Please show me that rule. I live and work in CA. Pulled many hazmat loads over 10 hours. Never had a violation.
That's the case for the 1-year review, for sure. I don't think they are going to let an established carrier get away with it after several years of operation. As a matter of fact, one of my customers got his DOT revoked for not filing an mcs-150 and log books. Realistically, though, the compliance is there to make sure you have a pile of impressive looking paperwork to hand to an opposing lawyer in case of an accident. If you have no HOS compliance records, no maintenance records, no trip records, no safety plan, no drug testing, no driver fitness records..... You;re gong to get painted as a menace to society,, and the jury won't be sympathetic.
When we went thru the audit there were a lot of issues. The company had a good safety rating because our logs looked legal at roadside, but it was a different story when they dug deeper. We could pretty much run as hard as we wanted. Times didn't match, show loading or unloading in different towns, all the good stuff. They said they'd be back no longer than 90 days and stuff better be on track. We literally started running legal the next week. They came back a month later and said that's the fastest they've seen a company turn around. No fines, no new violations. That's the only audit I've been a part of so not sure if that's how they do it for all. My old boss has been in business since 1978.
Some fill them out even when they have the Electronic logs just to have them as a backup. That would take ages though.