If you have not had the opportunity to experience a compliance review, you will have that chance soon. It's a fact that the FMCSA is cracking down on motor carriers as they have yearly quotas they have to meet. So, you should never question or wonder if the FMCSA will come and visit your company, but as to when they are coming to knock at your door. Prevention is the key difference between passing an audit with flying colors or failing miserably and paying thousands of dollars in fines. Preparation for a compliance review is done way before the auditor shows up at your door. For most companies, preparation consists of being in compliance with both safety as well as commercial regulations. It's very important that you understand and comply with the complex, ever changing regulations or you can hire a competent consultant to assist you to get in compliance and understand those regulations.

Keep in mind, the day of the audit is not the day to begin to learn the regulations. The investigator is not your teacher and he/she could care less whether you know the regulations or not. He/she also doesn't care whether you are having financial problems, if you are sick, or any other excuse you may have. They have one job and one job only and that is to find what you have done wrong in the past twelve months. I know this because until recently, that is what I did for a living.

The investigator also knows that his boss "unofficially" is requiring from him to do 4 to 5 investigations a month and to take enforcement action on at least 25% of those investigations. In the FMCSA,this is called the "numbers game". The investigator also knows that by you being smaller carrier, you don't have the legal team and resources that the large carriers have to protect or advise them. This is why it is very important for you as an independent carrier to anticipate and prepare yourself way before the showdown begins.

It's also very important for you to know what to say and what not to say during the compliance review and more importantly, to know your rights. While you should be cooperative and courteous with the investigator, you should not be overly friendly with him or her. The investigator is not there to be your friend. You may have heard me say this on one of my many public speaking appearances before, but if you haven't here it goes, if you want a friend, go to the pound and for about $60 you can get yourself a dog, it will be your true friend. FMCSA investigators are not your friend and because of that reason you should keep your conversation to the very minimum. Also, keep in mind, you don't have to answer any questions the investigator asks. You heard this before and you are going to hear it from me again, anything that you say can and will be used against you, even if it is a friendly conversation. Be very careful as to what you say or sign. That brings me to the next point, you are not required to sign anything, especially the so called "voluntary statement" that they almost always sneak right at the end of the compliance review. While FMCSA Investigators should be provided a clean, well ventilated and comfortable area to work, it doesn't mean they should be granted a "carte blanche" to wander all over your facilities unaccompanied like they own the place and they should not be helping themselves to your file cabinets and desk drawers. Remember, it's your facility and you should set rules at the beginning of the compliance review.

Last but not least, know your rights. FMCSA investigators will either be very friendly with you and some will use intimidation as part of their tactics to obtain information from you. While the FMCSA has regulatory powers over your operations, they are not police officers. They should not be threatening you with jail if you don't answer their questions, or asking for your citizenship or immigration status or threatening you with deportation, or my favorite one, threatening you with an IRS audit. Investigators engaging in threatening behavior should be reported to the U.S Secretary of Transportation or better yet to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel immediately for conduct unbecoming a government official. Always in your dealings with the DOT, you should always have a least TWO individuals with you witnessing everything that is said for every one investigator that is present. If you think that you are not capable of standing up for your rights, hire a professional that can do so, such as reputable attorney or transportation consultant. In a nutshell, be prepared, remain silent, and know your rights.