If you’re a new motor carrier, you will need to be prepared for an 18-month new entrant safety audit by the FMCSA. The agency monitors carriers’ compliance with safety regulations for the first 18 months of their operations. Within the first 12 months, an official representative of FMCSA will contact you to set-up an onsite audit.

These are the things the auditor will look at:
• Driver qualifications
• Vehicle maintenance records
• Accident registers
• Alcohol and substance (drug) testing programs
• General company safety operations

How can you prepare?
The best way to prepare is to know all the safety protocols required of a new trucking company. There are many resources online on the FMCSA website, but they can get complicated quickly. Secondly, you’ll need to keep documentation of all the above-bulleted items and ensure you’re compliant. This means keeping regular accident registers even if you have no accidents to report, driver applications, drug test results, and more. Failure to maintain proper records can fail an audit.

What if you fail?
If you fail the audit, you will be given a written explanation detailing why you failed. Usually, motor carriers are allowed to fix the failures. To fix the failures, you’ll need to submit and implement a corrective action plan within 60 days. If the correction plan isn’t implemented and executed within those 60 days, you will permanently lose your authority with the FMCSA.

How to ensure you pass the safety audit?
Here at Pro Trucking Service, we will help you set-up your trucking and safety operations to ensure a successful audit. We will work closely with you to implement an alcohol and substance testing program, documentation retention policies, driver qualifications, vehicle maintenance records, and more. As a new entrant, we will also conduct mock audits to ensure all necessary paperwork is ready. We will help you have a stress-free and smooth audit! You can focus on driving and making money while you leave the worry to the experts.