FMCSA Proposes System to Reflect Dismissed Violations in CSA Database

Trucking companies and drivers whose citations have been dismissed in court could soon be able to see that reflected in the violation database maintained by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, according to a notice posted Dec. 2 in the Federal Register.

FMCSA is accepting public comments on a plan to upgrade its Motor Carrier Management Information System so that it will show when citations from roadside inspections have been adjudicated. MCMIS data are used in a number of FMCSA programs, including Compliance, Safety, Accountability and the Pre-Employment Screening Program.

Under the Dec. 2 proposal, MCMIS would be upgraded to include a data field showing “adjudication information concerning a citation associated with a violation that was dismissed or resulted in a finding of not guilty; resulted in a conviction of a different or lesser charge; or resulted in conviction of the original charge,” according to the notice.

FMCSA said the plan will create greater uniformity in how states process violation data.

State officials who conduct inspections enter violation data into a system maintained by FMCSA. But FMCSA’s database currently is able to record only inspection and violation data from the initial inspection report, and it is unable to show the results of an adjudicated citation.

Drivers, motor carriers and members of the public will be able to request that records be corrected if a citation has been dismissed or successfully challenged.

FMCSA previously directed states to exercise discretion in deciding whether to remove violations from the federal database that were dismissed in court. The new system the agency proposed would remove that discretion from the states and require them to post the results from the adjudication.

FMCSA is accepting comments on the plan until Jan. 2.