FMCSA to increase civil penalties for regulatory violations
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is increasing the fine amounts for certain violations of its Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. In a notice to be published in the Federal Register on March 21, 2022, the agency announced its annual inflation adjustments to its civil penalty schedule. These penalties appear in 49 CFR Part 386, Appendix A, and are generally assessed following the discovery of egregious safety violations.
Generally speaking, the civil penalty amounts listed in the agency's notice are maximums the agency can, but rarely does, assess. Instead, the agency uses a software program called the Uniform Fine Assessment to calculate actual penalty amounts depending on several factors like history of prior offenses, extent and gravity of the violations, carrier's gross revenue, etc.
Check out the 2022 inflation adjustments in the chart below.