New entrants to trucking will face a shorter deadline for correcting problems in their applications, under a new policy by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

 Applicants for authority have to clear a safety audit. If the would-be carrier does not pass, it must show that it is taking action to fix the problem.

 Under the agency's new policy the applicant must submit its corrective action plan with 15 days of the audit.

 Some violations require expedited action by the applicant, and in those cases the deadline for correction is 10 days, the agency said.

 The law gives applicants 30 days to show they are making corrections, but too many are waiting until the end of that period to respond, which does not give the agency enough time to review the information.

 If the applicant's proof of action does not arrive in time, the agency said it cannot guarantee that it will complete the review within the 30 days. And if the 30-day period expires before the agency is done, then the applicant's registration will be revoked. If, however, the agency later determines that the action plan is adequate, then the registration will be reinstated.

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