If you have recently registered with the FMCSA and have not yet been contacted about a safety audit, you will be at some point in the near future. The FMCSA will generally wait at least 3 months to get your operation on order, but they MUST complete the audit within 18 months of registration.
Per FMCSR §385.309, the purpose of this safety audit is to; (a) Provide educational and technical assistance to the new entrant; and (b) Gather safety data needed to make an assessment of the new entrant’s safety performance and adequacy of its basic safety management controls. There is no safety rating or fines associated with a safety audit as long as you PASS. And once you have passed a safety audit, you are no longer considered a “New Entrant.”
But, if you commit one of the “16 Unpardonable Sins,” you automatically fail and your relatively harmless audit is turned into a full-blown Compliance Review with fines and a safety fitness rating, which will not be good if you have failed the audit. In this one-hour webinar, we will review these major violations and provide guidance to ensure you understand your responsibilities with regards to these basic requirements.
