There has been a lot of online and media buzz about the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and its launch of the 2010 Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) initiative in December 2010.
According to the FMCSA, the initiative is supposed to "improve large truck and bus safety and ultimately reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities that are related to commercial motor vehicles." Truckers and other commercial carriers, however, oppose the fact that CSA gives the public access to their performance information.
CSA 2010
According to the CSA website, the FMCSA began the CSA initiative because prior measures to reduce accidents involving commercial carriers had become less effective. CSA employs a three-prong method of measurement, evaluation and intervention to assess, correct and improve road and driver safety. The FMCSA says it will perform better compliance reviews, tailor its interventions to remedy specific issues, and use new and existing systems and tools to more efficiently monitor carrier performance.
BASIC Categories
The FMCSA collects motor carrier safety data in seven areas, which it calls the Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASIC). These categories include: unsafe driving, fatigued driving, driver fitness, controlled substance and alcohol, vehicle maintenance, cargo related and crash indicator.
BASIC compliance data was previously tracked privately by the FMCSA. Now the public may view a carrier's performance in most of these areas, except the cargo related and crash indicator areas, using the Safety Measurement System (SMS) website.
SMS Website
The SMS website is "a tool used by FMSCA and State partners to evaluate a carrier's safety performance." The public can search a database of monthly SMS data (based on a 24-month record ending in November of last year) using a motor carrier's USDOT number, Motor Carrier number, or other advanced search criteria to see how a specific carrier rates in the five viewable BASIC areas. It is also a beneficial educational tool on safe driving for new commercial drivers or the public in general.
Safety Factor
Ultimately, CSA 2010 is about safety. While truckers and other commercial drivers and carriers may not appreciate that the FMCSA is airing some of their dirty laundry, the power of public awareness to improve poor driving performance and decrease truck accidents cannot be denied.
If you or your loved one was injured or killed in a car crash involving a truck or other commercial motor vehicle, contact a local personal injury attorney experienced in truck accidents to discuss your legal rights and options.
