C.F.R. » Title 49 » CHAPTER III—FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION › SUBCHAPTER B—FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY REGULATIONS › PART 385—SAFETY FITNESS PROCEDURES › Subpart A—General

49 C.F.R. § 385.3

Definitions and acronyms

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Applicable safety regulations or requirements means 49 CFR chapter III, subchapter B—Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations or, if the carrier is an intrastate motor carrier subject to the hazardous materials safety permit requirements in subpart E of this part, the equivalent State standards; and 49 CFR chapter I, subchapter C—Hazardous Materials Regulations.

CMV means a commercial motor vehicle as defined in § 390.5 of this subchapter.

Commercial motor vehicle shall have the same meaning as described in § 390.5 of this subchapter, except that this definition will also apply to intrastate motor vehicles subject to the hazardous materials safety permit requirements of subpart E of this part.

FMCSA means the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

FMCSRs mean Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (49 CFR parts 350-399).

HMRs means the Hazardous Materials Regulations (49 CFR parts 171-180).

Motor carrier operations in commerce means commercial motor vehicle transportation operations either—

(1) In interstate commerce, or

(2) Affecting interstate commerce.

New entrant is a motor carrier not domiciled in Mexico that applies for a United States Department of Transportation (DOT) identification number in order to initiate operations in interstate commerce.

New entrant registration is the registration (US DOT number) granted a new entrant before it can begin interstate operations in an 18-month monitoring period. A safety audit must be performed on a new entrant's operations within 12 months after receipt of its US DOT number for motor carriers of property and 120 days for motor carriers of passengers, and it must be found to have adequate basic safety management controls to continue operating in interstate commerce at the end of the 18-month period.

PHMSA means Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

Preventable accident on the part of a motor carrier means an accident (1) that involved a commercial motor vehicle, and (2) that could have been averted but for an act, or failure to act, by the motor carrier or the driver.

Reviews. For the purposes of this part:

(1) Compliance review means an examination of motor carrier operations, such as drivers' hours of service, maintenance and inspection, driver qualification, commercial driver's license requirements, financial responsibility, accidents, hazardous materials, and other safety and transportation records to determine whether a motor carrier meets the safety fitness standard in this part. A compliance review may be conducted in response to a request to change a safety rating, to investigate potential violations of safety regulations by motor carriers, or to investigate complaints or other evidence of safety violations. The compliance review may result in the initiation of an enforcement action.

(2) Safety audit means an examination of a motor carrier's operations to provide educational and technical assistance on safety and the operational requirements of the FMCSRs and applicable HMRs and to gather critical safety data needed to make an assessment of the carrier's safety performance and basic safety management controls. Safety audits do not result in safety ratings.

(3) Safety management controls means the systems, policies, programs, practices, and procedures used by a motor carrier to ensure compliance with applicable safety and hazardous materials regulations which ensure the safe movement of products and passengers through the transportation system, and to reduce the risk of highway accidents and hazardous materials incidents resulting in fatalities, injuries, and property damage.

(4) Roadability review means an examination of the intermodal equipment provider's compliance with the applicable FMCSRs.

Safety ratings. (1) Satisfactory safety rating means that a motor carrier has in place and functioning adequate safety management controls to meet the safety fitness standard prescribed in § 385.5. Safety management controls are adequate if they are appropriate for the size and type of operation of the particular motor carrier.

(2) Conditional safety rating means a motor carrier does not have adequate safety management controls in place to ensure compliance with the safety fitness standard that could result in occurrences listed in § 385.5 (a) through (k).

(3) Unsatisfactory safety rating means a motor carrier does not have adequate safety management controls in place to ensure compliance with the safety fitness standard which has resulted in occurrences listed in § 385.5 (a) through (k).

(4) Unrated carrier means that a safety rating has not been assigned to the motor carrier by the FMCSA.

[53 FR 50968, Dec. 19, 1988, as amended at 56 FR 40805, Aug. 16, 1991; 62 FR 60042, Nov. 6, 1997; 67 FR 12779, Mar. 19, 2002; 67 FR 31983, May 13, 2002; 69 FR 39367, June 30, 2004; 72 FR 36788, July 5, 2007; 73 FR 76818, Dec. 17, 2008; 75 FR 17240, Apr. 5, 2010; 77 FR 28450, May 14, 2012; 78 FR 58481, Sept. 24, 2013; 78 FR 60232, Oct. 1, 2013; 80 FR 59073, Oct. 1, 2015; 86 FR 35642, July 7, 2021; 87 FR 59036, Sept. 29, 2022]
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 22 cases (6 in the last 5 years), 1995–2025 · leading case: Geeta Chhetri v. United States, 823 F.3d 577 (11th Cir. 2016).
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Geeta Chhetri v. United States, 823 F.3d 577 (11th Cir. 2016). · cites it 4× “3 Case: 15-10644 Date Filed: 05/12/2016 Page: 4 of 26 See generally 49 C.F.R. §§ 385.3 , 385.17(f) (2011). In its written request, Sky Express explained the various steps it was taking to achieve compliance, including making improvements to its drug-testing policies, creating an…”
A.D. Transp. Express, Inc. v. United States of Am. Fed. Motor Carrier Saf. Admin., 290 F.3d 761 (6th Cir. 2002). · cites it 3× “49 C.F.R. § 385.3 . 1 The safety rating is *450 based on the degree of compliance with the safety fitness standard for motor carriers.”
Jonatan Pornomo v. United States, 814 F.3d 681 (4th Cir. 2016). “49 C.F.R. §§ 385.3 , 385.9. Based on a compliance review, a commercial motor carrier is given a safety rating of “satisfactory,” “conditional,” or “unsatisfactory.”
Greist v. Phillips, 906 P.2d 789 (Or. 1995). · cites it 2× “3 (1989), the version of 49 C.F.R. 385.3 in effect on the date of the accident, provided in part: "(b) No motor carrier shall permit or require a driver of a commercial motor vehicle, regardless of the number of motor carriers using the driver's services, to drive for any period…”
Flat Creek Transp., LLC v. Fed. Motor Carrier Saf. Admin., 923 F.3d 1295 (11th Cir. 2019). · cites it 2× “49 C.F.R. § 385.3 ; see generally 49 C.F.”
Le v. Total Quality Logistics, LLC, 431 P.3d 366 (Okla. Civ. App. 2018). “Arora was, at the time it was hired to transport the load in question, a federally licensed motor carrier carrying $1,000,000 in liability insurance. Its federal motor carrier safety rating was, at the time of hire, "Unrated.”
Scott v. Milosevic, 372 F. Supp. 3d 758 (N.D. Iowa 2019). “" 49 C.F.R. § 385.3 . A "conditional" rating indicates that some rules have been violated and that the carrier's operating authority will be revoked unless it presents evidence of necessary corrective action.”
Waters, J. v. Express Container, 284 A.3d 1217 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2022). · cites it 2× “” 49 C.F.R. § 385.3 . - 11 - J-A22036-22 Nothing in the Equipment Lease and Transportation Agreement indicates that the parties intended to limit the arbitration clause to contract claims.”
Darrell Andrews Trucking, Inc. v. Fed. Motor Carrier Saf. Admin., 296 F.3d 1120 (D.C. Cir. 2002). “49 C.F.R. § 385.3 ; see id. § 385.9. To ensure that truck drivers are awake and alert on the road, Congress has also directed the Secretary of Transportation to prescribe the maximum number of hours they may operate their vehicles in a given time period.”
Transam Trucking, Inc. v. Fed. Motor Carrier Saf. Admin., 808 F.3d 1205 (10th Cir. 2015). · cites it 2× “49 C.F.R. § 385.3 . Following a compliance review, the agency considers factors enumerated in 49 C.”
Truckers United for Saf. v. Mead, 86 F. Supp. 2d 1 (D.D.C. 2000). “to determine whether a motor carrier meets the safety fitness standard,” 49 C.F.R. § 385.3 — or subpoena information from motor carriers, see 49 U.”
Pornomo v. United States, 62 F. Supp. 3d 455 (E.D. Va. 2014). “49 C.F.R. § 385.3 ; see also Defendant’s Memorandum of Law in Support of Defendant's Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Amended Complaint ("Def.”
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