392.2 Violation: What It Means and How to Fix It
Data through September 24, 2026 · Last updated October 28, 2026 · By Chad Griffith, founder
Quick Answer
392.2 (Applicable operating rules) was cited 144,673 times in roadside inspections of interstate for-hire carriers with 5 to 50 trucks from September 25, 2024 to September 24, 2026, and 0.7% of those citations put the driver or vehicle out of service. The most common version is 392.2-SLLS2: State/Local Laws - Speeding 6-10 miles per hour over the speed limit.
144,673
Citations on carriers with 5 to 50 trucks
0.7%
Out of service
572,643
All carriers, same period
What the rule says
A commercial motor vehicle must be driven under the laws of the state or city it is in (49 CFR 392.2). Speeding, ignoring a traffic control device and lane restrictions are cited under this section with an SLL sub-code.
When it puts you out of service
These are almost never out-of-service violations (0.7% here), but they score in the Unsafe Driving category, and speeding 15 or more miles over carries the highest weight, 10.
The codes on the inspection report
| Code | What the officer wrote | Severity weight | Citations, 5 to 50 trucks | Out of service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 392.2-SLLS2 | “State/Local Laws - Speeding 6-10 miles per hour over the speed limit” | 4 | 28,952 | 0.0% |
| 392.2-SLLTCD | “State/Local Laws - Failed to obey a traffic control device - Permanent or Temporary - e.g. safety official signal sign light lane marking other” | 5 | 23,680 | 0.0% |
| 392.2-SLLLR | “State/Local Laws - Lane restriction violation” | 3 | 20,195 | 0.0% |
| 392.2-SLLS3 | “State/Local Laws - Speeding 11-14 miles per hour over the speed limit” | 7 | 15,367 | 0.0% |
| 392.2-SLLS4 | “State/Local Laws - Speeding 15 or more miles per hour over the speed limit” | 10 | 10,453 | 0.0% |
| 392.2-SLLMF | “State/Local Laws - Wheel (mud) flaps missing or defective” | 1 | 7,086 | 0.1% |
| 392.2-SLLML | “State/Local Laws - Failure to maintain lane” | 5 | 4,910 | 0.0% |
| 392.2-SLLSWZ | “State/Local Laws - Speeding work/construction zone” | 10 | 4,406 | 0.0% |
| 392.2C | “Failure to obey traffic control device” | 5 | 4,204 | 0.0% |
| 392.2-SLLUP | “State/Local Laws - Unlawfully parking /leaving vehicle on roadway” | 1 | 3,646 | 0.0% |
| 392.2-SLLCP | “State/Local Laws - Operate a CMV while using a cellular phone” | 10 | 3,131 | 0.0% |
| 392.2-SLLFC | “State/Local Laws - Following too closely” | 5 | 2,941 | 0.0% |
How it scores (violation points)
How it scores: in FMCSA's Safety Measurement System each violation counts its severity weight, plus 2 if it put the driver or vehicle out of service, times 3 in its first 6 months, 2 from 6 to 12 months, and 1 from 12 to 24 months. FMCSA has approved a simpler scale that is not live yet.
How to fix it
- Pull the driver's log and telematics for that trip and talk the violation through with the driver; write down the date and what was said.
- If the driver received a state citation and contests it, keep the court record. A dismissal without a fine or a not-guilty finding is grounds to have the violation removed through DataQs.
- Review the driver's motor vehicle record at the annual review (49 CFR 391.25) and act on a pattern.
Stop it happening again
- Set a written speed and lane policy, and use the governor or telematics alerts you already pay for.
Challenging it in DataQs
For 392.2 citations the court outcome matters most: send the certified court record with the DataQs request.
Use DataQs (dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov) only when the report is wrong: the wrong carrier or vehicle, a violation that did not happen, or a citation a court dismissed without a fine or found you not guilty of, which removes it from the Safety Measurement System; a conviction of a different charge lowers its weight to 1 (FMCSA adjudicated citations policy). Fixing the defect afterward is not a reason to remove it; keep the repair record instead.
FileFlo reads your public FMCSA record, lists every violation with the rule behind it, and keeps the driver and vehicle records that stop repeats.
Run it yourself: the Audit-Ready Setup, $499 through December 31, 2026, then $199 a month for up to 15 trucks. Or FileFlo runs it: $1,500 a month for up to 15 trucks, Setup included, and your first month back if you are not happy.
About these numbers
Counts are violations cited in roadside inspections used in FMCSA's Safety Measurement System from September 25, 2024 to September 24, 2026 (dataset 8mt8-2mdr on data.transportation.gov, October 2026 run). Carriers with 5 to 50 trucks means 66,936 active interstate for-hire carriers with 5 to 50 power units and more trucks than buses, based in the 50 states or DC, from FMCSA's census file. This is FileFlo's reading of public FMCSA data, not an FMCSA rating. Severity weights are the current SMS weights.