every period. For rules that rarely change, check whenever the SOP is reviewed.
If there is doubt about interpretation, for example whether a rule applies to an own-account fleet or only to public transport, do not let a model decide. Ask the legal or compliance function in your organisation.
Some AI services can search the internet before answering. That helps, but it does not replace the steps above. Search results can pull in old news articles, blog summaries or another region's rules. If the answer cites a source, open it and make sure it is the official text, not something written about the official text. If the source cannot be opened, treat the answer like one with no source.
Before
The prompt
What is the maximum number of hours a truck driver may drive per day in Indonesia? Give the article, I want to put it in the SOP.
What came back
Example of bad output; figures and references invented by the model, do not use: According to [a regulation number the model invented] Article 7, truck drivers may drive at most 10 hours per day with a 30-minute break every 5 hours.
After
The prompt
Goal: I need a plain explanation of driver working time for the dispatch section of an SOP. Reader: shift coordinators who build driver schedules. Material: below is Article 90 of Law No. 22 of 2009, which I copied from the official text today. [I paste the article text here] Limits: do not add any figure or condition not in the text. If something depends on company policy or legal interpretation, write "to be confirmed" and do not guess. Shape: three to five points, then one reference line with the rule's name and article. Check: every number in your explanation must be one I can find in the text I pasted.
What came back
- Public transport companies must apply the rules on driver working time, rest and shift changes. - Working time for public motor vehicle drivers is at most 8 hours a day. - After driving 4 hours in a row, the driver must rest for at least half an hour. - In certain cases a driver may work up to 12 hours a day including a 1-hour break. What counts as "certain cases": to be confirmed. - Whether this article applies to an own-account goods fleet (not public transport): to be confirmed. Reference: Law No. 22 of 2009, Article 90 (last checked: today's date).
What changed
- The weak prompt asks the model to remember a rule. The output gives a number and figures that cannot be checked.
- The better prompt brings the official text itself, so every number can be matched.
- "To be confirmed" is a good answer. Interpreting a rule is not the model's job.
- The reference line and check date go into the SOP too.
Common mistake
- Mistake
- Copying a regulation number and article from an AI answer into an SOP without opening the original text.
- Why it hurts
- The number may be invented, repealed or belong to a different rule. People reading the SOP will assume it was checked. In an inspection by the authorities or a dispute, your SOP becomes evidence the company followed the wrong rule.
- Do this instead
- Open the official text, copy the relevant article, and write the reference with a check date. If there is no time, write "rule to be checked" rather than quoting something uncertain.
Try
Put the steps in order from a rules question to a line in the SOP.
Step 1 of 5
Write the question
For example: how long may a driver work per day in our fleet?
Before a long holiday, a colleague asks AI when three-axle trucks are banned from the toll road. The answer is detailed and gives dates. What is your step?
Take home
Before a rule goes into an SOP
- I took the text from an official source, not from a model's answer
- I checked for amendments or repeals
- Every number in the AI explanation can be found in the text
- Doubtful interpretation was asked of legal or compliance
- The SOP gives the rule's name, article and check date
- There is a re-check date, especially for seasonal rules
What went wrong for us
Rules in an SOP come from the official text, not a model's memory
- Context
- When writing SOPs for a logistics app we built, we often need to cite rules: driver working-hour limits, restrictions on goods vehicles in certain periods, or document requirements. Asking a model feels quickest.
- What tends to go wrong
- We keep this rule. Every rule we cite in an SOP or on an app screen names the regulation it comes from, and the screen says it is a summary, not legal advice; when we quote a rule, we take it from the latest official text and record the article and the date we checked. A model may help explain text we have already fetched, but it is never the source of the rule.
- What it costs if ignored
- A model is trained up to a certain point in time, so it may not know the latest changes. It can also invent regulation or article numbers that sound convincing. An SOP with a wrong rule makes people comply with the wrong thing.
- Root cause
- A model's answer about a rule is usually tidy and confident, so it is hard to tell apart from a correct quote without opening the original text.
- How we do it
- Every rule quoted in an SOP has a source line and a check date. When the SOP is reviewed, that line is checked again against the official text.
- The rule we keep
- A quoted rule without a source and check date does not pass SOP review.
The lessonRules are taken from the latest official text; a model only helps explain them.
What it means for your workWhenever you write "according to the rules" in an SOP, add the rule's name, article and the date you checked it.
Sources
- Undang-Undang Nomor 22 Tahun 2009 tentang Lalu Lintas dan Angkutan Jalan (JDIH BPK) (accessed 26 October 2026)