395.8E — False record of duty status (false log)
49 CFR 395 • Hours-of-Service BASIC • Severity 7/10
What this violation means
Falsifying a log — paper or ELD — is a serious offense. 7 SMS points, OOS-eligible (driver held until log is corrected and rest taken), and on a second offense within 3 years counts as a 'serious traffic violation' under 383.51 with 60-day CDL disqualification. Under ELD mandate, most false logs caught are edit-trail manipulations or unassigned-driving-time misallocations.
How often this is cited (last 24 months)
In the last 24 months, 395.8E was cited 14,661 times at roadside inspections against 8,715 carriers, and 37.1% of those citations were out-of-service violations. It ranks #16 among the violation codes in our records by citation count. Most recent citation on record: Oct 13, 2026.
Why this gets cited
Driver running personal-conveyance time during what should be on-duty (most common ELD false-log pattern). Carrier coaching driver to edit ELD records ('just push the line over to fit'). Yard-move misuse to extend duty day. Pre-ELD: paper log padding.
How to fix / prevent
Treat the ELD as the source of truth. Edit only with documented reason notes. Audit ELD edit history monthly — pattern of edits at midnight on the 13th hour is a red flag. For owner-operators: if you make a mistake, leave it and add a note rather than editing it out — inspectors find pristine logs more suspicious than messy honest ones.
Out-of-service criteria
Yes — this violation IS out-of-service eligible. When an inspector finds 395.8E during a Level 1, 2, or 3 inspection, they can place the Driver OOS using the North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria. OOS means the truck cannot move from the inspection site until the defect is corrected (vehicle OOS) or the driver is replaced (driver OOS). For carriers, every OOS violation adds time-weighted points to your CSA Hours-of-Service BASIC — and it shows in the public SMS data within 30 days. For drivers, an OOS event stays on PSP for 3 years.
CSA / SMS impact
395.8E carries a severity weight of 7/10 in FMCSA's Safety Measurement System (SMS). Higher weights mean faster CSA percentile movement. Combined with a time-weighting factor (3× for citations within the last 6 months, decaying over 24 months), this violation can move your Hours-of-Service 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%).
Carriers recently cited (last 24 months)
Carriers most-recently cited for 395.8E in FMCSA inspection records (rolling 24-month window).
- 35×LADA TRANS INCDOT #2998381 • last cited 2026-03-30
- 27×ELITE FREIGHTWAYS LLCDOT #3300200 • last cited 2026-07-29
- 20×SOUTHERN SPECIALTY FREIGHT LLCDOT #3306210 • last cited 2026-06-25
- 20×CRYSTAL TRUCKING INCDOT #1165156 • last cited 2025-03-09
- 18×ROCKY AND SONS TRUCKING COMPANY LLCDOT #3285025 • last cited 2026-01-05
- 17×CLOUDTRUCKS LLCDOT #3300318 • last cited 2026-03-30
- 17×SPEED INTERMODALDOT #2418540 • last cited 2026-02-19
- 17×BETA AUTO TRANSPORT LLCDOT #4333977 • last cited 2026-01-22
- 17×SEA STAR INTERMODAL INCDOT #2960691 • last cited 2025-09-06
- 15×FORZA TRANSPORTATION SERVICES INCDOT #2490721 • last cited 2026-08-19
Other violations in Hours-of-Service
Related
- → Browse all FMCSA violation codes
- → More Hours-of-Service violations
- → FMCSA regulations & compliance
- → Look up a carrier safety record
- → 395.3A1 — Driving more than 11 hours after 10 hours off
- → 395.3B2 — Driving after 60/70-hour weekly limit
- → 395.3C — Driving after 70 hours in 8 days without restart