49 U.S.C. § 31142 – Inspection of vehicles

(a) Inspection of Safety Equipment.— On the instruction of an authorized enforcement official of a State or of the United States Government, a commercial motor vehicle is required to pass an inspection of all safety equipment required under the regulations issued under section 31136.
(b) Inspection of Vehicles and Record Retention.— The Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe regulations on Government standards for inspection of commercial motor vehicles and retention by employers of records of an inspection. The standards shall provide for annual or more frequent inspections of a commercial motor vehicle unless the Secretary finds that another inspection system is as effective as an annual or more frequent inspection system. Regulations prescribed under this subsection are deemed to be regulations prescribed under section 31136 of this title.
(c) Preemption.—
1. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, this subchapter and section 31102 of this title do not—
  1. (A) prevent a State or voluntary group of States from imposing more stringent standards for use in their own periodic roadside inspection programs of commercial motor vehicles;
  2. (B) prevent a State from enforcing a program for inspection of commercial motor vehicles that the Secretary decides is as effective as the Government standards prescribed under subsection (b) of this section;
  3. (C) prevent a State from participating in the activities of a voluntary group of States enforcing a program for inspection of commercial motor vehicles; or
  4. (D) require a State that is enforcing a program described in clause (B) or (C) of this paragraph to enforce a Government standard prescribed under subsection (b) of this section or to adopt a provision on inspection of commercial motor vehicles in addition to that program to comply with the Government standards.
2. (2) The Government standards prescribed under subsection (b) of this section shall preempt a program of a State described in paragraph (1)(C) of this subsection as the program applies to the inspection of commercial motor vehicles in that State. The State may not enforce the program if the Secretary—
  1. (A) decides, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, that the State is not enforcing the program in a way that achieves the objectives of this section; and
  2. (B) after making a decision under clause (A) of this paragraph, provides the State with a 6-month period to improve the enforcement of the program to achieve the objectives of this section.
(d) Inspection To Be Accepted as Adequate in All States.— A periodic inspection of a commercial motor vehicle under the Government standards prescribed under subsection (b) of this section or a program described in subsection (c)(1)(B) or (C) of this section that is being enforced shall be recognized as adequate in every State for the period of the inspection. This subsection does not prohibit a State from making random inspections of commercial motor vehicles.
(e) Effect of Government Standards.— The Government standards prescribed under subsection (b) of this section may not be enforced as the standards apply to the inspection of commercial motor vehicles in a State enforcing a program described in subsection (c)(1)(B) or (C) of this section if the Secretary decides that it is in the public interest and consistent with public safety for the Government standards not to be enforced as they apply to that inspection.
(f) Application of State Regulations to Government-Leased Vehicles and Operators.— A State receiving financial assistance under section 31102 of this title in a fiscal year may enforce in that fiscal year a regulation on commercial motor vehicle safety adopted by the State as the regulation applies to commercial motor vehicles and operators leased to the Government.

(Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1010; Pub. L. 105–178, title IV, § 4008(f), (g), June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 405.)

Historical and Revision Notes
Revised Section	Source (U.S. Code)	Source (Statutes at Large)
31142(a)	49 App.:2509(a).	Oct. 30, 1984, Pub. L. 98–554, § 210(a)–(f), 98 Stat. 2839.
31142(b)	49 App.:2509(b), (c).
31142(c)	49 App.:2509(d).
31142(d)	49 App.:2509(e).
31142(e)	49 App.:2509(f).
31142(f)	49 App.:2509(g).	Oct. 30, 1984, Pub. L. 98–554, 98 Stat. 2829, § 210(g); added Nov. 16, 1990, Pub. L. 101–615, § 24, 104 Stat. 3273.

In this section, language about whether a State law or regulation may be “in effect” is omitted as redundant to language about whether it may be “enforced”.

In subsection (b), the words “shall prescribe regulations on” are substituted for “shall, by rule, establish” for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the United States Code and because “rule” is synonymous with “regulation”. The words “For purposes of this chapter” are omitted as unnecessary. The text of 49 App.:2509(c) is omitted as executed.

In subsection (c)(1), before clause (A), the words “this subchapter and section 31102 of this title do not” are substituted for “nothing in section 2302 of this Appendix or section 2507 of this Appendix or any other provision of this chapter shall be construed as” to eliminate unnecessary words.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1998—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 105–178, § 4008(f), substituted “the regulations issued under section 31136” for “part 393 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations”.

Subsec. (c)(1)(C). Pub. L. 105–178, § 4008(g), amended subpar. (C) generally. Prior to amendment, subpar. (C) read as follows: “prevent a State from enforcing a program for inspection of commercial motor vehicles that meets the requirements for membership in the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, as those requirements were in effect on October 30, 1984; or”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

State Inspection of Passenger-Carrying Commercial Motor Vehicles

Pub. L. 117–58, div. B, title III, § 23008, Nov. 15, 2021, 135 Stat. 764, provided that:

“(a) In General.— Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [Nov. 15, 2021], the Secretary [of Transportation] shall solicit additional comment on the advance notice of proposed rulemaking entitled ‘State Inspection Programs for Passenger-Carrier Vehicles’ (81 Fed. Reg. 24769 (April 27, 2016)).
“(b) Final Rule.—
“(1) In general.— After reviewing all comments received in response to the solicitation under subsection (a), if the Secretary determines that data and information exist to support moving forward with a final rulemaking action, the Secretary shall issue a final rule relating to the advance notice of proposed rulemaking described in that subsection.
“(2) Considerations.— In determining whether to issue a final rule under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider the impact of continuing to allow self-inspection as a means to satisfy periodic inspection requirements on the safety of passenger carrier operations.”

Update of Annual Inspection Regulations

Pub. L. 117–328, div. L, title I, § 131, Dec. 29, 2022, 136 Stat. 5119, provided that:

“The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shall update annual inspection regulations under Appendix G to subchapter B of chapter III of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, as recommended by GAO–19–264.”

Similar provisions were contained in the following appropriation acts:

Pub. L. 117–103, div. L, title I, § 131, Mar. 15, 2022, 136 Stat. 706.

Pub. L. 116–260, div. L, title I, § 131, Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 1844.

Pub. L. 116–94, div. H, title I, § 132, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 2955.