Truckers and Travelers

Hello Fellow Drivers,

Let’s talk about the changes that the FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) is putting into place for those in the trucking business.  If you have trucking authority or want to get trucking authority, then this article is a MUST read.  The article came from a quarterly supplement from J.J. Keller & Associates.  Remember to be safe out there.  

WHAT’S ALL THE BUZZ ABOUT CSA 2010?

If you have not yet heard about CSA 2010, it’s time to lend an ear to the buzz!  This is a new enforcement initiative planned for rollout in mid-2010.  CSA – Comprehensive Safety Analysis – is about the FMCSA taking a closer look at more motor carrier data and bringing a problem area to the carrier’s attention sooner than under the old system.  If the carrier doesn’t respond to initial interventions, more serious interventions will result.

KEY PHRASES TO PAY ATTENTION TO IN THE ABOVE PARAGRAPH ARE  closer look…more data…carrier’s attention sooner.  FMCSA’s objective with this approach is to become more proactive with lowering crash risk. 

A CLOSER LOOK

The closer look phrase means carrier and driver data will be categorized more narrowly – into seven Behavioral Analysis Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) instead of the four broad Safety Evaluation Areas (SEAs) under the current system.  More of the data will come to the surface under seven categories than under four categories.

MORE DATE

A big difference between the current data measuring system (SafeStat) and the new Safety Measurement System, or SMS, is that ALL safety-based violations will be entered into the system – not just out-of-service violations.  This, of course, results in more data becoming subject to review.  All safety violations listed on a Roadside Inspection Report will become part of the carrier’s data, and be weighted according to the seventy of the violation and the currency of the inspection (violations from more recent inspections will be weighted more heavily).

Carriers’ data will stay in the SMS for 24 months and drivers’ date will stay for 36 months.

CARRIER’S ATTENTION SOON

Under the new initiative, enforcement will have more methods than just the compliance review for dealing with a motor carrier.  Poor performance in any one of the BASIC areas could result in an intervention from law enforcement – ranging from a warning letter to a rquest for documents, to getting an appointment to discuss the problem area at a DOT office, to getting a compliance visit froom the DOT.  More intervention options will allow enforcement to bring a problem area to a carrier’s attention sooner.

HOW CAN YOU PREPARE FOR CSA 2010?

There are some things you can do now to help assure a good outcome for your company under CSA 2010.

*  Review your Carrier Profile information,(MCS-150 on the FMCSA website), monitor crash and inspection report data that get attributed to your company.  Keep your profile information up to date and challenge crash and inspection data that is incorrect.  Us the FMCSA’s “DataQ’s” tool to have incorrect data fixed so it doesn;t negatively affect you.

*  Educate your drivers on the CSA 2010 initiative.  Emphasize the greater impact that roadside inspection results will have, not only on your record, but on your drivers’ records too.  Driver violations and crash data will also be scored in a driver database. 

*  Develop radside inpsection and corrective action policies.  Put procedures in place for drivers to report roadside inspection results to you immediatly and for transmitting the Roadside Inspection Report.  Set up procedures for correcting problem areas discovered during roadside inspections.  Do the same for any kind of accident, no matter how minor.

The bottom line is that, under the new system, enforcement agencies will tract more data, have more contact with motor carrers, and will have more intervention tools available to use.