Regulation Information: What happens if you don’t comply?

When you make a mistake or do something bad as a kid, the punishments are generally straightforward, and usually aren't cruel and unusual (despite what you might have thought a few decades ago). Your parents might ground you or take away TV privileges. Your teachers might make you write lines on a chalkboard (a la Bart Simpson), send you to the principal's office, or give you detention. Your coach might make you sit out a game, or wash the whole team's gross uniforms.

But if you do something bad as an adult, you're looking at much more serious consequences. If you cheat on your spouse, he or she might end up divorcing you. If you steal, you might go to jail. And if you drive for a living and disregard Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations, Hazardous Materials regulations (HMR) or CDL regulations, well … what exactly does happen?

For starters, fines - and some of them are no joke; they can go into the tens of thousands. And it's not just the driver who get the fine in many cases - it's the owner of the vehicle, or the business, that also gets dinged.

In the case of CDL violations, including careless driving or speeding, drivers may have their license suspended or revoked. For a business, that could mean the loss of an employee.

And don't forget that a business's insurance can go up if the insurer deems the business a liability due to excessive tickets or fines - so it's not just a one-time fee to pay; it's higher costs over time, too.

If you're curious just how high the fines can be, you can get more info on FMSCA fines, HMR fines and CDL fines. And if you're curious on how you can be confident the business isn't risking pricey fines and higher insurance costs, it might be time to investigate GPS vehicle tracking.

With near real-time fleet monitoring, management knows what's going on in the field as it's happening, meaning problems like speeding or aggressive driving can be nipped in the bud.

A vehicle tracking solution also helps keep track real-time hours of service (HOS) and sends that information to the office, letting managers alert drivers to help prevent violations before they run out of hours.

In the case of new Electronic Logging Device regulations, using GPS vehicle tracking means no more time-consuming paper logs, helping to save time and improve accuracy, and letting drivers and managers focus on jobs and customers instead of paperwork. The software combines required vehicle data with driver status from the mobile app - drivers simply log into the app and start driving, and their hours are managed automatically through the app.

With the visibility into driver behavior, you'll not only be able to keep violations and fines at a minimum - but you'll also save on variables like fuel costs and boost revenue through better customer service.

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So kiss non-compliance fines goodbye for good and check out what the ELD mandate means for you.