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11/03/2006 FMCSA Plans for 2010
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is planning for the future and is seeking input from concerned parties on how the agency can more effectively and efficiently fulfil its mandate of reducing commercial motor vehicle crashes, fatalities, and injuries.
The FMCSA project is known as the Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 Initiative, CSA 2010. The goal of CSA 2010 is to develop a “new operational model” which the agency can use to pinpoint both the drivers and motor carriers that pose the most serious and immediate safety threats. To do this, FMSCA is conducting a comprehensive review and analysis of its current commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety compliance and enforcement programs. At the same time, the agency has been holding an ongoing series of public listening sessions designed to elicit opinions and suggestions from industry executives, cmv drivers, State and local officials, enforcement agencies, the insurance industry, and safety interest groups.
The CSA 2010 Initiative grew out of recognition by the FMCSA that the regulatory responsibilities of the agency have increased while the resources allocated to the agency have remained relatively static. The continued growth in the number of regulated motor carriers and drivers, combined with an increasing workload because of new demands such as the new-entrant program, have prompted the FMCSA to seek new and innovative methods to meet its goal of promoting safety and compliance in the industry.
In assessing the need for a new “operational model,” FMCSA noted the limitations that currently affect the agency’s performance. “In its present structure, FMCSAs CR (compliance review) program is resource intensive and reaches only a small percentage of motor carriers. On-site CRs take one safety investigator an average of 3 to 4 days to complete….At present staffing levels FMCSA can perform CRs on only a small portion of the 700,000 active interstate motor carriers. These factors have made it difficult to make sustained improvements to motor carrier safety using existing programs and information systems.” – Federal Register, October 17, 2006 p61133
FMCSAs vision of CSA 2010 includes five key elements:
- Flexibility – the ability of the agency to adapt to changes in the transportation sector rapidly and efficiently
- Efficiency – insuring the agency utilizes its resources to maximize efficiency and productivity
- Effectiveness – insuring that contacts with motor carriers identify key behaviors that are associated with poor safety and focus compliance and safety efforts on correcting those behaviors.
- Innovation – utilize the latest data, information and communications technology at all levels to insure that all concerned parties have access to timely and accurate safety and operational data.
- Equal Application – ensure that all motor carriers are assessed and evaluated fairly and consistently for compliance with FMCSA regulations and that penalties are equally and uniformly applied.
As envisioned by FMCSA, CSA 2010 represents a significant change in how the agency proposes to measure safety performance and compliance among its regulated motor carriers. For example, the safety fitness determination for a motor carrier would be independent of the compliance review, as would any interventions by the FMCSA such as fines, penalties, mandated changes in operations, etc.
Rather than using only the results of a compliance review to trigger an agency intervention, the FMCSA would use a continuing series of measurements of a motor carrier’s operations to determine the safety performance rating of the carrier and whether or not that rating warranted FMCSA action. The measurements would be made by collecting timely and accurate data within specific categories of a motor carrier’s operations. FMCSA has tentatively proposed that the following categories be used in generating safety assessments under CSA 2010. Data for all of these categories would be collected from a combination of sources such as roadside inspections, convictions, compliance reviews, etc.
- Unsafe Driving
- Fatigued Driving.
- Driver Fitness
- Alcohol and Controlled Substances
- Vehicle Maintenance
- Improper Loading/Cargo Securement
- Crash/Incident patterns and histories
Data in all of these categories would be continuously updated for all FMCSA-regulated motor carriers, and their safety fitness ratings adjusted accordingly. A compliance review would not be required prior to a safety fitness determination or an FMCSA intervention or enforcement action.
CSA 2010 will require FMCSA to modernize its information and data collection systems, a project that is already underway through the agency’s Compass Initiative. When fully implemented, Compass will allow for real-time information exchange between FMCSA staff, State authorities, and regulated motor carriers.
FMCSA has scheduled another CSA 2010 Public Listening Session for November 16, 2006 in Washington DC. Persons interested in attending can call the FMCSA at 301-495-8458, or register online at http://www.csa2010.com. Written comments can be submitted until December 18, 2006 at http://dmses.dot.gov, Reference docket number FMCSA-2004-18898. | 
