Surviving a compliance review

Now that you are a small trucking company with a couple trucks you’ll need to be compliant with applicable portions of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, Federal Hazardous Materials Regulations, and the Federal Motor Carrier Commercial Regulations.  Information on specifics that apply to you can be found at the following website:

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/rules-regulations.htm

To make sure your are in compliance, contact a U.S. Representative of the DOT to discuss your issues.  Or if you are an OOIDA member, call the Association’s Member Assistance Department for their review before contacting the DOT.

A few “red flags” that may trigger a compliance review on your small trucking company are:  having improper operating authority; hours-of-service violations; or failure to have proper proof of financial responsibility.  These are just a few and most common of the many things that could trigger a review.

A compliance review should be treated as if you were having an IRS audit.  Specific questions will be asked of you and you will want to be sure to have all your ducks in a row before the meeting.  If you know of any violation(s),  try to correct them before the review.  This might prevent or help minimize any civil penalty that may be levied.  If something is found during the review you can expect an increase in the civil penalty. 

A penalty will be determined by the nature of your violation(s), the degree of fault involved, plus your ability to pay.  Prior offenses, if any, are also taken into consideration.  Repeat offenders may be treated more harshly to get the message across.  The penalty is used to induce you to compliance, so don’t expect any breaks.

Once you have a claim you can: pay the penalty; request administrative adjudication; or enter binding arbitration.  If you select administrative adjudication, the evidence is submitted and argued without a formal hearing; you can request a formal hearing; or request an informal hearing.

All options, except paying the face value of the claim, have their own subtle differences, procedures and drawbacks.  This is definitely a place where you want qualified legal representation.  This is NOT a do-it-yourself project.  Address the issue or issues and deal with the consequences.  The quicker everything is resolved, the quicker you’ll be back in the truck tending to your business.

Rule Number 1 is don’t ignore the feds.!  Unless you have another career lined up and ready to step into, you don’t want to make enemies with the federal government.  They have exclusive power to pull your operating license and suspend your FMCSA registration.    It is also within their power to use a tax refund as an IRS offset, or collection agencies and even civil lawsuits in U.S. District Court. 

You can weather a compliance review if you stay calm, look at things objectively and get legal advice to answer your questions.  You aren’t the first person to go through a compliance review and you won’t be the last.

Easy Truckin is brought to you by Easy Trucking Software. We hope you enjoy it.