December of 2010 brought the much-anticipated nationwide release of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)'s Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program. According to the FMCSA, CSA is designed with the "ultimate goal of achieving a greater reduction in large truck and bus crashes, injuries and fatalities." In short, the program is built around the premise of making the roads safer for commercial carriers and passenger vehicles alike.
The CSA program has been in the works since 2008, and hinges upon a three-step process:
- Measurement of a carrier's safety record through interpretation of that carrier's Safety Measurement System (SMS) rating
- Evaluation of the carrier's areas of improvement
- Intervention to ensure that concerns and areas of improvement are addressed in a timely manner, thus making the roads safer for everyone
The New Safety Standards
The measurement component of the CSA - the newly developed SMS - is the one that has received the most press and the area in which the most discussion has come forth. Everyone from carriers to unions and individual drivers to victims of trucking accidents has weighed in on the SMS, specifically on the FMCSA's decision to use the following seven Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) to determine the CSA score of a motor carrier:
- Unsafe driving - driving dangerously or carelessly by speeding, improperly changing lanes, tailgating, running stop signs or lights (the most emphasis is given to the most severe violations like speeding more than 15 miles per hour over the posted limit, texting while driving, speeding in a marked construction zone and reckless driving)
- Fatigued driving - violating hours-of-service restrictions, failing to keep an accurate driver log, driving while fatigued or driving while too ill to concentrate on the road
- Driver fitness - both physical fitness and training/experience/road worthiness
- Controlled substances/alcohol - driving while impaired by prescription drugs, illegal drugs, over-the-counter medications or alcohol
- Vehicle maintenance - failing to properly maintain a vehicle's lights, brakes, mechanical parts, electronic components, mud flaps and safety systems
- Cargo-related - failing to secure cargo (resulting in shifted loads, dropped loads or spilled cargo) or unsafe handling of hazardous materials
- Crash indicator - a history of accidents, weighted to give more emphasis to severity and frequency of crashes
The FMCSA hopes that the CSA will result in more frequent inspections, better regulatory compliance and increased safety of the roadways for commercial and passenger traffic alike. Since the CSA has just become widely adopted, however, the full impact of it has yet to be seen. In the meantime, if you or a loved one has been injured in a commercial vehicle accident, seek the advice of an experienced personal injury attorney in your area. Doing so is an invaluable step towards protecting your rights and keeping your legal options open.
