What 392.2-SLLSOA means in plain language
This regulation targets a specific danger: a driver whose physical or mental condition has deteriorated to the point where continuing to operate a commercial motor vehicle would be unsafe. That impairment can come from fatigue, illness, or any other condition that compromises alertness and ability behind the wheel.
The key word in the rule is "so impaired" — meaning the officer at the roadside isn't looking for general tiredness. They're looking for observable signs that your condition presents an active safety risk: bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, erratic driving behavior, or an admission that you've been awake far longer than your logbook shows.
For drivers, the practical meaning is straightforward: if you know before you start or partway through a trip that something is wrong physically — you're running a fever, you've barely slept, or a medical condition is flaring — the regulation says you should not be at the wheel. The citation you just received is the officer's judgment that you had already crossed that line.
What our enforcement data actually shows
Across 13 million+ inspections in our database, 392.2-SLLSOA has generated 23,389 all-time citations, placing it at #118 out of 3,036 FMCSR codes by citation volume. That's a significant enforcement footprint for a code that many drivers assume is rarely applied.
The out-of-service picture is more nuanced. Our inspection records show a 7.4% OOS rate for this code all-time — meaning 1,742 of 23,389 cited drivers were placed out of service on the spot, while 21,647 were not. Compare that to the all-FMCSR average OOS rate of 31.4%, and this code sits well below the typical threshold where inspectors pull drivers off the road. That said, 7.4% is not zero: roughly 1 in 14 citations results in an immediate OOS order.
Enforcement volume is accelerating. Over the last 12 months alone, our data shows 15,415 citations — meaning roughly two-thirds of all historical citations for this code were issued within the past year. In just the last 90 days, 3,266 citations were recorded. Monthly data reinforces this trend: citation counts ranged from 1,092 in November 2025 to a peak of 1,575 in July 2025, with OOS orders in that same July month reaching 126. The volume spike starting in May 2025 — jumping from 415 citations in April 2025 to 1,470 in May 2025 — suggests a coordinated enforcement push that has not let up.
Who gets cited most
California dominates the state-level picture by a wide margin. Our data shows 5,716 citations in California in the last 180 days alone, with 479 of those resulting in OOS placements — an 8.4% OOS rate. Kentucky comes in second with 292 citations over the same period, but with only 1 OOS event, producing a 0.3% OOS rate. Ohio rounds out the top three with 177 citations and zero OOS placements.
The OOS rate gap between California (8.4%) and Kentucky (0.3%) — more than 8 percentage points apart — is worth paying attention to. If you're operating in California, the likelihood of a citation turning into an OOS event is meaningfully higher than in most other states in our top-10 list. Washington (49 citations, 0.0% OOS) and Pennsylvania (49 citations, 0.0% OOS) show that many states are issuing citations without following through with OOS orders.
At the carrier level, our data shows fleets such as DAVID JESSUP (USDOT 759215) with 22 citations and JSC GLOBAL GROUP ENTERPRISE (USDOT 3305637) with 17 citations leading the all-time count among named carriers in our database. These numbers reflect inspection exposure across their operations, not a judgment on safety culture.
How severe is this compared to similar codes
Looking at peer codes in the same "Operating a CMV while ill or fatigued" category, 392.2-SLLSOA sits in a middle tier by both volume and OOS rate. The parent code 392.2 has accumulated 1,208,164 citations all-time — more than 50 times the volume of 392.2-SLLSOA — but carries only a 0.8% OOS rate, meaning inspectors almost never pull drivers for that broader code. The sub-code 392.2-SLLSR has 191,232 citations with a 0.1% OOS rate, making it high-volume but very low OOS impact.
By contrast, 392.2-SLLEQP carries a 2.4% OOS rate across 72,352 citations — notably higher than 392.2-SLLSOA's 7.4%, though with a much larger citation base. The fact that 392.2-SLLSOA's OOS rate of 7.4% is the highest among the peer codes surfaced in our data suggests inspectors are using this specific sub-code when the evidence of impairment is strongest, which explains why OOS placement follows more often.
With a CSA severity weight of 8, this violation also hits your Safety Measurement System score hard. Even without an OOS order, a severity weight of 8 in the Unsafe Driving BASIC is among the heavier point loads a single inspection can produce.
How to avoid it
The co-occurring violation pattern in our last 90 days of data tells a story: this citation rarely travels alone. Here's what the data implies about what inspectors are seeing — and what you can fix before you roll:
- Address registration and credential issues before departure. Code 390.21TB1-MC appeared in 297 shared inspections and 390.21TB2-DOT in 279 shared inspections alongside this citation. Paperwork problems give inspectors a reason to look closer at you personally. Have your medical certificate and operating authority documents current and accessible.
- Carry required emergency equipment. Code 393.95F (missing or improper stopped-vehicle warning devices) appeared in 172 shared inspections. Missing triangles or flares suggest a rushed or disorganized pre-trip — exactly the kind of signal that prompts a deeper personal inspection.
- Check your tires during every pre-trip. Code 393.75A3-TAOL (tires leaking or inflated below 50% of maximum) appeared in 170 shared inspections. A tire in that condition is a pre-trip failure that connects you to the broader narrative that something was overlooked before departure.
- Confirm your CDL is valid and on your person. Code 383.23A2-LCDLN (operating without a valid CDL) showed up in 164 shared inspections. Driving without a valid license compounds any personal-condition concern the inspector already has.
- Make fatigue a go/no-go decision before you leave. If you're driving a Freightliner (5,257 all-time citations under this code), Ford (2,611), or Isuzu (2,090) — the three most-cited vehicle makes in our database for this violation — your rig type alone is not a risk factor, but the routes and work patterns associated with those fleets are. Build a real decision rule: fewer than six hours of sleep, active illness with fever, or any medication with a drowsiness warning means you call your dispatcher before you call it a pre-trip.
- Have your fire extinguisher present and rated. Code 393.95A1 appeared in 160 shared inspections. Like missing triangles, a missing extinguisher is a fast path to a full Level 1 inspection where your physical condition will be evaluated directly.