What 392.2-SLLL means in plain language
FMCSR 392.2-SLLL prohibits you from operating a commercial motor vehicle when your ability or alertness is impaired by fatigue, illness, or any other condition that makes it unsafe to drive. This isn't about being tired after a long day—it's about a level of impairment where you cannot safely control the vehicle.
The regulation covers a broad range of conditions: exhaustion that prevents you from reacting to hazards, acute illness that affects your judgment or physical capability, medication side effects, or any medical event that compromises your fitness to operate. Inspectors cite this when they observe signs like difficulty staying in lane, slow reaction to obstacles, incoherence, or when you admit you're too unwell to drive safely.
Unlike violations involving defective equipment or paperwork, this citation is about your physical and mental state at the moment of inspection. If an officer decides your condition makes the vehicle unsafe, they can place you out of service—though our data shows that happens less frequently than with many other FMCSR violations.
What our enforcement data actually shows
Across our database of 13 million roadside inspections, we've recorded 648 all-time citations for 392.2-SLLL. In the last 12 months, that's 424 citations, and in the last 90 days, 88 citations. This ranks the code #840 out of 3,036 FMCSR codes by volume—a relatively infrequent violation overall.
What matters most: our inspection records show a 9.1% out-of-service rate for this code. That means 59 drivers were placed out of service across all 648 citations, while 589 received citations without being removed from the road. For context, the all-FMCSR average OOS rate is 31.4%, so 392.2-SLLL citations result in out-of-service orders far less often than the typical violation. This suggests many inspectors issue the citation as a warning when they see early signs of impairment, rather than as an immediate safety-critical action.
Looking at monthly trends over the past 12 months, citations have remained relatively stable—ranging from 16 to 60 per month. December 2025 and March 2026 showed slightly elevated OOS placements (8 and 5 respectively), but the pattern is not extreme.
Who gets cited most
Our inspection records show this violation is concentrated in a few states. California leads by far with 129 citations over the last 180 days, accounting for the majority of national enforcement activity for this code. Within California, 18 of those citations resulted in out-of-service orders—a 14.0% OOS rate that aligns with the national average.
Pennsylvania ranks second with 10 citations, followed by Indiana, New York, and Kansas each with 5 citations. A material difference emerges when comparing OOS rates: California's 14.0% stands above Pennsylvania (0.0%), Indiana (0.0%), New York (0.0%), and Kansas (0.0%). Mississippi is an outlier at 25.0% OOS, though only 4 citations were recorded there.
Across all-time data, our data shows fleets such as The Morning Star Trucking Co LLC (USDOT 2657958) with 11 citations and Waveco Inc (USDOT 2424910) with 9 citations. This reflects the volume of their operations relative to the broader trucking population, not a pattern of systemic fatigue management failures.
How severe is this compared to similar codes
392.2-SLLL belongs to a family of related violations under FMCSR 392.2, all addressing operating a CMV while ill or fatigued. The broader 392.2 code has 1,208,164 citations with a 0.8% OOS rate—far higher volume but dramatically lower out-of-service frequency. The variant 392.2-SLLSR has seen 191,232 citations with a 0.1% OOS rate, suggesting inspectors cite the parent code and major variants much more aggressively but treat them as less immediately dangerous.
Comparison to 392.2-SLLEQP (another fatigue variant) is instructive: it has 72,352 citations with a 2.4% OOS rate—higher than 392.2-SLLL's 9.1% rate—indicating that inspectors reserve out-of-service authority for the most egregious cases across the 392.2 family.
How to avoid it
Fatigue and illness citations are preventable through pre-trip discipline and honest self-assessment:
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Assess your condition before starting your shift. If you're running on less than 5 hours of sleep, if you're medicated, if you have active symptoms (fever, severe pain, dizziness), delay the trip or request a relief driver. This is the single most effective step.
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Stick to your hours-of-service limits. Our data shows 28 inspections in the last 90 days had both a 392.2-SLLL citation and a co-occurring 392.2-SLLSR violation, suggesting fatigue and driving-hour violations often travel together. Log your hours accurately and take your mandatory breaks before impairment sets in.
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Take your mandatory rest period seriously. Eight hours in a sleeper berth or off-duty is the minimum; if you're running chronic sleep debt, extend it. Fatigue compounds over days of short rest.
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If you feel impaired mid-trip, find a safe place to stop immediately. Don't push through drowsiness, pain, or medication side effects hoping to reach a destination. Pull into a truck stop, take a nap, or call your dispatcher for relief. An hour of rest now beats a citation and out-of-service order later.
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Communicate with your fleet about medical conditions and medications. If you're on a new medication that causes drowsiness, your safety manager needs to know. Some carriers can adjust your schedule; others can provide guidance.
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Inspect your vehicle's climate and comfort controls before departure. Our top vehicles cited (Freightliner, Peterbilt, Kenworth) represent standard equipment; ensure your cab temperature, seat position, and mirrors support alertness. A cold, uncomfortable cab beats a warm one that induces sleep.
The bottom line: this violation is about being honest with yourself and your dispatcher about whether you can drive safely. Most citations don't result in out-of-service orders, but the ones that do often end a shift and damage your safety record. Prevention is simpler and safer than remediation.