Avoiding FMCSA Violations: Key Tips for Trucking Companies

chrisbates

If you work in the trucking industry, then you probably know the initials FMCSA. They stand for The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. This entity keeps trucking and truckers safe in the United States as much as possible. If you own a trucking company, you need to know how to avoid common FMCSA violations. If this entity finds out you’ve done something wrong, it can shut down your business or hit you with hefty fines. Let’s discuss this in more detail right now. If you know about some common FMCSA violations, you’ll understand how you can most easily avoid them. Lane Restriction Violations If, as a business owner, you know about the most frequent FMCSA violations, you will know how to put the framework in place to avoid them. That leads us to our first point, regarding lane restriction violations. As an entity that hires truckers, you should know that these massive vehicles can only travel in certain lanes on the highway. If one of your trucks gets into a lane from which the law restricts it, that does not constitute an automatic violation. However, if the police see one of your truckers remain in that lane and travel in it for miles at a time, they can ticket them. Following too closely behind another vehicle can also bring on a violation, as can making certain improper lane changes and improper passing of vehicles in a reckless way. There’s a solution, though, and that’s making sure you only hire experienced truckers who know how to maneuver their rigs in traffic. When you hire a new trucker, you can quiz them on what maneuvers they can do while hauling freight. They should know the answers to these questions. Not Wearing a Seat Belt Not wearing a seat belt can definitely get you a ticket if you’re driving the family car around town, but it can get a commercial truck driver an FMCSA violation. Remember that if a police officer or highway patrolperson sees one of your truck drivers not wearing a seatbelt, it doesn’t just mean a ticket for that individual. Your company can also get an FMCSA penalty, and too many of those means you might face business closure. Tell your drivers they must wear their seat belts. If they forget just one time, it endangers them, and they risk a violation if an eagle-eyed highway patrol officer spots them on the highway without the proper shoulder restraint. False Reporting False reporting involved several behaviors from the FMCSA’s standpoint. Usually, if they hit your trucking company with this violation, it’s because you have drivers on the road who don’t have a proper commercial driver’s license, or else they have one that they let lapse or expire. There’s an easy fix, though. Check each driver’s license who you hire, and make sure you record when it expires. If you know that date’s getting close, tell your driver and make sure they renew it in time. That ensures you won’t get negative attention from the FMCSA if they ever suspect you have improperly licensed drivers on the road. Not Obeying Traffic Control Devices If a car drives through a red signal, whether that’s a stop sign or a red traffic light, the police can ticket them. It’s the same with commercial trucks, but you can also get an FMCSA violation. Tell your truck drivers they must stop for every red signal, and they should also stop when approaching a light if it’s turning yellow. With such enormous vehicles, when you have one of your truck drivers on a residential road and they’re moving toward an intersection, they should only go forward with a green signal. Trying to get through a yellow light with a vehicle that size isn’t safe. Your company might also get a violation if you have truck drivers out on the highway who don’t stop when they see construction happening. If there’s a construction worker with a sign indicating approaching vehicles must stop, that means commercial trucks as well as regular cars. Your driver should know they must obey these workers, even if it seems like a hassle on occasion. Get to know other common FMCSA violations, like speeding and other miscellaneous traffic infractions. The FMCSA might seem like the nanny state watching you sometimes, but it’s there to keep everyone safe. That means your truck drivers, as well as regular car drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, and anyone else on America’s roadways.