Many drivers assume that the only risk they have in violating a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulation is being placed out of service by an enforcement officer and getting a mark on their CSA Score. Actually, there are numerous criminal penalties you could incur for violating those regulations.
Felony criminal prosecution of drivers and carriers for violations of commercial vehicle safety laws or regulations is rare, but not as uncommon as one might think. Typically they arise after a fatal commercial vehicle crash, which leads to an investigation by law enforcement, or an FMCSA compliance review. Less frequently, prosecutions come about after a compliance review where widespread log falsification is found and management is facilitating the log falsification.