FMCSA Revises Policy on Assessing Maximum Fines

Courtesy MTA

On March 30, 2009, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced in the Federal Register its revised policy regarding the assessment of maximum fines. This policy became effective on April 1, 2009. This action was taken based on a Congressional mandate in the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999 and subsequent recommendations of the Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office. Under this updated policy, FMCSA will seek the maximum penalty where a motor carrier exhibits a pattern of violations. The agency will also apply such maximum penalties when one or more violations of critical or acute regulations are discovered in the same regulatory part during an investigation within six years of a previous enforcement case. Additionally, FMCSA has expanded the types of investigations that may trigger the assessment of the maximum civil penalties.