New CSA Rules Make CDL Legal Protection A Must-Have
A new era of the trucking industry dawned on Saturday, August 23 with the implementation of a rule from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) that Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) scores will be updated to reflect reduced or dismissed citations. Previously, even if a citation on a Level I, Level II or Level III Inspection was reduced or dismissed in the court of law, CSA scores were not updated. With this new era comes a new urgency for fleets to have a great drivers legal plan on their side.
The CSA system has long been a point of frustration for both drivers and fleets. It never seemed logical for a driver to get pulled over, receive a citation that led to points on both his/her CSA score and the fleet's and then that was the end of it. Even if the driver and fleet went through the proper channels to have the citation reduced or dismissed, the CSA score was generally set in stone unless successfully challenged through the DataQs system. And if challenged, the ultimate ruling entity for success or failure of the challenge fell on the shoulders of the original citing officer. A true judge, jury, and executioner scenario.
That's all changed, and this ruling will likely have a huge impact on the entire trucking industry.
Now, drivers and fleets can utilize the DataQs system to submit a challenge if a citation for a violation that impacts CSA scores is reduced or dismissed. Once that challenge is submitted and all the proper paperwork is delivered, the driver's CSA score and the fleet's will be updated automatically. FMCSA systems will continue to retain and display violations that result in a conviction or payment of fine, but the CSA score will be updated.
A good drivers legal plan is something fleets should consider for their drivers. High CSA scores can provide a negative impact to a fleet that every opportunity to keep them low should be taken.
It's a no brainer.
Open Road Drivers Plan, a Multi Service Fuel Card sibling company, has one of the nations largest network of local CDL attorneys who have a 90% success rate in reducing or dismissing citations. Fleets across the U.S. and Canada entrust Open Road Drivers Plan and its team of CDL attorneys to provide coverage for their drivers, who generally opt to have their plan memberships deducted right from their paychecks.
With this new CSA ruling, having someone like that on your side is huge. And now, Open Road Drivers Plan will be submitting DataQs challenges to help keep CSA scores in line with court rulings.
For more information on how to get your fleet covered, contact Alex Clark by email or at 913-663-9567!
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