393.75 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
393.75 (Tires) was cited 96,961 times in roadside inspections of interstate for-hire carriers with 5 to 50 trucks from September 25, 2024 to September 24, 2026, and 70.0% of those citations put the driver or vehicle out of service. The most common version is 393.75A3-TAOL: Tires - All others leaking or inflation less than 50% of the maximum inflation pressure on tire not equipped with ATIS.
96,961
Citations on carriers with 5 to 50 trucks
70%
Out of service
473,674
All carriers, same period
What the rule says
Tires must not be flat, leaking, exposed to the ply or belt, or worn past the limit: 4/32 of an inch on steer tires and 2/32 on all others (49 CFR 393.75(b) and (c)).
When it puts you out of service
Flat or leaking tires and tires under 50% of their pressure are 99% out of service here; tread-depth codes much less often.
The codes on the inspection report
| Code | What the officer wrote | Severity weight | Citations, 5 to 50 trucks | Out of service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 393.75A3-TAOL | “Tires - All others leaking or inflation less than 50% of the maximum inflation pressure on tire not equipped with ATIS” | 8 | 40,889 | 99.1% |
| 393.75C-TAOTD-LT2/32 | “Tires - Less than 2/32 inch tread depth” | 8 | 12,733 | 0.1% |
| 393.75A3 | “Tire-flat and/or audible air leak” | 8 | 8,649 | 99.0% |
| 393.75A3-TAOLTIS | “Tires - All others leaking in tread area and inflation less than 50% of the maximum inflation pressure on tire equipped with ATIS” | 8 | 5,167 | 97.6% |
| 393.75C | “Tire-other tread depth less than 2/32 of inch measured in a major tread groove” | 8 | 5,034 | 4.5% |
| 393.75A1-TEPBM | “Tires - All others - Exposed ply or belt material in tread or sidewall area” | 8 | 3,581 | 4.0% |
| 393.75A | “Flat tire or fabric exposed” | 8 | 2,714 | 94.5% |
| 393.75C-TAOTD-LT1/32 | “Tires - Less than 1/32 inch tread depth at 3 locations/2 adjacent tread grooves” | 8 | 2,674 | 54.7% |
| 393.75G-TAOW | “Tires - All others weight carried exceeds tire load limit” | 3 | 2,118 | 99.8% |
| 393.75A1 | “Tire-ply or belt material exposed” | 8 | 1,777 | 29.6% |
| 393.75A3-ATIS | “Tires - All others leaking in tread area with inflation more than 50% of the maximum inflation pressure on tire equipped with ATIS” | 8 | 1,443 | 18.9% |
| 393.75B-TFV | “Tires - Front less than 4/32 inch tread depth” | 8 | 1,152 | 0.5% |
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
- Replace or repair the tire before the vehicle moves, and keep the receipt in the unit's maintenance file (49 CFR 396.3).
- Gauge tread and pressure on every tire of that unit and its trailer, not only the one written up.
- Record the repair on the inspection report so the next driver sees it was fixed.
Stop it happening again
- A tread gauge and pressure check in every pre-trip; replace steer tires before 4/32.
Challenging it in DataQs
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.