New Entrant Frequently Asked Questions
New Entrant motor carriers are operating on the roadways of North America each day. To help improve their safety and compliance, the FMCSA developed the New Entrant Safety Assurance Program.
This Frequently Asked Question list gives you the down and dirty about the program, what it entails and what is expected of you during your first 18 months in operating on America's roadways.
A New Entrant is a motor carrier that is domiciled in the US or Canada and has operated for less than 18 months.
During The New Entrant period, motor carriers are expected to operate safely, comply with all federal transportation safety regulations and maintain the required safety and compliance records.
The FMCSA has developed a free 60 minute webinar training for all New Entrants to watch.
The New Entrant Safety Audit is a thorough review of your company's safety and compliance procedures and is conducted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) or on of it's state DOT partners.
By federal regulation, every registered motor carrier must undergo a New Entrant Safety Audit.
The New Entrant Safety Audit typically occurs within 12 months after you register for your DOT number.
For passenger carriers, the audit will take place within the first 120 days of operations.
If your compliance record alerts the FMCSA that serious safety issues may exist, then a review of your company's practices will likely be completed sooner through their "Expedited Action" process.
If a "Triggering Incident" is revealed during a roadside inspection of your truck, then your New Entrant Safety Audit will be completed sooner through the agency's "Expedited Action" process.
These "Triggering Incidents" are:
1. Using a driver without a valid CDL.
2. Operating a vehicle declared OOS.
3. Being involved in a hazardous materials (HM) reportable incident involving radioactive materials, explosives, or inhalable poisons.
4. Being involved in 2 or more HM incidents with HM other than those above.
5. Using a driver who tests positive for drugs or alcohol OR refuses to take a test.
6. Operating without proper insurance.
7. Having a driver or vehicle OOS rate of 50% or more in a 90-day period.
The New Entrant Safety Audit is conducted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) or on of it's state DOT partners. The audit involves an investigator reviewing your company's safety and compliance records, policies and procedures. The audit can be completed at your location (onsite) or via email/fax (offsite).
An Offsite New Entrant Safety Audit is completed entirely online with you emailing or faxing a specified list of safety and compliance documents to the FMCSA or DOT auditor for review. The auditor may correspond with you via email or phone if they have any questions related to the documentation that you submitted.
An Onsite New Entrant Safety Audit is conducted by an Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) or state DOT law enforcement officer.
Much like a typical onsite compliance review, the auditor will visit your main office location and examine each area of your company's operations at it relates to safety and compliance.
You absolutely must attend an Onsite New Entrant Safety Audit.
Plan on being at the location of the audit (generally your business location) for the entire duration of the meeting with the auditor.
You may also want to have your mechanic, driver or other key personnel present or nearby in order to ensure that you can quickly answer any questions that may arise during the investigation.
Preparing for The New Entrant Safety Audit can either be very difficult or pretty straightforward.
If you keep good records and are pretty organized, you should be in pretty good shape.
If, however, your safety and compliance records are incomplete or scattered, you could be spending a significant amount of time trying to get everything ready for the investigation.
Passing the New Entrant Safety Audit is fairly straightforward if you maintain all required records and have a good safety and compliance system in place.
Remember, the goal of the New Entrant Safety Audit is to ensure that all new motor carriers have implemented proper safety and compliance controls in their operations.
The outcome of your audit will depend on how well you have implemented these controls.
There are 13 ways to automatically fail the New Entrant Safety Audit.
ALCOHOL AND DRUG VIOLATIONS
• No alcohol and/or drug testing program.
• No RANDOM alcohol and/or drug testing program.
• Using a driver who refused a required alcohol or drug test.
• Using a driver the company knows had a blood alcohol content of 0.04 or greater.
• Using a driver who tested positive for drugs
DRIVER VIOLATIONS
A New Entrant fails the Safety Audit for knowingly:
• Using a driver without a valid Commercial Driver's License (CDL).
• Using a disqualified driver.Using a driver with a revoked, suspended, or canceled CDL.
• Using a medically unqualified driver
OPERATOR VIOLATIONS
• Operating a motor vehicle without having in effect the required level of insurance.
• Failing to require drivers to make hours-of-service records.
REPAIRS AND INSPECTION VIOLATIONS
• Operating a vehicle declared Out-of-Service (OOS) for safety deficiencies before repairs are made.
• Not performing OOS repairs reported in driver vehicle inspection reports (DVIRs).
• Operating a CMV not periodically inspected.
About 80% to 85% (8 out of 10) of all motor carriers pass their New Entrant Safety Audit the first time.
If you pass your New Entrant Safety Audit, you will continue to be more closely monitored by the FMCSA for the duration of the New Entrant Period to ensure that your safety and compliance controls remain adequate.
If you fail your New Entrant Safety Audit, most carriers must submit a Corrective Action Plan (or CAP) to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration within 60 days of failure.
If you are considered a passenger carrier or hazardous materials carrier, you must submit your CAP within 45 days of failure.
A Corrective Action Plan (or CAP) is a document that outlines the violations that a motor carrier received during a compliance review or safety audit and how that company has corrected/is correcting the violation in order to maintain a safe and compliant fleet.
This plan can be short or long, depending on the violations received and the complexity of the issues revealed during investigation.
We recommend that the carrier should review the FMCSA Safety Management Cycle associated with each violation category when drafting this plan.
Your Corrective Action Plan must be sent to your regional FMCSA field office for review and acceptance.
If you fail to submit a Corrective Action Plan (or CAP) to the FMCSA within the allotted time period, your Interstate operating authority will be revoked and you will have to re-apply for interstate authority.
If the FMCSA revokes your Interstate operating authority, you have to wait for no less than 30 days before re-applying.
If you previously failed your New Entrant Safety Audit, you will likely have to submit a Corrective Action Plan (or CAP) to the FMCSA prior to your request for authority being granted.