FMCSA Changing Policy on Roadside Inspection Violations
Beginning Aug. 23, 2014, motor carriers and drivers can request the violations be removed from the agency's Motor Carrier Management Information System if the driver was found not guilty or the violation was dismissed in court.
A change in policy means that, beginning Aug. 23, 2014, motor carriers and drivers can request that violations assessed during roadside inspections be removed from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Motor Carrier Management Information System if the driver was found not guilty or the violation was dismissed in court.
FMCSA announced this in a Federal Register notice last week. FMCSA's systems will continue to retain and display violations that result in a conviction or the payment of a fine, and those who plead to or are convicted of a lesser charge will have that information displayed, as well.
FMCSA's announcement said these changes are part of its continued effort to improve the quality and uniformity of violation data that is accessible across its systems "to sharpen the focus on unsafe carriers and drivers." Its announcement also said more than 100 public comments were submitted on the proposal, and that it has wide support from the commercial motor vehicle industry. For more information on the announcement, visit http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/rulemaking/2014-13022.