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The Law of the Land Shall Change:

In February 2008 FMCSA launched a field test of the Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 (CSA 2010). CSA 2010, is a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) initiative to improve large truck and bus safety and ultimately reduce commercial motor vehicle (CMV)-related crashes, injuries and fatalities.
• February 2008 the Operational Model was implemented in Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, and New Jersey. Quantitative and qualitative data relating to the CSA 2010 Operational Model will be collected through the conclusion of the test in mid-2010.
• CSA 2010 shall develop a new Safety Measurement System (SMS) that will use all roadside inspection and crash data and the development of a new interventions toolbox to deal efficiently and effectively with safety problems of various natures and different levels (as identified in SMS).
The most critical factor in the determination of your safety profile will be based on the last 12 months of your driving history. Violations that have occurred in the last 12 months will have their point value tripled in the calculation of your safety profile. A speeding ticket violation for 3 points will count as 12 points in determining your safety profile.

Each driver shall be assigned a percentile from 0 to 100; a score of 100 indicates the worst performance. Each time you sit behind the wheel remember that unsafe driving for a deadline could create a negative blemish on your Safety Profile.

• Initial field test shall encompass about 50 percent of the carriers and government resources in each State. New interventions are being applied to all interstate and hazmat motor carriers domiciled in these States utilizing all government resources on the test.
• In spring 2009, FMCSA added Montana and Minnesota to the test group.
• December 2010 shall be the full implementation of CSA 2010.
CSA 2010 Operational Model has three major components:
• Measurement
• Evaluation
• Intervention
1) Measurement - CSA 2010 shall measure safety performance in a new format, by evaluating inspection and crash results to identify carriers whose behaviors could reasonably lead to crashes.
Carriers shall be evaluated under a Safety Measurement System which uses a motor carrier’s data from roadside inspections, including all safety-based violations, State-reported crashes, and the Federal motor carrier census to quantify performance in the following Behavior Analysis Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs).
Carriers shall be evaluated by CSA 2010 BASICs:
• Vehicle Maintenance — Failure to maintain commercial vehicle. Violations: Brakes, lights, mechanical defects and failure to make required repairs. (FMCSR Parts 393 and 396)
• Driver Fitness: Has the driver operated a commercial vehicle when unfit. Unfit operation would be qualified as lack of experience, medical problem or lack of training. Violations: Failure to have a valid and appropriate commercial driver’s license and being medically unqualified to operate a CMV. (FMCSR Parts 383 and 391)
• Unsafe Driving: Has driver incurred the following violations: improper lane change, reckless driving, speeding and inattention. (FMCSR Parts 392 and 397)
• Fatigued Driving (Hours-of-Service): Has driver operated commercial vehicle in non- compliance with Hours of Service. Violations: Operating a CMV while ill or fatigued and logbook violations. (FMCSR Parts 392 and 395)
• Controlled Substances/Alcohol — Operation of commercial vehicle when impaired by illegal drugs, prescription drugs or alcohol. Violations: Use or possession of controlled substances/alcohol. (FMCSR Parts 382 and 392)
• Cargo-Related — Failure to properly prevent shifting loads, spilled or dropped cargo, overloading, and unsafe handling of hazardous materials on a CMV. Violations: Failure to secure loads properly, retention of cargo, size/weight, and handling of hazardous material. (FMCSR Parts 392, 393, 397 and HM Violations)
• Crash Indicator— Histories or State-reported crashes. Is there a pattern of high crash involvement and how severe was the accident

2) Evaluation – Safety evaluation is the process of determining how to address carriers with poor safety performance. SMS allows FMCSA to more effectively evaluate safety performance using new measures.
• CSA 2010 will help FMCSA and its State partners cure risk behavior by contacting more carriers and drivers, with interventions tailored to their specific safety problem, as well as a new safety fitness determination methodology.
• CSA 2010 shall recognize which carriers require what type of intervention using a policy-driven process called intervention selection.
• Determine which carriers should be proposed “unfit” to operate, using a regulatory process called Safety Fitness Determination (SFD).
• (An Unfit Suspension will prohibit a carrier from operating, based on the conclusion of a SFD. The details of Unfit Suspension will be described in the SFD Rulemaking.)

3) Intervention - CSA 2010 encompasses the full range of safety issues – from how data is collected, evaluated, and shared to how enforcement officials can intervene most effectively and efficiently to improve safety on our roads.
• FMCSA and State partners will use measurement results to identify carriers for CSA 2010 interventions. These interventions will offer an expanded suite of tools ranging from warning letters to comprehensive on-site investigations that supplement the labor-intensive compliance review to better address the specific safety problems identified.
• CSA 2010 investigators will be equipped to systematically evaluate why safety problems are occurring, to encourage and recommend remedies or corrective action(s), and, where corrective action is inadequate, to invoke strong penalties. Interventions shall give carriers the information necessary to understand their safety problems and provide a remedy to unsafe behavior early on.
Interventions under CSA 2010 can be broken into 3 basic categories:
• Contact
• Investigation
• Follow-Up

• Contact
• Warning Letter - Correspondence sent to a carrier’s place of business that specifically identifies a deficient BASIC(s) and outlines possible consequences of continued safety problems. The warning letter provides instructions for accessing carrier safety data and measurement as well as a point of contact.
• Carrier Access to Safety Data and Measurement - Carriers have access to their measurement results (BASICs scores), as well as the inspection reports and violations that went into those results. With this information, carriers can chart a course of self-improvement. Carriers can also monitor this data for accuracy and challenge it as necessary through FMCSA’s DataQs system: https://dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov/login.asp.
• Targeted Roadside Inspection - CSA 2010 provides roadside inspectors with data that identifies a carrier’s specific safety problems, by BASIC, based on the new measurement system. Targeted roadside inspections occur at permanent and temporary roadside inspection locations where connectivity to the SMS information is available. As Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks (CVISN) technologies evolve they will be incorporated into the roadside inspections.

• Investigation
• Off-site Investigation - A carrier is required to submit documents to FMCSA or a State partner. These documents are used to evaluate the safety problems identified through the SMS and to determine their root causes. Types of documents requested may include third party documents such as toll receipts, border crossing records, or drug testing records. The goal is to identify issues responsible for poor safety performance. If the carrier does not submit requested documents they may be subject to an on-site investigation or to subpoena records (see below).
• On-site Focused Investigation - The purpose of this intervention is to evaluate the safety problems identified through the SMS and their root causes. An on-site focused investigation may be selected when deficiencies in two or less BASICs exist. “Focused” on-site investigations target specific problem areas (for example, maintenance records), while “comprehensive” on-site investigations address all aspects of the carrier’s operation.
• On-site Comprehensive Investigation - This intervention is similar to a CR and takes place at the carrier’s place of business. It is used when the carrier exhibits broad and complex safety problems through continually deficient BASICs, worsening multiple BASICs (three or more), or a fatal crash or complaint.

• Follow-Up
• Cooperative Safety Plan (CSP) - Implemented by the carrier, this safety improvement plan is voluntary. The carrier and FMCSA collaboratively create a plan, based on a standard template, to address the underlying problems resulting from the carrier’s substandard safety performance.
• Notice of Violation (NOV) - The NOV is a formal notice of safety deficiencies that requires a response from the carrier. It is used when the regulatory violations discovered are severe enough to warrant formal action but not a civil penalty (fine). It is also used in cases where the violation is immediately correctable and the level of, or desire for, cooperation is high. To avoid further intervention, including fines, the carrier must provide evidence of corrective action or initiate a successful challenge to the violation.
• Notice of Claim (NOC) - An NOC is issued in cases where the regulatory violations are severe enough to warrant assessment and issuance of civil penalties.
• Settlement Agreement - A Settlement Agreement is a contract negotiated with the carrier to enact remedies that address the root cause of a safety problem, defer or reduce penalties, or terminate enforcement proceedings.
• CSA 2010 mandates proactive and progressive interventions for carriers and drivers that have been identified with safety deficiencies. CSA 2010 interventions are unique tools designed to communicate, investigate, and correct carrier safety performance problems before crashes occur. The interventions increase in severity and degree of interaction based on the risk posed by the carrier. FMCSA and its state partners will use CSA 2010 interventions to maintain a strong enforcement presence by more effectively targeting motor carrier safety deficiencies soon after those problems are identified.

FMSCA has the goal of incorporating the following attributes in the industry:
• FLEXIBILITY - Adapt to Changing Environment. Accommodates changes to the transportation environment, such as evolutions in technology and changing programmatic responsibilities.
• EFFICIENCY - Maximize Use of Resources. Improves Federal and State enforcement staff productivity, as well as the safety performance of members of the motor carrier community.
• EFFECTIVENESS - Improve Safety Performance. . Identifies behaviors associated with safety risk; focuses compliance, enforcement, and remediation efforts on those unsafe behaviors.
• INNOVATION - Leverage Data and Technology. Improves safety through the innovative use of technology to track and update safety performance data.
• EQUITABILITY - Be Fair and Unbiased. Assesses and evaluates motor carrier safety and enforces Federal laws and safety regulations to ensure consistent treatment of similarly situated members of the motor carrier community.

Tags:   CDL · commercial drivers · CSA 2010 · dac reportNo Comments