393.95E — No warning flag for projecting load
49 CFR 393 • Vehicle Maintenance BASIC • Severity 4/10
What this violation means
Load projecting more than 4 feet from the rear must have a red flag (or red light at night). 4 SMS points. Common citation on flatbed loads with steel, pipe, or lumber.
Why this gets cited
Load shifted in transit pushing past the rear. Driver loaded without flag, didn't realize projection. Flag fell off mid-trip.
How to fix / prevent
Pre-trip and during-trip flag check on any flatbed with projecting load. Spare flags ($3-8) in cab.
Out-of-service criteria
No — this violation is not typically out-of-service eligible. The inspector will note 393.95E on the inspection report (form MCS-63), but the truck/driver can usually continue after the inspection ends. It still counts against the carrier in CSA scoring (severity 4/10 weight, time-weighted over 24 months) and shows on the driver's PSP record. A pattern of these non-OOS violations across multiple inspections is what triggers FMCSA intervention — a single citation rarely does.
CSA / SMS impact
393.95E carries a severity weight of 4/10 in FMCSA's Safety Measurement System (SMS). Higher weights mean faster CSA percentile movement. Combined with a time-weighting factor (2× for citations within the last 6 months, decaying over 24 months), this violation can move your Vehicle Maintenance BASIC percentile significantly if it stacks with similar citations across your fleet. The threshold for FMCSA intervention is the 65th percentile for most BASICs (50th for Hazmat and Passenger Carrier). Once you cross that, FMCSA can send a Warning Letter, Off-Site Investigation, or full Compliance Review.
How to read this: a single citation rarely puts you over threshold — it's the pattern. Track your inspection rate per power unit and aim for OOS rate under 5% (industry average is 21%).