How long does it usually take to secure an upgrade?

At best, the process can take about 60 days. But, plan on 3-6 months when all is said and done.

It doesn't take that long to gather the needed information and write the Corrective Action Plan. The majority of the time is spent on waiting for the FMCSA to review our plan and decide on the upgrade request.

The FMCSA is supposed to have an answer back to us within 45 days of the date that they receive the request. But this isn't set in stone.

Additionally, there is a delay period between when the request is granted and when the FMCSA's SMS system shows the "Not Rated" Safety Fitness Determination on your profile because of the way that the SMS system updates.

Why should we choose your company over others?

1. We Care. You're not just a number or a paycheck for us. My life's passion is to help motor carriers with their safety and compliance systems.
2. Our Corrective Action Plans are fully customized to your company. Many companies have pre-made templates that they will just insert your company's information into and churn out hundreds of poor-quality plans each year. We don't operate like that at all.
3. I have deep experience in both the insurance industry and the safety and compliance field. This gives me a unique perspective on what each stakeholder in this process needs.
4. We put our money where our mouth is. If our plan isn't successful, we will continue to update and/or adjust the plan until it is approved. You're paying for a result, not a report!
5. The value that we provide compared to others. Many of our competitors charge double, triple or more for a less valuable service. Our high quality reports have extremely high Unsatisfactory/Conditional and Conditional/Not Rated upgrade success rates.

The process seems pretty straightforward, can we just do this ourselves?

Sure thing! Some carriers successfully do this and $725 isn't chump change.

The real question is do you want to invest your time, energy and effort into undertaking this process by yourself instead of partnering with an experienced professional who will handle it for you.

In other words, would you rather spend your time on this rather than focusing on running your business or spending time with your family or fishing or watching the game or pretty much anything else that you would actually enjoy?

Fleet safety and compliance is viewed as a pain in the rear for about 99.8% of people out there. Fortunately, I'm one of those .02% people who loves this stuff and my passion shows in the quality of my work. I'm sure that you'll agree when we're celebrating your move to "Not Rated".

I want a "Satisfactory" Rating, instead of being "Not Rated". How do we do that?

Honestly, you just think that you want a Satisfactory rating.

The only way to get that rating is to have a full compliance review of your operation and to pass that new review with flying colors.

Also, it's not as easy as simply asking the FMCSA or DOT to come back out for a visit. Compliance reviews typically run in about an 18 month cycle and it's not a cycle that you want to be on, trust me!

"Not Rated" is essentially the same as a Satisfactory rating in the eyes of insurance underwriters, freight brokers. plaintiff attorneys and even the FMCSA.

Should we just close this business and re-open under a new DOT authority or open a new carrier and drop this one down to a single power unit?

Absolutely not! You can certainly try this but I would HIGHLY recommend against it.

Many others have tried this approach and failed badly. It will end up costing you a lot of time, energy, money and headache for absolutely nothing to show for it.

The FMCSA has AI (who knew, right?!?..or maybe the term software would be more accurate) that automatically cross-references new authority information with existing DOT authority information for the express purpose of preventing this.

The insurance industry is also wise to it as well as any decent sized insurance carrier will obtain a report (CAB Report) on your operation when they are reviewing your application. The CAB report has a section that provides similar information on so called "chameleon carriers".

So, you'll spend all of that money and time in setting up a new authority only to have the FMCSA review your information and merge your old authority with your new authority (including your Conditional Safety Rating). Plus, as an added bonus, you'll only get to keep your new higher DOT number and that will make you look worse to freight brokers and truck insurance underwriters.

The best course of action is to get a great doctor (us) to help prescribe you some great medicine (a solid Corrective Action Plan) and lets fight this disease (Conditional Safety Rating) together.

What happens if the FMCSA rejects our CAP?

This is quite rare for us, but it has happened in the past. In Magic 8 Ball speak, this is commonly an "Ask Again Later" answer rather than a straight "No" answer and they will always explain their thoughts.

Additionally, if I don't feel confident that our plan will be accepted I'll voice my concerns before we even get started.

The most common reasons for rejection are:

1. The supporting evidence provided doesn't show an improved track record of compliance.
2. They want more time to pass to ensure that we are going to implement an effective plan.
3. They don't have faith that the submitted plan will actually be implemented.

Is the total cost just $725 or is this just some sort of teaser rate?

That's it. $725 is the total price for the entire service. We don't believe in nickel and diming our clients (unlike so many other service providers in the trucking industry, right?!?!). We like to be upfront and open about our pricing so that you know what to expect.

We do provide ongoing safety management services for trucking fleets  (www.MySafetyManager.com) which is a different program.

If you need a Corrective Action Plan for your company for other reasons (freight broker's request, insurance company's request, ongoing safety and compliance management), we can provide this service for only $499.