FMCSA

FMCSA to study how to determine crash fault

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. regulators are preparing a two-year demonstration program that will help determine which "less complex" crashes should be considered preventable for the purpose of a carrier's safety rating. It's the latest step in an overhaul of the Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program, which scores violations under Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvements Categories (BASICS) including a "crash indicator". Carriers have for some time been asking how to remove scores for crashes that they don't believe are their fault, Joe DeLorenzo

U.S. Truck Safety Regulators Abandon Earlier Proposals

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has withdrawn a notice of proposed rulemaking that would have required a commercial motor vehicle to display a label attesting that it was compliant with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) when it was manufactured while the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has withdrawn a plan that would have amended haz-mat regulations on the transportation of flammable liquid material in unprotected external product piping, known commonly as wetlines, on tanker trucks.

FMCSA Grants HOS Exemption to Certain Haz-Mat Loads

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) last week announced its decision to grant motor carriers transporting security-sensitive hazardous materials requiring a security plan an exemption from the county's hours-of-service (HOS) regulations that prohibit truckers from driving more than eight consecutive hours since the driver's last off-duty or sleeper-berth period of 30 minutes or more.

U.S. Proposes Changes to Major Truck Safety Program

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Changes are in the works in the U.S. when it comes to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) key truck safety program. The agency announced on Monday it is proposing enhancements to its Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program, including changing some intervention thresholds to better reflect crash risk."These enhancements to SMS allow us to sharpen our focus on carriers with high crash rates, more effectively identify driver safety problems and hazardous materials carriers with serious safety problems, and more accurately account for carriers that are driving on our roads the most," the agency said on its website. These proposed changes are based on results from the agency testing and input from industry, enforcement, and other safety stakeholders. The proposed SMS enhancements include: Changing some of the SMS Intervention Thresholds to better reflect the Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories' (BASICs) correlation to crash risk.