the Department of Transportation has raised a range of fines for its various agencies, including the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. This annual adjustment is mandated by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, which necessitates fines to be annually recalibrated to account for inflation.
The newly revised fines were determined by multiplying the existing penalty by the percentage change between the October 2023 Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) and the October 2022 CPI-U, with this year’s change being 1.03.
The updated fine amounts took effect immediately after the publication of the new rule in the Federal Register. It’s important to note that this rule does not alter previously assessed or enforced penalties that the U.S. DOT is actively in the process of collecting or has already collected. Alongside the FMCSA, fines imposed by other agencies such as the Maritime Administration, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Federal Railroad Administration, and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have also been increased.
