Rising costs on the road to compliance

January 9, 2025

The U.S. Department of Transportation has increased its maximum fines by 2.6 percent for the new year.

The increase affects all fines (known as civil penalties) levied by agencies within the DOT, including the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).

Required annual increase

The annual increase is required by law and is pegged to inflation, which has eased in the past year. By comparison, here are the following increases from the last three years:

2024 = 3.2 percent
2023 = 7.7 percent
2022 = 6.2 percent

Prior to that, increases had generally been around 1 percent each year.

What does the increase mean?

The increase means federal penalties levied on motor carriers, drivers, and others for violations of DOT regulations are going up, effective December 30, 2024.

For example, a highway safety violation that might have cost up to $18,759 earlier in 2024 could now result in a fine of $19,246.

The complete list of maximum civil penalties is found in Appendices A and B to 49 CFR Part 386. Review the Federal Register for more details: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/12/30/2024-30608/revisions-to-civil-penalty-amounts-2025

Publish Date

January 9, 2025

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Industry News

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