Critical Violations During Investigations

Carrier hit twice for a critical violation for one piece of paper

When a carrier hires a new CDL driver, Part 391.23(a)(1) requires the carrier to obtain an initial MVR within 30 days of the driver's hire date. During an investigation, if the carrier is unable to provide an initial MVR, Part 391.51(b)(2) Failing to maintain a copy of the motor vehicle record received from each driver's licensing authority gets listed as a violation in the compliance investigation. 391.51(b)(6)(ii) requires that proof of medical certification for a CDL driver must be listed on the driver's MVR to be given credit for it on a Driver Fitness investigation. Both 391.51(b)(2) and 391.51(b)(6) are critical violations in AIM and both cause a negative impact to the carrier's safety rating. When a driver has been hired within the previous 365 days and they do not provide an MVR that displays the driver's medical certification status, the carrier will get hit with 2 separate critical violations based off of one record (the driver's initial MVR) not being maintained. If a driver has worked at a carrier for more than one year, it is not the same problem because the carrier should have obtained two separate MVRs at that point (initial and annual) and both documents should have listed the driver's medical certification status.

It seems unfair to the carrier that they are being charged with 2 critical violations based on not having an initial MVR for a driver that has been employed for less than one year. It would be fairer to remove the critical status of the 391.51(b)(6) violation for drivers that have been employed for less than one year and have a separate "critical" violation for divers that have been employed for more than one year.