Somebody might have a problem with your company. A civilian on the road might find the behavior of one of your commercial motor vehicle drivers disturbing. The DOT might decide to pull your truck to the side for a random inspection.
Any of this could result in unexpected violations/complaints that may cause a lot of trouble for your company.
If you think that avoiding DOT-related violations is easy, you are right.
This is true only if you have a DOT compliance service provider on your speed dial. Yes, we are talking about the third-party administrator that has all the necessary resources, skills, and abilities to help you avoid compliance-related mistakes and complaints that may result from those errors.
It doesn’t matter if you run a single vehicle or a fleet of 200 automobiles, you must prioritize DOT compliance if you want to ensure the smooth functioning of your business and avoid any risks of violations and eventual DOT complaints.
The following section talks about 9 points that are critical to understanding DOT compliance complaints and avoiding them too.
Common Risk Factors Resulting In DOT Violations
Now, there are a few factors, ignoring which may result in violations or could be an easy reason for the department of transportation and the federal motor carrier safety administration to put their focus specifically on you. These can be:
- Roadside inspections can happen almost anywhere
- Very strict and timely DOT enforcement by the state
- A complaint registered against any of your vehicles or drivers by a civilian
- Failure to maintain your motor vehicle or driver-related records
- A DOT audit may also trigger an inspection which can lead to uncovering DOT-related violations
Commercial Motor Vehicle-Related Violations
- Your inability to load the commercial motor vehicle properly
- Using the vehicle in a way that becomes unsafe for the driver or the general public
- Transporting hazardous materials in an unsafe manner
- Leakages found in your commercial motor vehicle
- Problems related to oil, fuel, and coolant
- Lack of maintenance of your vehicles such as low tire treads or inoperable lights
Driver Related Violations
- No qualification or licensing for the driver
- The driver exceeding the allowed hours of service for their duty
- Failure to follow up on their drug and alcohol testing requirements
- Failing their drug and alcohol test
The Impact Of DOT-Related Violations And How DOT Compliance Legit Groups And TPAs Can Help You Avoid Them Easily
Fines And Penalties: Not being able to avoid these violations is only going to lead you to fines and penalties. If you are in the business of transporting hazardous materials, the penalty could lead to $79,000 per count.
Decrease In Your CSA: The FMCSA runs the CSA program. This is what gives carriers a ranking. It takes into account several factors such as traffic violations, vehicle maintenance, hours of service, and a lot more.
Out Of Service Order: If any of the FMCSA officials find any violations by your vehicle or your commercial motor vehicle driver, he has the authority to put your vehicle out of service. This means that your carrier license will get revoked.
It results in long-term damage to your reputation which is not something you are going to appreciate.
More Money Spent On Insurance: As a result of all these violations, you might have to pay a lot more for your regular insurance. This is because insurance companies do take into account the CSA scores. You might have to pay higher premiums and deductibles.
The Simplest Ways To Avoid DOT-Related Violations
The most practical and easiest way to avoid DOT-related violations and complaints is to choose a DOT compliance facilitator for your company. A skilled, experienced, and helpful DOT compliance facilitator or TPA can do wonders for your firm.
Let’s have a quick look at what they are capable of achieving:
1. Educating Your Drivers On DOT Compliance
Your DOT compliance group/partner can help you educate your drivers on the importance of DOT compliance.
They can keep them updated on the most recent FMCSA rules and regulations. Creating quizzes, questionnaires, and rule books for them helps you keep them updated and well aware-of every little requirement that they have to fulfill.
2. Creating A Culture Of Safety In Your Organization
Promoting a culture of safety in your company is also the responsibility of your TPA.
They are able to enact safety policies and encourage compliance practices among all your drivers and safety-sensitive position folders to prevent any kind of incidents or accidents within the workplace.
3. Organizing Regular Mock DOT Audits Within Your Company
All commercial motor carriers are required to maintain logs and driver-related reports. A mock DOT audit examines all those records in addition to several other detailed reports. This prepares you for an actual DOT audit that can happen at any time.
4. Helping You Hire The Best Drivers
Can they do that? Yes, your third-party administrator is more than capable of directing you to the most suitable, relevant, and highly experienced commercial motor drivers.
They can help you perform pre-employment screening tests and get you the most detailed reports on the health and blood composition of the drivers. This can effectively reduce the number of incidents related to violations in the future.
5. Practicing Preventive Vehicle Maintenance
Preventive vehicle maintenance is a very important aspect of DOT compliance. According to the federal motor carrier safety administration, the most common violation that occurs is still inoperable lamps.
This accounts for close to 12% of vehicle inspections that are carried out on the highways. Other than this, there is a violation related to unsecured fire extinguishers and also in operable turn signals. These too are quite perilous and can result in very serious automobile accidents.
To Put It In Perspective For You
Do you know that on average, the US department of transportation performs nearly 3.5 million roadside inspections? You do not wish to be a part of any of these inspections at all. What is the best approach to avoid them? Choose a third-party administrator.
Go with a legit DOT compliance facilitator in your city. When you have all the BASICS right, pun intended, you have your DOT compliance in order. So, what are you thinking about? Let’s get you DOT-compliant right away.