What Is FMCSA 392.2 and Why Is It the Top Audit Violation?

What’s the most common FMCSA audit violation? If you guessed hours of service, drug and alcohol testing, or vehicle maintenance, you’d be wrong. The answer has held steady for every year on record: 49 CFR §392.2, Violation of Local Laws.

This single regulation has generated 34,278 violations across 22,485 investigations from 2021 to 2025. That’s nearly 1 in 10 audit findings. In fiscal year 2025 alone, it represents 11.62% of all violations—more than double the runner-up.

Source: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Analysis & Information Online. Data current as of 7/25/2025.

And yet, it’s not a violation you hear much about. The reason this violation flies under the radar is simple: “Violation of Local Laws” sounds like something that happens to your drivers, not something that leads to a failed audit. But that misconception is exactly what’s catching carriers off guard.

What Is FMCSA Regulation 392.2?

The regulation itself is straightforward:

“Every commercial motor vehicle must be operated in accordance with the laws, ordinances, and regulations of the jurisdiction in which it is being operated.”

In practice, this means that when a driver gets a speeding ticket in Ohio, runs a red light in Texas, or gets cited for following too closely in California, those violations become part of your compliance record. Each one is tagged with a suffix code (392.2S for speeding, 392.2FC for following too closely) and enters your safety profile.

Here’s the critical issue: it’s not simply the driver’s ticket that creates the audit problem. It’s the carrier’s failure to demonstrate that they were aware of the violation and took action.

FMCSA expects carriers to have systems in place to track driver violations and document corrective measures. If an auditor finds speeding tickets with no coaching notes, multiple infractions with no record of discipline, or violations you never knew about, those all become 392.2 violations. A traffic ticket from six months ago suddenly turns into your audit failure today because there’s no proof you addressed it.

Why Is 392.2 the Most Common Violation?

Several factors explain why this regulation consistently leads the pack:

• Broad Scope: Unlike rules that cover specific areas like hours of service, 392.2 applies to every traffic law in every jurisdiction. Speeding, following too closely, improper lane changes, and even parking violations all fall under this regulation. The more miles your drivers cover, the more opportunities there are for local law violations to occur.
• Time Lag Problem: If you only pull MVRs annually, violations can remain undiscovered for months. For example, a driver receives a ticket in March, fails to report it, and you don’t find out until December. By then, the chance to document timely corrective action is gone, and it becomes an audit liability.
• Documentation Gaps: Many carriers treat traffic tickets as driver issues rather than compliance requirements. The driver got the ticket, the driver paid the fine, case closed. But without documented coaching or progressive discipline, auditors see a carrier that isn’t managing safety. Every unaddressed violation becomes ammunition for critical findings.
• Audit Focus: Safety investigators specifically hunt for 392.2 violations. They pull driver histories, catalog infractions with suffix codes, and check your records for corresponding documentation. If they don’t find a paper trail, you get cited.

The result is a perfect storm: violations are easy to rack up, hard to track, and heavily scrutinized during audits.

What Documentation Does FMCSA Expect?

The FMCSA requires proof that carriers are actively managing driver violations, and auditors closely examine how violations are identified and addressed.

• Timeliness: When you found out matters. If the driver self-reports immediately, or you catch it through MVR monitoring, you can demonstrate timely action. If you discovered it months later, auditors see a broken system.
• Evidence of Action: It’s not enough to say you talked to a driver about their ticket. You need structured documentation, such as coaching forms, warning letters, training records, or disciplinary notes. The response should match the situation: a single speeding ticket might warrant coaching, while multiple violations in a short period demand formal discipline.
• Patterns: Investigators also look for repeat offenders or multiple drivers with similar violations. If they see no escalation or fleet-wide intervention, they conclude your safety management system isn’t working.

How MVR Monitoring Prevents 392.2 Violations

The traditional approach of checking MVRs once a year leaves carriers exposed for months at a time. By the time you uncover a ticket, it’s already too late to document timely corrective action.

Continuous MVR monitoring closes that gap by alerting you to violations within days. That way, you can document coaching or discipline right away and avoid violations.

Here’s how monitoring protects carriers:

• Immediate Detection: A driver gets a ticket on Monday, you receive an alert by Thursday, and you document a coaching session on Friday. Auditors see a timely response.
• Pattern Recognition: Monitoring helps you escalate discipline appropriately—coaching for one ticket, formal discipline for repeat violations, and retraining if needed.
• Fleet Insights: If multiple drivers are cited for following too closely, it may indicate a need for training. If speeding tickets pile up on certain routes, it could indicate unrealistic schedules. Monitoring helps you spot trends before they become systemic issues.
• Audit-Ready Documentation: Every alert is timestamped, and every response can be logged. Instead of scrambling to explain gaps, you have a clear paper trail that shows proactive safety management.

Take Control Before It’s Too Late

Every day without continuous MVR monitoring is a day violations can accumulate unnoticed. While you focus on keeping freight moving, unreported tickets can quietly become audit risks. And that gap between when a violation happens and when you discover it is exactly where 392.2 failures occur.

The good news is that this is one of the most preventable audit violations. Unlike complex rules that require interpretation, compliance here is straightforward: be aware of violations quickly and document your response.

That’s exactly what continuous monitoring solves.

At US Compliance Services, we’ve built our MVR Monitoring program to provide carriers with timely alerts and audit-ready documentation, all without the administrative burden. We handle the FCRA requirements and state-by-state complexities while delivering the information you need to protect your safety rating.

Don’t let 392.2 violations threaten your business. Contact US Compliance Services today to learn how continuous MVR monitoring can help you stay compliant and audit-ready.