FMCSA sends CSA warning letters

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration recently sent warning letters to 23,000 carriers that need to address areas of compliance, Administrator Anne Ferro said March 15.

The letters, which are less serious than an onsite audit, are part of the agency’s new Compliance, Safety, Accountability program, which outlines how FMCSA will intervene with carriers whose performance is sub-par.

Ferro spoke to Truckload Carriers Association members at TCA’s annual meeting in San Diego.

She said CSA and other regulatory initiatives support FMCSA’s three basic goals of raising standards for those entering the trucking industry, ensuring high standards for those in it and “getting the bad guys off the road,” meaning trucks, drivers, carriers, brokers or others.

Regarding the new plan for restarting cross-border trucking, Ferro said it has stronger safety standards than the 2009 pilot program. It will be “an opportunity for Mexico to lift the tariffs that have done so much harm to farmers and other industries in the U.S.”

A pre-operational component will include intensive screening of drivers, carriers and trucks. Carriers will be required to have U.S.-based insurance. Carriers that meet all safety criteria will receive provisional operating authority and will continue to be inspected. Those that continue to meet standards will receive full authority after 18 months.

Ferro also mentioned other pending or planned FMCSA matters:
• HOURS OF SERVICE. The agency received 25,000 comments, which are being analyzed for shaping the final rule.
• ELECTRONIC ONBOARD RECORDERS. Regardless of what form the final hours rule takes, Ferro said, it will be of little use if there is no effective way to monitor compliance. Comment on a proposed rule is being taken through May 23.
• BAN ON HANDHELD CELL PHONE USE BY COMMERCIAL DRIVERS. Comments on the proposed rule are being taken until March 22.
• COMMERCIAL DRIVER LEARNER’S PERMIT. The agency is about a month away from issuing a final rule.
• DRIVER PHYSICAL QUALIFICATIONS. It will be 12 to 18 months before FMCSA seriously addresses how obstructive sleep apnea and other physical conditions affect driver licensing.
• REGISTRY OF CERTIFIED MEDICAL EXAMINERS. Prior to tackling driver health qualifications, the agency will act on establishing certification for doctors who can verify that drivers meet CDL health criteria. It’s an area that seriously needs “integrity” restored, Ferro said.
• DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING DATABASE. The agency is establishing this to ensure that carriers get current records of all driver applicants.


DOT Issues Proposed Rule Requiring Electronic On-Board Recorders for Interstate Commercial Truck and Bus Companies

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today issued a regulatory proposal that would require interstate commercial truck and bus companies to install electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs) to monitor their drivers' hours-of-service (HOS) compliance.

The proposed rule would also relieve interstate motor carriers from retaining certain HOS supporting documents, such as delivery and toll receipts, which are currently used to verify the total number of hours drivers spend operating the vehicle. This part of the proposal fulfills an order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia requiring FMCSA to publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding supporting documents by January 31, 2011.

"We cannot protect our roadways when commercial truck and bus companies exceed hours-of-service rules," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "This proposal would make our roads safer by ensuring that carriers traveling across state lines are using EOBRs to track the hours their drivers spend behind the wheel."

EOBRs are devices attached to commercial vehicles that automatically record the number of hours drivers spend operating the vehicle. Several carriers, including Schneider National, Maverick USA, J.B. Hunt, Knight Transportation and U.S. Express Enterprise, have already installed EOBR technology on their fleets. Approximately 500,000 carriers would be affected by the proposed rule.

Under the proposal, interstate carriers that currently use Records of Duty (RODS) logbooks to document drivers' HOS would be required to use EOBRs. Short-haul interstate carriers that use timecards to document HOS would not be required to use EOBRs.

Carriers that violate this EOBR requirement would face civil penalties of up to $11,000 for each offense. Noncompliance would also negatively impact a carrier's safety fitness rating and DOT operating authority. In April 2010, FMCSA issued a final rule that mandates EOBRs for interstate carriers with serious patterns of HOS violations.

"This proposal is an important step in our efforts to raise the safety bar for commercial carriers and drivers," said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. "We believe broader use of EOBRs would give carriers and drivers an effective tool to strengthen their HOS compliance."

This proposed rule also continues the Department's partnership with Cornell on the e-Rulemaking Initiative, an important step toward keeping President Obama's promise of opening government to more effective citizen participation. The Cornell e-Rulemaking Initiative (CeRI) makes the federal regulatory process more accessible to the public through Regulation Room, an online public participation environment where people can learn about and discuss proposed federal regulations and provide effective feedback to the Department.

Citizens can find more information on the Cornell online effort and provide comments on the proposed rule at regulationroom.org over the next 60 days. The Department of Transportation encourages participation in this rulemaking through Regulation Room, but the public may also submit comments to the DOT docket at regulations.gov.

The comment period begins once the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register. The proposal and information about how to submit comments is here.

CSA: Frequently Asked Questions and Answers – February 1, 2011

The rollout of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) improved safety enforcement program, CSA – Compliance, Safety, Accountability, began on December 12, 2010 with the launch of the new CSA Safety Measurement System (SMS). The following are some commonly asked questions about CSA with corresponding answers. FMCSA, State Partner, and contractor support staff may use this factsheet as a reference tool in order to field phone calls and other communications during CSA rollout.

Q. What does CSA stand for?

A. During its development and testing, CSA 2010 stood for Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010.  Upon its deployment in December 2010, FMCSA renamed its new safety enforcement program to be, simply, CSA - Compliance, Safety, Accountability.

Q. How do I know if CSA affects me?

A. FMCSA’s regulations remained the same after CSA implementation in December 2010, though CSA does change how FMCSA prioritizes carriers for enforcement and how it enforces compliance.  Generally CSA affects carriers subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR), carriers transporting passengers or cargo in interstate commerce, and carriers of hazardous materials in intrastate commerce, but may also include carriers whose State requires that they obtain a U.S. DOT number. 

FMCSA has provided detailed answers to questions about the general applicability of the FMCSR: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/about/other/faq/faqs.aspx.

Q. What is the CSA timeline?

A. The CSA rollout began in December 2010 with the following activities:

·         SafeStat was replaced by the SMS as the tool used by FMCSA/States to prioritize enforcement. SafeStat is no longer available.

·         Roadside inspectors are using the SMS results to identify carriers for inspection.

·         The SMS is available to the public, including shippers and insurance companies.

Beginning in early 2011, warning letters will be issued to carriers with Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) that exceed the FMCSA Intervention Threshold.

Q. Where is the SMS available to the public and what can the public see?

A. The SMS was made public on December 12, 2010. A link to the public SMS is on the Analysis and Information (A&I) Online Website (http://www.ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/sms). The public can view five of the SMS’s seven BASICs. The SMS’s Crash Indicator, like SafeStat’s Accident Safety Evaluation Area (SEA), is only visible to the carriers themselves and to enforcement staff while the agency develops a long-term approach to determining crash accountability (see the FAQ below). 

In addition, as a result of a transparent and systematic process of input, testing, feedback, and refinement, FMCSA has determined that the Cargo-Related BASIC, while a solid indicator of safety performance, needs further analysis and refinement prior to public release. Therefore, at present, the Cargo-Related BASIC is used by enforcement and is only visible to motor carriers. 

Q. How is crash accountability handled in SMS?

A. The structure of the new SMS is such that crash accountability is not automatically determined or considered. In fact, recordable crash reports that States submit to FMCSA do not include an accountability determination. Consequently, motor carriers are identified for possible intervention based on recordable crashes without consideration of accountability.

·         Why does FMCSA take this approach?

This approach is taken because data analysis has historically shown that motor carriers that are involved in crashes, regardless of accountability, are likely to be involved in more future crashes than the carriers that are not. Put simply, past crashes are a good predictor of future crashes.

·         Will this approach remain the same moving forward?

FMCSA recognizes this approach as a concern and is considering several short- and long-term ways to address it

o   The short-term: The plan is to exclude the Crash Indicator BASIC percentile ranking from public websites because FMCSA understands that some crashes are unpreventable on the part of the motor carrier. This is consistent with the agency’s decision not to display the Accident SEA of SafeStat on public websites in recent years.

o   The long-term: FMCSA is assessing the feasibility of evaluating crashes for accountability/preventability before they are used by the SMS in the Crash Indicator BASIC. This would allow FMCSA to better concentrate intervention efforts on motor carriers that have high preventable/accountable crash rates.

In the meantime, FMCSA will continue to consider crash preventability prior to issuing adverse formal safety ratings.

Q. Where do I find CSA training?

A. FMCSA does not conduct CSA training for industry at the national level. The agency does however recommend that you contact your local FMCSA Division to see if they are carrying out any informational sessions in your State. Their contact information can be found at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/about/contact/offices/displayfieldroster.asp. You can also contact various trucking professional groups since they often hold events where FMCSA employees speak about CSA. 

There is a lot of good CSA information online for you to educate yourself, including: http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/outreach.aspx;

http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/FAQs.aspx;

http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/outreach.aspx#listening

Q. When does the SMS update?

A. The SMS updates monthly. A snapshot of the data is taken on the 4^th Friday of each month and then it takes approximately 10 business days to process and validate the data before it is updated on the website. These dates are estimates; if there are problems with the validation, the process can take longer than expected.  The release schedule is listed here:  http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/SMS/InfoCenter/#question5.

Q. How are safety ratings handled under CSA?

A. FMCSA intends to propose replacing the current safety rating process, which determines safety via a compliance review with a new Safety Fitness Determination (SFD) that will use the SMS to determine safety ratings. The SFD Notice of Proposed Rulemaking will be released in 2011. The SFD will need to go through the entire rulemaking process before it becomes law. Until the SFD becomes law, FMCSA will continue to use the current safety rating process.  Current safety ratings can be found here:  http://www.safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/CompanySnapshot.aspx

Q: How do I assess my BASIC percentile rank?

A: If one or more of your BASIC percentiles exceed the intervention threshold or prior serious violations have been found, then FMCSA will be closely monitoring your organization. Motor carrier interventions are selected by weighing the following factors: the SMS percentile rankings including number of BASICs that exceed the threshold, intervention history, and time since last intervention. The intervention thresholds for carriers are organized by BASIC and are as follows:

Q:  How do I find my non-public data?

In order to view your company’s data, please go to the following site: http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/sms/. From this page, a carrier representative can log in with its US DOT Number and PIN number in order to access the carrier’s non public data. The non public data includes percentile ranks for the Cargo-Related and Crash Indicator BASICs and identifies which drivers were responsible for each inspection. The carrier sign-in is at the bottom center of the screen. Once signed in, you will be guided back to the SMS Home Page. After that, in the search box in the middle right section of the screen, you should type in the USDOT# or MC # and hit search. A carrier representative can also sign in via the Portal located here: https://portal.fmcsa.dot.gov/.

Q:  How do I find my Inspection Selection System (ISS) value?

 ISS is no longer available to the public.  A carrier can access its own ISS value on the Compass Portal (https://portal.fmcsa.dot.gov) and can register on the website using its DOT Number and USDOT PIN Number. For answers to questions about the Portal, contact compass@dot.gov or call 1-800-832-5660.

Q:  How can I make a suggestion to improve the new SMS website?

The SMS website will be adding new functionality over time.  Stakeholders can submit suggestions on how they would like to see the SMS website improved by submitting their feedback here:  http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/csa_feedback.aspx?defaulttag=SMS.

Q:  How do I improve my percentile ranks in the SMS BASICs?

Receiving new inspections that are of free of violations will improve a carrier’s percentile rank for Fatigued (Hours-Of-Service) Driving, Driver Fitness, Controlled Substance and Alcohol, Vehicle Maintenance, and Cargo-Related BASICs.  Carriers should also review the "What a Motor Carrier can do to Improve" section of the information center located here:  http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/SMS/InfoCenter/Default.aspx.  This section provides tips that may help carriers who want to improve their safety performance.

Q:  How can one of my BASICs move into alert status?

There are two ways a motor carrier can receive an alert in a BASIC.  First, the SMS analyzes a carrier’s on road safety performance based on the new SMS methodology and that analysis results in a percentile for each BASIC. If the percentile is over the established intervention threshold, the BASIC is at alert and the percentile is presented within an orange outline and displayed in the On-Road column of the SMS. 

Second, if a serious violation was cited as the result of a carrier investigation within the past 12 months, the BASIC is at alert and the Investigation column displays the “Serious Violation Found” icon.  The alert icon will remain present for 12 months regardless of whether corrective actions have occurred.