§ 385.11 Notification of a safety rating.

(a) Except as provided elsewhere in this section, written notification of the safety rating will be provided to a motor carrier as soon as practicable after assignment of the rating, but not later than 30 days after the review that produced the rating.

(b) Before a safety rating of unsatisfactory or conditional, is assigned to any motor carrier, the FHWA will issue a notice of proposed safety rating. The notice of proposed safety rating will list the deficiencies discovered during the review of the motor carrier's operations, for which corrective actions must be taken. A proposed conditional safety rating (which is an improvement of an existing unsatisfactory safety rating) becomes effective as soon as it issued from Washington, D.C., and the carrier may also avail itself of relief under the § 385.15, Administrative Review and § 385.17, Change to safety rating based on corrective actions.

(c) A notice of a proposed safety rating of unsatisfactory will indicate that, if the unsatisfactory rating becomes final, the motor carrier will be subject to the provisions of § 385.13, which prohibit motor carriers rated unsatisfactory from transporting hazardous materials or passengers, and other consequences that may result from such rating.

(d) Except as provided in § 385.17, a proposed safety rating issued pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section will become the motor carrier's final safety rating 45 days after the date the notice of proposed safety rating is received by the motor carrier.

[62 FR 60042, Nov. 6, 1997]