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As a requirement for all new Motor Carries, the New Entrant Audit for USDOT Compliance must be completed. As part of this audit, there are 8 sections that the DOT reviews.
- General Documents – Company Information & Equipment & Driver List
- Insurance Paperwork
- Accident Register (365 Day Reporting Period)
- Driver Qualification File
- Drug and Alcohol Program Enrollment
- Driver’s Records of Duty & Supporting Documents
- Vehicle List & Maintenance Documents
- Hazardous Material Documents
We have gathered the information that is required under each section and want to share it with you.
Section #1
Company Information, Equipment, and Driver List
The following items are required:
- Articles of Incorporation, DBA, or partnership paperwork
- EIN Letter from IRS (EIN number)
- Current Motor Carrier Identification Report (MCS-150)
- Current UCR Filing Receipt (pay unified carrier registration fee prior to December 31st)
- Driver List – List of all drivers working under your authority
Section #2
Insurance Coverage
The following items are required:
- Form MCS-90 for property carriers or MCS-908 for Hazmat/Passenger carriers (MC# only)
- Certificate of Authority
Section #3
Accident Register
The following items are required:
- Accident Register – Maintain a file for all accidents for a period of 3 years after accident occurs. Include time & place of accident and drivers name and number of injuries, fatalities.
- Accident Report – Motor Carriers required to maintain at their principal place of business the accident report for a period of no less than 12 months from the occurrence.
- Loss Runs – Document showing any losses or claims that your insurance company paid out as a claim.
- CVSA (Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance) – Post Accident Inspection, obtain a copy from the agency conducting the investigation.
- Post Accident Drug & Alcohol Test – required anytime there is a fatality or for any accident YOUR driver is at fault. Alcohol test must be taken within 32 hours of occurrence.
Section #4
Driver Qualification File – Each driver
The following items must be kept and maintained:
- Must maintain a driver qualification file for every driver. Auditors don’t need and don’t want to see other employee info in the Qualification file.
- The file is to be kept at the carriers principal place of business for as long as the driver is employed and for 3 years after the driver no longer works for the carrier.
- Employers are to investigate a driver’s employment information, crash record, and alcohol-controlled substance history from all DOT regulated employers. Investigation must be completed within 30 days of employment.
Section #5
Enrolled Into a Drug & Alcohol Consortium (over 26,0001 lbs)
The following items are required:
- Consortium contract should include the eligible member of the random pool for your company.
- Drug & Alcohol Policy – the policy should be signed by each driver to acknowledge they have read and agreed to its terms.
- Driver Information Booklet – The DOT requires that you provide drivers with information on the effects of controlled substances and where they can go if they need help.
- All Drug & Alcohol Test Results – Include pre-employment, random, post-accident, and reasonable suspicion test results that have been conducted by the company to keep for proof of compliance with testing requirements. Keep all files confidential in a secure area.
- Employee Application with reference for the last 3 years.
- As of 2020 you now have to enroll into the FMCSA clearinghouse program. This is a new way of checking if drivers have had any incidents with drug and alcohol tests in the past.
Section #6
Record of Duty (Hours of Service Records)
The following items are required:
- Logbooks or timesheet – Must provide an auditor the current month and past 30 days of records of duty status. Drivers must turn in their logbooks within 13 days and include hours worked for other employers.
- Supporting Documentation for Your Record of Duty Status – Supporting Documentation can include anything with a location and time/date stamp that can be used to prove the driver was doing what he was annotated on the record of duty status at the recorded time. Examples – Bills of lading, freight bills, electronic mobile communication/tracking records, toll receipts, fuel receipts, scale receipts, credit card receipts.
- Driver Statement of on-duty hours for newly hired drivers When using a new driver for the 1st time, must obtain from the driver a signed statement giving the total time on duty during the past 7 days. This removes you from any liability the driver may have with another company.
*Update – FMCSA now just syncs with your ELD
Section #7
Truck/Tractor and Trailer Maintenance
The following items are required:
- Annual safety inspection – Keep at least the two most recent annual safety inspections.
- Driver Vehicle Inspection Report (DVIR) – Keep copies of the inspection report for the past 90 days, if an auditor sees no deficiencies on every DVIR, there is a good chance auditor will become suspicious that they have been pencil whipped especially if it is an older vehicle. Auditors like to see a DVIR with a deficiency and then the maintenance record showing the item was repaired.
- Maintenance Tracking Sheet – Keep a Tracking sheet showing up-to-date maintenance and make sure to include mileage wat which the maintenance was conducted.
- Maintenance Receipts/service Records – Want to save all your receipts for repair work or supplies purchased for your vehicle as proof that what you have on your tracking sheet was completed. Keep all receipts and service records for at least 1 year.
- Maintenance Plan – Follow a specific maintenance plan for all vehicles.
Section #8
Hazardous Material Documents
The following items are required:
- Shipping papers – this documentation must be easily reached by the vehicle driver while wearing the seat belt. It must also be visible to first responders that may need to enter the vehicle. which provide useful information in the case of an incident. Motor carriers must keep shipping papers for one year after acceptance of the shipment, or three years for hazardous wastes. These papers must include:
- Emergency response information
- The identification number, identified in the Hazardous Materials Table
- The proper shipping name, identified in the Hazardous Materials Table
- The hazard class
- The packing group, identified in Roman numerals, when required
- The total quantity of hazardous materials
- The number and type of packages holding the hazardous contents
- Any additional description requirements
For more information on USDOT compliance, or to speak with a Gold River Insurance Team Member, just Ask Bill! Simply start a chat by clicking on the “How can I help you today?” chat icon on the bottom left side of your screen, or reach out directly by emailing Bill at Support@goldriverinsurance.com.