The coming FMCSA safety inspection regime, likely to start in July next year, will change things dramatically if your drivers roll stateside. And it may well come to Canada before long. The American trucking industry has wanted a retrofit of the DOT’s fitness, safety and rating systems for some time, and now they have it. CSA 2010 uses comprehensive data collected at roadside inspections and reviews that data every 30 days to assess every carrier’s safety performance. The info will then be used to grade carriers and if they don’t subsequently improve, the DOT will conduct an audit.

Drivers’ actions will affect a fleet’s safety evaluation directly, so it’s essential that they understand CSA 2010. This J. J. Keller program explains the new system and the key fundamentals that drivers need to know, including their obligations as to unsafe driving, fatigue, HOS, controlled substances and alcohol, truck and trailer maintenance, and load securement. It also covers the driver’s role in improving, maintaining, or degrading their company’s — and their own — safety fitness evaluation, explaining what they can do to prevent violations and have "good" inspections go into the Safety Measurement System (SMS).

The program includes several ready-to-use training tools: a closed-captioned video on DVD; a 24-page discussion guide; driver handbooks; and a CSA 2010 overview poster to hang in a training room or drivers’ lounge. It will be available in February but can be reserved now. Keller says that if a rulemaking regarding CSA 2010 is published prior to July 1, 2011 and requires changes to this product, your copy will be updated at no charge.