The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) plans to tweak its Compliance Safety Accountability (CSA) program this December is an effort to “sharpen” the CSA data used by enforcement personnel so they can more quickly identify high-risk truck and bus companies.

“It’s important for us to sharpen our focus on the higher risk operators,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro in a conference call with reporters about the changes to CSA on Friday. “Even minor changes to the kinds of data used within CSA results in improved focus on the carriers that pose the highest safety risk.”

The changes the agency will make to CSA in December include:

  • Changing the Cargo-Related BASIC (Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category) to the Hazardous Materials (HM) Compliance BASIC. Ferro stressed that only carriers and law enforcement will be able to view this new BASIC in December, as FMCSA plans to conduct further monitoring before making HM data public;
  • Changing the Fatigued Driving BASIC to the hours-of-service (HOS) compliance BASIC, in order to weigh HOS paper and electronic logbook violations equally;
  • Incorporating cargo and load securement violations into the Vehicle Maintenance BASIC;
  • Including intermodal equipment violations that should be found during drivers’ pre-trip inspections;
  • Removing 1 to 5 mph speeding violations to ensure citations are consistent with current speedometer regulations. 
  • Ensuring all recorded violations accurately reflect the proper inspection type – for example, that only driver violations will be recorded under driver inspections.

Ferro added that FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee (MCSAC) is also going to consider establishing a CSA subcommittee this week, to shippers, carriers, safety groups, and others the ongoing opportunity to discuss proposals and recommendations regarding future alterations to the CSA program.