The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) on July 31 proposed a permanent crash preventability determination program to gain additional data to recognize possible safety risks on our nation’s roads.
This crash preventability program examines the feasibility, costs, and benefits of determining and displaying the preventability of certain crash types. Starting in August 2017, FMCSA reviewed more than 5,600 crashes submitted by truck and bus companies to determine if a crash could have been prevented by the motor carrier. Approximately 94 percent have been found to be not preventable by the motor carrier or commercial driver.
Following the strong participation in the program from motor carriers, Secretary Elaine Chao announced the department’s plan to make the current demonstration program permanent during a March 29 speech at the 2019 Mid-America Trucking show.
The new action proposes a transition to a long-term crash preventability determination program for FMCSA. In addition, the agency is proposing the removal of not preventable crashes from the Safety Measurement System (SMS) Crash Indicator Behavior Analysis Safety Improvement Category (BASIC), expanding the types of crashes that can be evaluated from eight to 15.
“Data drives our agency’s decisions, and the information we’ve received and analyzed during the demonstration project informed our action today to expand and improve the crash preventability program,” said FMCSA Administrator Raymond P. Martinez. “We’ve listened to carriers, drivers, and other commercial motor vehicle stakeholders throughout each step of this process, and strongly encourage all interested parties to submit comments on our proposed changes.”
FMCSA seeks public comments on the proposed changes to the program. The comment period will be open for 60 days.
