Tips on How To Pass The New Entrant Safety Audit

Registering with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and navigating the USDOT number registration process are key steps to launching a new motor carrier business. However, they aren't the only steps you need to take while getting your company off the ground.

You must also participate in the New Entrant Safety Audit program established by the FMCSA during your company's first 18 months, including passing a safety audit within the first year. This ensures that your business takes safety seriously and keeps proper records.

Our FMCSA New Entrant Safety Audit checklist features useful tips on how to pass it.

Start Preparing for Your Audit Immediately

Since a New Entrant Safety Audit will occur after your motor carrier business has about 12 months of experience, you might not feel the need to begin preparing for it right away. However, you’ll be making a big mistake if you wait until your company is a year in to prepare. This explains why this item lands at the top of our FMCSA New Entrant Safety Audit checklist.

The audit should showcase that you have followed the proper safety procedures and kept meticulous records throughout your first 12 months. If you wait until it's time for your compliance review to get your preparations underway, you will find it difficult, if not impossible, to prove this.

First and foremost, you should invest in driver safety training from the beginning. Ensure your business's drivers are well versed in the necessary safety procedures and understand the latest compliance requirements.

At the same time, you should create systems that ensure your drivers comply with regulations. Additionally, you must keep detailed records so that an auditor sees your company's hard work, emphasizing the importance of safety and compliance.

Focus on the Correct Areas While Getting Ready for Your New Entrant Safety Audit

You should prioritize a handful of areas when moving through your FMCSA New Entrant Safety Audit checklist. For example, focus on creating Driver Qualification Files (DQFs) showing that all your company's drivers have:

• Valid driver's licenses
• Medical cards
• The proper qualifications

You shouldn't stop there, either. Other areas to focus on include:

• Implementing a drug and alcohol testing program: This should feature pre-employment and random testing as well as post-accident and reasonable suspicion testing.
• Putting together vehicle maintenance logs: This should indicate when you have performed regular inspections and necessary repairs to keep trucks safe.
• Recording hours of service records: This should come from logbook and ELD (Electronic Logging Device) entries.
• Generating and updating an accident register: This should record any accidents involving your drivers and trucks.

The above documentation will be helpful when you're ready to show an auditor that you have met the safety audit requirements.

Conduct Internal Safety Management Audits in Advance To Highlight Your Shortcomings

Why wait until your New Entrant Safety Audit to see where your motor carrier business stands regarding safety and DOT compliance? You're more than welcome to get a head start by staging internal audits to pinpoint potential problems within your safety management system.

Generally speaking, motor carrier companies should use internal audits during their first year and subsequent years. The more audits you perform, the more compliant your company will ultimately be with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. They will uncover areas of improvement, highlighting what your business should work on moving forward.

Monitor Changes to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and Adjust Accordingly

The FMCSA consistently implements changes to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. For instance, it plans to make the following changes in 2025:

• Eliminating the usage of Motor Carrier (MC) numbers
• Mandating Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) systems on heavy trucks
• Reducing the random drug testing rate for truck drivers

When you own a motor carrier business, it's essential to keep a close eye out for changes to FMCSRs. Add this to your FMCSA New Entrant Safety Audit checklist to avoid overlooking a critical change and failing to comply.

Let Us Help You Begin Checking Items Off Your FMCSA New Entrant Safety Audit Checklist

Working through the items on this FMCSA New Entrant Safety Audit checklist won't always be easy. Since you will simultaneously be learning how to run a motor carrier business from so many other angles, you might fail to take one of the steps we have mentioned and struggle to pass an audit because of it.

FMCA Filings is here to help. From teaching you the differences between a DOT and MC number to helping you remain up to date on the newest changes to FMCSRs, we will be by your side at every turn.

Contact us now to get started.