New Initiative Designed to Reduce Large Truck Accidents

September 19, 2010

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association, there were 104 fatal accidents involving large trucks in Louisiana in 2008. During that same year, over 4,000 people died nationwide in truck accidents, down from over 4,600 in 2007.

Despite the recent decline in truck accidents, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) notes that over the last several years, the rate of crash reduction has slowed. This has prompted the FMCSA to review its procedures and policies, revising the way the agency evaluates carriers and drivers.

As a result, the U.S. Department of Transportation launched the Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 (CSA 2010) earlier this year. This initiative, designed in partnership with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, is focused on improving large truck safety. As part of the program, new safety measurements will be used to monitor motor carriers and drivers across the nation.

Key Components of the CSA 2010

The FMCSA implemented the program to improve large truck and bus safety and reduce commercial motor vehicle-related crashes, injuries and fatalities. The new enforcement and compliance model allows earlier intervention by the FMCSA and state partners to address safety problems with carriers before crashes occur.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the CSA 2010 will incorporate five key attributes as part of the program:
- Flexibility: Adapt to the changing environment of the industry
- Efficiency: Maximize the use of resources, increasing productivity as well as safety
- Effectiveness: Improve safety performance by identifying risky behaviors and focusing on compliance and enforcement issues
- Innovation: Using and leveraging technology to track data
- Equitability: Consistently enforcing federal and state rules

The CSA 2010 will use a new Safety Measurement System (SMS) to gather data and identify specific safety issues for drivers and carriers. The SMS uses data from roadside inspections, state reports on crashes and information from the federal motor carrier census.

The SMS replaces the SafeStat measurement system, which previously measured only out-of-service violations. The new system will evaluate each carrier's safety performance in new Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs). According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, BASICs represent driving behaviors that typically lead to crashes, which include:
- Unsafe driving: Including but not limited to speeding, reckless driving, improper lane change and inattention
- Fatigued driving: Hours-of-Service (HOS) or logbook violations, operating a CMV while ill or fatigued
- Driver fitness: Failure to have a valid and appropriate commercial driver's license or being medically unqualified to operate a CMV
- Controlled substances/alcohol: Use or possession of controlled substances or alcohol
- Vehicle maintenance: Brakes, lights, mechanical defects or failure to make repairs
- Cargo-related: Improper load securement, cargo retention or hazardous material handling
- Crash indicator: Histories or patterns of high crash involvement, based on information from state-reported crashes

Measurement for each BASIC depends upon the carrier's number of adverse safety events, the severity of each violation or crash, and when the events occurred, with more weight being given to recent events.

The rollout will begin in November and continue through 2010 with full implementation and enforcement in beginning in 2011.

Trucking Accidents

Earlier this year, an accident in Kentucky highlighted the need for better regulations and enforcement initiatives. In that accident, the driver of a 1999 Freightliner truck with a 53-foot trailer left a southbound travel lane at an angle, crossed a 60-foot wide grass median and crashed through a four-cable guardrail barrier. It struck a passenger van carrying 12 people that was traveling in the northbound lane, continued across the northbound lanes, overturned and struck a stone wall, where it was engulfed in a post-crash fire.

The driver of the semi-truck was killed along with all but two of the van occupants. The FMCSA investigation found that the truck driver was using a cell phone at some point leading up to the accident, although it is not known whether he was using it when the truck left the roadway. The truck was on a 690-mile trip, on which the driver had embarked approximately 13 hours before the accident. Investigators are trying to determine how many hours the driver had been operating the vehicle and whether he took any rest periods. In the meantime, the FMCSA has ordered the carrier to cease operations.

Working With an Experienced Attorney

Victims of large truck accidents should contact a lawyer to discuss the crash. Some factors contributing to accidents, such as a distracted or fatigued driver, cargo shift, or equipment failure, are not readily apparent but may give rise to a claim for damages. While a lawsuit cannot erase a crash, demanding compensation from the party at fault can bring financial security to the victim and may even act as incentive to the driver or carrier to prevent future accidents.

Article provided by Murphy Law Firm
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