Sr. Transportation Management Editor — J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.
Use these expert tips to challenge erroneous violations.
Written by:
Mark Schedler
Sr. Transportation Management Editor — J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.
A motor carrier, driver, or other stakeholder can take 15 to 20 minutes to register for DataQs via the FMCSA Portal or through the DataQs system directly. DataQs is open to the public and the website provides an online help function to walk users through the process. Requests for data corrections require simple forms to be filled in with information from the relevant report, such as the report number, date, time of event, state, and an explanation for why the data should be changed. All information is routed to the organization responsible for the data. Electronic correspondence is used to communicate with the requestor when additional information is needed.
All changes to data must be made at the source, i.e., the agency that entered the data, so all DataQs requests are forwarded to the appropriate agency, which is usually the state in which the violation occurred. The decision of that agency will take 30 to 90 days, and is final. FMCSA is not authorized to override that agency’s decision. If corrected, your score will be adjusted accordingly between the 20th and the 28th of the month, when SMS is updated. However, don’t expect a huge drop since the prior two years’ data is being used in the calculation and the impact will depend on the BASIC involved.
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