How to Survive a DOT Audit
Posted on March 1, 2007
Filed Under GETTING AUDITED
What is the best way to survive a DOT audit? The short answer is, “don’t get audited”. This is done by staying off DOT’s radar screen. DOT primarily conducts its audits from its Safestat list. The Safestat list is a hit list of what DOT considers to be the most hazardous motor carriers. DOT keeps track of all serious accidents, and DOT roadside inspections of trucks in the country. They pump this huge amount of data into their computers, spin it around three times, and voila! the Safestat list. If you are having crashes, and/or being placed Out of Service at the roadside because your drivers or vehicles are violating the rules, you are probably on the list somewhere. Pay attention to any roadside inspections on your vehicles. Make sure your drivers are turning in all DOT roadside inspections. If you are being ticketed and placed OOS, you need to know about it now! Before it turns into an audit.
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20 Responses to “How to Survive a DOT Audit”
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Hi Eric –
We have recently bought a bigger truck a 25′ truck & it’s under the 26K GVW. It’s just one vehicle, we are set up just in case in one of these many years we will cross state lines as I was told it does not cost any less if it’s intra state rather than inter state. First is this true?
Second, I know they will be calling us to set up an appointment to audit us, if we only go from Orlando to Miami in one day, where the driver takes naps, what kind of records are they going to audit?
As far as the safety regulations go, it does not cost more to go across state lines. However, when it comes to registering your vehicles and permitting them, operating in multiple states is more expensive. Each state you operate in has fees and permits that it wants to collect from you for allowing you to operate in that state.
If you go from Orlando to Miami, that is outside the 150 mile radius for non-CDL vehicles, so you will need a logbook, and all of the supporting documentation, such as toll and fuel receipts. You will need driver qualification documentation, and maintenance records as well.
I have a small hotshot company consisting of a carhauler and a flatbed. I pull the carhauler and I need someone to pull the flatbed. What all paperwork do I need and what all do I need to do to lease him on.
If you have another truck pulling your flatbed under your operating authority, you need a written lease agreement. Also, you need your name and DOT, MC’#s on the truck. The leased driver must be treated just like a company driver as far as the safety regulations go. Which means a complete driver qualification file, logbook (if necessary), maintenance records, and drug and alcohol testing (if necessary).
I recently bought a 1 ton truck, and a 3 car hauler to transport 3 cars at a time, most of my work is within the 100 mile radius, but maybe four to six times a month I go beyond the 100 mile radius, which I keep a log book for, but in reading some of the emails you responded to, I have to keep a timesheet of some sort even if I am the owner. Also my hauls are under 26000 pounds total, if I am over the 26000 miles and don’t have a CDL license what can happen. I would like to know if my log book is lost, and I start a new one, what is my penalty for the lost one, and what should I expect on my first audit. I have my drug and alcohol card, I have my maintence book on the vehicle and trailer, I have my log book, and my inspection papers. I don’t know what the consiquences are if I don’t pass something in the audit.
Elias:
DOT uses something called the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating, to determine whether or not you are subject to the rules. Your truck and trailer both have a GVWR, probably somewhere on the vehicle. Add the two numbers together. If your total is over 26,000 lbs., AND the trailer is over 10,000 lbs., it is a CDL vehicle. That’s how you figure out if you need a CDL: it has nothing to do with the weight of the vehicle, or what you have it registered at.
If you get stopped and you don’t have your previous 7 days logs with you, you’ll be put out of service, and given a big fine. If you were working local, and have timesheets for your previous 7 days, you are not required to have a log for those previous 7 days, when stopped by the DOT. Hope that helps.
Ok, I guess I am confused as to when it is needed, the truck and trailer weigh 18,600 total (according to commercial scale), and you are saying that I don’t need a CDL if less than 26,000 lbs. right. Well what if the truck, trailer and the three cars I am hauling end up to total more than 26,000 lbs. does that require me to have a CDL license.
As for the log, if I work three days locally, then on the forth day I go out of town, one the fifth day I come back into town and work locally for the two days left, do I have to have a log book for the two days out of town and a timesheet for the five days in town. Is that correct.
I really appreciate your help in making me understand how this all works.
Elias
Have a 16000 gvw dump trailer which I pull wth a 25990 gvw truck and a 20000 gvw truck all within 75 miles of my house. I do have a cdl and dot numbers on my trucks. Do I need to keep any maint or other type logs? What about drug testing? Did it before I got the CDL. I m the only driver. I own this company. What are the laws for dui with a CDL? Can I have a beer or 2 on Sunday and drive my personal vehicle to Moms? This is ARIZONA where we have lots of felony laws.
Scott: You are subject to all of the safety regulations, as Arizona has adopted the Federal regulations. Vehicles are subject to the rules within Arizona if they have a GVWR of 17,001 lbs. or more. You need maintenance records, time records or logbooks, driver qualification file, and a drug testing program.
If you get a DUI while in your personal vehicle, you lose the whole license. They don’t give out ‘hardship’ licenses anymore for commercial drivers. While in a personal vehicle, the commercial regs do not apply as far as alcohol goes. In other words, the commercial regs basically state, no alcohol ever, ever, ever. The car regs state 0.08 (I think that’s what it is in AZ). You just have to make sure you have no booze in your system before getting back in the truck.
Elias: Sorry I missed your followup post. It doesn’t matter what the truck weighs. It matters what the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of the vehicles is. That is found on a metal tag, usually inside the door jamb of the cab. It is on a metal tag found somewhere on the trailer as well. It is a value of how much the manufacturer thinks that vehicle can safely carry, including the weight of the vehicle. If the GVWR of the combination is 26,001 lbs. and over, AND, the trailer has a GVWR of 10,001 lbs. or over…. you have a CDL A combination. May I suggest my DVD package.. on sale at http://www.arnoldsafety.com, for $275, as part of the package, my expert advice over the phone comes with it?
Eric : I just started working for an insulation company that has 1 non-CDL 24′ straight truck (gas burner under 26,000 lb.) and 1 cube van (12,000 lb.) that are used in an insulation business. These trucks already have USDOT #’s and do cover the southeastern portion of the united states carrying insulation to their job sites. My question is, are the drivers of these trucks required to log and as a company, are we required to keep files i.e. driver qualification file, maintenance records, drug & alcohol testing, D.O.T. card and logs & fuel reciepts?
Sonny: The answer is yes to all of the above except drug and alcohol testing. Vehicles with a GVWR of less than 26,001 lbs. are not subject to drug and alcohol testing. However, all the other rules kick in at 10,001 lbs. GVWR.
hello i have a question i just bought a tractor no trailer and want to start trucking i have my cdl i just need to know what all is necessary before i can start driving i have my dot#,mc# ,insurance,boc 3 filings what else as a driver do i need i will be operating within 500 air miles of my base and should be home every night thanks
Wayne: You need to comply with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, which is this 600 page green book sitting on my card table. It covers things like drug and alcohol testing, driver qualification files, logbooks, and maintenance records. I offer a product on my website, http://www.arnoldsafety.com/uscogudvre.html, which is a DVD based training package. It includes the regulations, a set of forms for your driver file, a DVD of me talking for 76 minutes, walking you through the basics of the rules, and a transcript of what I said on the DVD. Finally, as part of the $275 purchase price, you can call me on the phone with whatever questions you have. I am very accessible via phone.
Hope that helps, good luck with your new business!
A pair of driver loads their truck 8 to 10 hours. Gets into his unit, and drives another 8 to 12 hours, with no sleeper birth. Geting to the job site they go to work and do the job they are suppose to do. This work needs Haz. Mat endorsment. And is using two seperate log books for this purpose is it legal. And what is a full Company DOT aduit? Will this show up. Time sheets aganst log books? In 2007 there was a death involved in another state, head on. and the two log books were used and DOT did not catch this?
Well, I’m not sure I understand the question. Two drivers take 10 loading the truck, then they drive another 10 hours to the jobsite? The rules say you can only work 14 hours, not 20. If you are using 2 logbooks to cover up the 20 hours worked, that’s still a violation.
Will DOT find the falsification in an audit? Maybe. Are these drivers paid by the hour? Are there time sheets or pay records which show them working 20 straight hours? If there are, that will prove the logs are false. Hope this helps.
We started a small hotshot company. We are staying under the 26000 lbs. The question I have is, why do they call them a hotshot company if they have to log miles, and can only work 14 hours a day? A regular 26000 lb plus truck can run these loads just as fast.
A guy can work 14 hours a day, how much of this can be driving time? I am a local town driver, and we don’t have to use log books, so these rules are a bit hard to figure out. Thanks for any info you can give me.
What information is needed on a timesheet to pass with DOT? If a timesheet is for a week & a driver only works 2 days out of a week, can he put 2 weeks ( 4 working days) on 1 time sheet or does he have to use 2 showing his days off in a week? Also does his driving hrs. have to be noted if a driver has total on duty hrs of over 11?
CJ: I have no idea why they are called ‘hotshots’. I know this, a vehicle with a GVWR of 26,000 lbs. and under is subject to the same rules as a CDL vehicle with the exception of drug and alcohol testing, and the CDL license. You are allowed 11 hours of driving. You are also allowed 14 hours of driving and working. You have to stop driving when you reach your 11th hour, or your 14th hour on-duty, whichever comes first. Hope that helps, if you need more assistance, may I recommend my DVD package…. found at http://www.arnoldsafety.com/uscogudvre.html. With the purchase of the DVD package, you get phone access to me, for all your DOT questions. That’s a shameless plug, but, hey, it’s my website.
A CDL driver can use a timesheet if he returns to his duty location within 12 hours, and does not go further than 100 air miles from the office. You can put multiple days on one sheet, provided you identify the time started, the time finished, and the total number of hours worked for each day. If a driver works 12 hours, (which is more than 11), it is not necessary for him to identify the number of hours he spent driving. However, if the driver works for more than 12 hours, he must fill out a logsheet for that day.
Hope that helps, if you have more questions, may I suggest my DVD package? Found at… http://www.arnoldsafety.com/uscogudvre.html, for $275, with the purchase price, you get access to me on the phone for all your questions. Shameless plug, but hey, it’s my website. Thanks for stopping by.