FMCSA recently released the final evaluation of its Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program’s Operational Model Test conducted by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI).
The in-depth study found that the Safety Measurement System (SMS) of CSA is a significant improvement over the FMCSA’s prior system, SafeStat, in identifying unsafe carriers. CSA interventions proved effective in improving motor carriers’ safety behavior, with the warning letter intervention resulting in 83% resolution to identified safety problems.
The UMTRI report also confirms that the CSA model, with the variety of interventions (warning letters, off-site focused reviews, etc.), enables FMCSA to contact far more trucking companies earlier to correct safety problems and ensure compliance with safety regulations in order to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities related to commercial motor vehicles. Approximately three times more motor carriers are contacted under CSA than under SafeStat (9.9 percent vs. 3.2 percent).
Despite the positive findings, the UMTRI report of the Op-Model Test also identified some areas that require improvement. FMCSA will need to make adjustments in two of the seven Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories, or BASICs - the Cargo-Related and the Driver Fitness BASICs - as they both show a weaker relationship to crash risk than the other SMS BASICs. Also, underreporting of crashes by states continues to be a significant problem.
FMCSA expects to address these issues in its upcoming proposal to establish safety fitness determinations based on CSA data. That proposal is scheduled to be published in February 2012.
Launched in 2008, the CSA Op-Model Test divided motor carriers from four test states (Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, and New Jersey) between test and control groups. UMTRI evaluated the effectiveness of the new SMS and CSA interventions, and compared the cost and efficiency of the CSA compliance and enforcement model to the previous model. They found effectiveness and efficiency gains that fully support the ongoing national implementation of CSA. View the full UMTRI Report.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
According to the latest issue of the Department of Transportation’s List of Significant Rulemakings, the FMCSA remains on track to publish the final Hours of Service (HOS) rule on or before October 28, 2011.
The FMCSA has already postponed one final HOS rule deadline, the July 26 deadline set by a federal judge in October 2009. The July 26 date was set when a suit against the FMCSA was settled. [For more background on the settlement that led to a new proposed HOS rule, please visit A Change to Drivers Hours of Service.]
The proposed HOS changes include a possible reduction of one driving hour (from the current 11 hours to 10 hours), a required 30-minute break after a maximum of 7 hours, and a modification to the 34-hour reset provision requiring that it includes two rest periods between midnight and 6 a.m. [For more information on the proposed HOS rule, please visit FMCSA Publishes New Hours of Service Proposed Rule.]
Nearly everyone in the trucking industry is opposed to the expected change to truck drivers’ HOS rules, one of the most costly rules currently being considered by the Obama administration.
A recent letter to the Office of Management and Budget from the ATA stated that the HOS rules that have been in place since 2004 “have helped trucking achieve unprecedented highway safety gains.” The letter also indicated that a revised rule “would result in reduced wages for hundreds of thousands of drivers, significant administrative and efficiency costs for trucking companies, and most importantly, billions of dollars in lost productivity…retention of the current HOS rules…is the only justifiable and defensible course of action for DOT.”
When it comes to the FMCSA’s final HOS rule, we can be sure of one thing: whether or not we see a rule change, lawsuits could continue to drag things out for years to come.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently called for a complete ban on cell phone use – both handheld and hands free - by all commercial truck and bus drivers.
Referring to distracted driving as “the new DUI”, NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman said, “Distracted driving is becoming increasingly prevalent…it can be especially lethal when the distracted driver is at the wheel of a vehicle that weighs 40 tons and travels at highway speeds.”
The NTSB’s recommendation follows its investigation of a March 2010 crash that killed 11 people in Kentucky. Investigators determined that the tractor-trailer driver who caused the accident used his mobile phone for calls and text messages a total of 69 times while driving in the 24-hour period prior to the accident. The driver made four calls in the minutes leading up to the fatal collision. The last call coincided with the time that the truck departed the highway.
While the NTSB does not have any rulemaking power, it can advise other agencies. The safety board’s actions are often a catalyst for local, state and federal legislation.
Last year, the FMCSA banned truckers from text-messaging while driving, setting fines of up to $2,750. The FMCSA anticipates a rule banning truckers from using hand-held cell phones soon.
In response to the NTSB recommendation on the cell phone ban, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said, "Texting or talking on the phone while driving can turn deadly in a matter of seconds, particularly when a big rig or a bus is involved. That is why the U.S. Department of Transportation has already banned commercial drivers from texting while driving and has a rulemaking underway to ban hand-held cell phone use. There is no call or text message that is worth risking lives.”
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.
Important Reminder: There’s still time to complete the annual Top Industry Issues Survey - the deadline is Friday, September 23.
Since 2005, the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), a non-profit research organization for the trucking industry, has conducted its annual Top Industry Issues Survey.
The annual survey, commissioned by the American Trucking Associations (ATA), asks trucking industry stakeholders to rank items such as CSA, Hours-of-Service, the driver shortage, onboard recorder technology, the economy, transportation funding, congestion, truck size and weight, and fuel issues.
Designed to provide insight into the critical issues confronting the trucking industry now and in the future, the survey also proposes strategies for addressing each issue, and survey participants are asked for their preferences.
Industry stakeholders are encouraged to complete the survey online. Alternately a paper copy is available on ATRI’s website at www.atri-online.org.
Completing the survey takes a matter of minutes and is valuable information in shaping the policies for addressing the major issues.
The results of the 2011 survey will first be released at the ATA Annual Management Conference and Exhibition, to be held October 15-18, 2011 in Grapevine, Texas.
Driving Ambition is a premier CDL truck driver staffing company serving Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Since 2001, we have specialized in matching safe, experienced CDL drivers for our customers and great job opportunities for our professional truck drivers.
Our commitment to safety and building solid working relationships with both customers and CDL drivers has allowed us to earn an unparalleled reputation with our Proven Drivers and Exceptional Service.