Online Program Monitors Commercial-Truck and Bus Safety Violations

July 19, 2012

Online Program Monitors Commercial-Truck and Bus Safety Violations

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration introduced its Compliance Safety Accountability program in December 2010. The CSA program gathers into a central, online location data about large-truck and bus safety violations, inspection findings and commercial-vehicle accidents for public, government, law-enforcement and industry review.

The agency uses the CSA to target those independent truckers, and truck and bus operations, that are more likely to engage in unsafe practices based on past data. Ultimately, FMCSA hopes to reduce serious accidents involving the largest vehicles on the road by intervening in substandard company operations when specific safety problems are identified from the data.

FMCSA uses a variety of intervention methods to try to get problem operators to improve performance, including inspections, compliance reviews and early warning letters. However, if a company or trucker does not bring itself into compliance with safety laws, the agency may impose significant civil penalties.

It is also hoped that consumers who ride buses or hire truckers, and commercial entities that enter into contracts to use trucks and buses for moving freight or people, will be able to use CSA safety data to make better choices of haulers.

Specifically, CSA utilizes the Safety Measurement System, a program it applies to the online data for analysis. The SMS uses the acronym BASICs to refer to the seven "safety improvement categories" it catalogs:
-Unsafe driving
-Fatigued driving (usually from violation of hours-of-service regulations)
-Driver fitness
-Alcohol and drug use
-Vehicle maintenance
-Cargo-related problems
-Crash indicators

CSA rates carriers as satisfactory, conditional or unsatisfactory. According to Truckinginfo, unsatisfactory ratings dropped more than 20 percent in the first 14 months the system was in place, so, although study results have varied in their analysis of this data, the new system may be having some positive impact on company and driver behavior.

Safety advocates, government officials and those in the industry are watching CSA with keen interest to determine its ultimate usefulness. In the meantime, anyone involved in an accident with a semi truck or motor coach should seek the assistance of an experienced truck accident attorney to protect his or her legal rights and learn about potential legal remedies.

Article provided by Law Office of Daniel W. Dunbar
Visit us at www.dandunbarlaw.com/