FMCSA announces plans for Crash-Accountability Demonstration Program

Excerpt from Transport Topics article: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on July 11 outlined plans for a two-year demonstration program that would allow certain non-preventable crashes to be removed from motor carriers’ public and private safety scores. The policy shift is being proposed after long-standing industry concerns that all crashes currently are being recorded…

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Excerpt from Transport Topics article:

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on July 11 outlined plans for a two-year demonstration program that would allow certain non-preventable crashes to be removed from motor carriers’ public and private safety scores.

The policy shift is being proposed after long-standing industry concerns that all crashes currently are being recorded in Compliance, Safety, Accountability program safety scores, whether or not the carrier is at fault.

The demonstration program, which was outlined in two separate Federal Register announcements, was introduced July 12.

FMCSA said the crash accountability process could be generated by a carrier’s request for a data review accompanied by a variety of documentation. That could include proof of a conviction of the party causing the crash, law enforcement reports, insurance reports from all parties involved in the crash and any other relevant information.

The agency said it is seeking comment 60 days after the two announcements are published in the Federal Register, expected this week. FMCSA wants to know what other documentation would be sufficient to allow the agency or a third-party contractor to make a non-preventable crash determination.

Specifically, FMCSA said the demonstration program would consider allowing the removal of crashes from a carrier’s safety record when a commercial motor vehicle was struck by motorists convicted of driving under the influence, driving in the wrong direction, striking a CMV in the rear or striking a CMV when it was legally stopped.

Read more at Transport Topics.

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