• Successful DataQs’ decisions have no effect on traffic tickets, but positive results in traffic court can be used as supporting documentation in a DataQs challenge.

One issue to keep in mind is that fighting “tickets” or “citations” is not done with the DataQs system. Having a violation removed from a roadside inspection report due to a successful DataQs challenge has no effect on any tickets that may have been issued. Courts deal with criminal and traffic citations (tickets). DataQs is a separate administrative function for challenging data on roadside inspection reports and crash reports that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has in its database. Being successful in DataQs will have no effect on any citation that was issued.

However, there can be a useful connection between DataQs and the court case. If a carrier or driver is successful in getting a ticket related to an inspection “bounced” or “reduced” by the judge, the court’s decision can be used to support any DataQ challenge related to the associated violation on the roadside inspection report. To do this, the carrier or driver needs to submit the court’s decision (the official court paperwork) as a supporting document in the DataQs challenge. This will lead to the violation being removed from the roadside inspection report or the value of it reduced when a DataQs challenge and review are completed.