What happens after a 392.16B citation? Will your truck be out of service? Get direct answers backed by 372 real inspection records.
Ranks #1,030 of 3,146 FMCSR codes by citation frequency • OOS rate of 0.0% is below the FMCSR-wide average of 33.3%.
Operating a property-carrying commercial motor vehicle while all other occupants are not properly restrained.
Direct answers grounded in TruckCodex inspection data
No. Across our 13 million inspection records, 392.16B has never resulted in an out-of-service placement—the OOS rate is 0.0%. In the last 90 days alone, we recorded 43 citations for this violation across all states, and not a single one triggered an OOS order. By contrast, the national average OOS rate across all FMCSR codes is 31.4%, so this violation sits far below the enforcement threshold for immediate roadside removal.
This violation carries a CSA severity weight of 3 points. The number of points that actually accumulate depends on how many times the violation appears in your record during the 30-month evaluation window—each occurrence gets the weight multiplied by a 30-day multiplier. A single citation adds 3 points; multiple citations compound the impact. These points feed into your Safety Management System (SMS) score under the Unsafe Driving BASIC category.
First, verify the citation is accurate—review the inspection report for date, time, and truck details. Second, check your vehicle's seat belt assembly for damage or malfunction and repair or replace it immediately if needed. Our data shows that in the last 90 days, 392.16B often appears alongside 392.16 (another seat belt code) in 16 shared inspections, suggesting multiple belt issues per vehicle. Third, contact your carrier's safety department and request a copy of the full inspection report. Fourth, decide within your appeal window whether to contest the citation through your state's DataQs process if you believe the facts are wrong.
By OOS rate, no—it's significantly less severe than average. While 392.16B has a 0.0% out-of-service rate, peer violations in the Unsafe Driving category show much higher risk: 392.2 (Operating while ill/fatigued) has a 0.8% OOS rate and has generated 1,208,164 citations all-time. Even within the 392.2 variants, some like 392.2-SLLEQP reach 2.4% OOS rates. Your seat belt violation is a compliance issue, not an immediate safety-critical defect.
You can file a DataQs request if you dispute the facts of the citation—for example, if you believe the inspector misidentified the vehicle or misread the date. However, DataQs contests must challenge the factual accuracy of the inspection record, not the regulation itself. Since 392.16B is straightforward (either the belt was or wasn't being used), your best grounds are documentation errors like wrong vehicle ID or driver ID. Work with your safety manager or carrier to gather evidence and submit through your state's administrative DataQs portal within the appeal period.
Over the last 180 days, Iowa leads by a wide margin with 61 citations. Texas follows with 24, and North Carolina has 5. These three states account for the vast majority of 392.16B enforcement activity in our records. If you operate in Iowa, this violation should be a priority focus for driver training and pre-trip inspections, since our data shows the citation rate there is significantly higher than the national average.
While 392.16B doesn't trigger immediate out-of-service status, repair is urgent for compliance and safety. Our inspection records show 43 citations in the last 90 days, with citation volume fluctuating between 5 and 25 per month over the past year. The pattern suggests consistent enforcement—not declining. More importantly, if your seat belt is broken, you're at liability risk and vulnerable to repeat citations. Inspect the assembly immediately, replace or repair any damage, and have a supervisor verify before your next road inspection.
Both. The violation appears on the driver's record (CDL holder) and the carrier's safety profile (USDOT). Under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Compliance, Safety, and Accountability (CSA) program, unsafe driving violations are tracked in the Unsafe Driving BASIC category, which affects both individual driver qualification files and carrier SMS scores. This means the citation can influence future hiring decisions, insurance rates, and carrier audits. Your carrier will see it, and so will potential future employers.
Where 392.16B is most commonly cited (last 180 days)
Other violations commonly found on the same inspection (last 90 days)
TruckCodex aggregates official public-sector datasets. See the Source registry for dataset-level coverage and the Freshness log for last-import timestamps.
Census, SAFER, SMS, Licensing & Insurance (L&I), roadside inspections, crashes, and authority history.
Vehicle recall campaigns, defect investigations, and consumer safety complaints (SCRS).
Cross-border carrier registry and Canadian recall campaigns where applicable.
TruckCodex is an independent aggregator; it is not affiliated with FMCSA, NHTSA, EIA, or Transport Canada. Always verify compliance-critical information directly with the originating agency.