FMCSR 392.82 Texting While Driving: Driver FAQ

No — based on all-time inspection records, the out-of-service rate for 392.82 is 0.0%. Across 2,827 all-time citations in our database, zero drivers were placed out of service. For context, the average OOS rate across all FMCSR codes is 31.4%, so 392.82 sits well below that threshold in practice. That said, the violation is OOS-eligible on paper, meaning an inspector has the authority to act if circumstances warrant. The practical enforcement pattern, however, shows inspectors have consistently allowed drivers to continue operating after receiving this citation.

A 392.82 citation carries a severity weight of 10 — the maximum possible under the CSA scoring system. That score is then multiplied based on how recently the violation occurred: violations within the last 6 months receive a 3× time-weight multiplier, dropping to 2× between 6 and 12 months, and 1× after that. Because 392.82 falls in the Unsafe Driving BASIC, a fresh citation effectively hits your record with a weighted score of 30. Unsafe Driving is one of the most closely watched BASICs by carriers and enforcement agencies, so a maximum-severity violation here draws significant attention.

Act on the paperwork immediately and loop in your safety department before leaving the inspection site. Here are the concrete steps:

1. Get a copy of the inspection report — you need the exact code (392.82) and the inspector's notes documented.
2. Notify your fleet safety manager today — this hits the Unsafe Driving BASIC with a severity weight of 10, so your carrier's CSA percentile is affected.
3. Review your device logs — if you believe the citation was issued in error, gather any timestamps, ELD records, or dashcam footage while the details are fresh.
4. Consider a DataQs challenge — if the facts don't match, you have a right to contest the record through FMCSA's DataQs system.
5. Do not assume silence clears it — with 0 citations in the last 90 days nationally, inspectors who do write this code are paying close attention.

By severity weight, yes — 392.82 is as serious as it gets, carrying a score of 10. By citation volume, it ranks #458 out of 3,036 FMCSR codes, meaning it is cited far less often than most Unsafe Driving violations. For comparison, peer code 392.2 (operating while ill or fatigued) has accumulated 1,208,164 all-time citations in our inspection records versus 392.82's 2,827. However, volume doesn't reduce the CSA impact — the severity weight of 10 is identical to the most aggressively enforced codes in the category, so a single citation carries full scoring consequences regardless of how infrequently the code appears on inspection reports.

Yes, any driver or carrier can challenge a 392.82 finding through FMCSA's DataQs Request for Data Review (RDR) process. Because 392.82 is a behavior-based citation — not a mechanical or equipment defect — a successful challenge typically requires evidence that contradicts the inspector's observation: dashcam footage, ELD data showing the vehicle was stopped, or records showing the device was not in use. DataQs challenges are reviewed by the issuing state agency, which then decides whether to uphold, modify, or remove the violation. If the state rules in your favor, the record is corrected in the FMCSA Safety Measurement System. Submit your challenge at the FMCSA DataQs portal with as much timestamped documentation as possible.

Our inspection records do not include a state-level breakdown for 392.82 in the current data snapshot, so we cannot rank states by citation count for this specific code. What we can confirm is that the 2,827 all-time citations are distributed across carriers operating nationally, with large fleets like Federal Express Corporation (19 citations), Werner Enterprises Inc (16 citations), and New Prime Inc (15 citations) appearing at the top of the carrier list — suggesting enforcement occurs across major freight corridors rather than being concentrated in one region. For state-specific enforcement patterns, check the FMCSA SAFER system or your carrier's CSA snapshot.

Urgent from a CSA scoring standpoint, less so from an operational shutdown risk. Our inspection records show 0 citations in the last 90 days and 0 in the last 12 months for 392.82, which suggests active enforcement has gone quiet recently. However, the all-time OOS rate is 0.0% across 2,827 citations, so this violation has never triggered a roadside shutdown in our database. The urgency is on the CSA side: with a severity weight of 10 in the Unsafe Driving BASIC, even one citation can move a carrier's percentile sharply. If the citation stands on your record, its time-weight multiplier decreases after 6 months and drops further after 12 — so the scoring pressure diminishes over time without any further violations.

Both — FMCSA's CSA system assigns Unsafe Driving violations to the driver's record and to the carrier's BASIC simultaneously. The citation attaches to your CDL-linked driver record and also rolls up into the carrier's Unsafe Driving BASIC percentile. This is why fleet safety managers track individual driver citations closely: a severity-10 violation like 392.82 affects the carrier's public-facing CSA score as well as the driver's personal safety history. Drivers who change carriers do not leave their violation history behind — the record travels with the CDL for the duration of the scoring window.