To lessen and prevent crashes, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has published suggested adjustments to its Safety Measurement System (SMS). The SMS identifies and prioritizes for intervention the motor carriers that represent the greatest danger to safety using information from roadside inspections, crash reports, and investigations.
These proposed improvements aim to better identify the organizations that require the most intervention as part of FMCSA's commitment to enhance how the agency uses data to focus enforcement. They will also aid companies in understanding how to use this data to inspire safer practices.
"The FMCSA's primary purpose is safety. According to FMCSA administrator Robin Hutcheson in a news release, the proposed modifications are a part of the agency's ongoing effort to improving the fairness, accuracy, and clarity of our priority system.
Rearranging the SMS's safety categories (currently referred to as "BASICs"), grouping roadside infractions for prioritization purposes, decomposing the severity weights for infractions, modifying some of the intervention thresholds that identify companies for potential intervention, and making additional adjustments to compare like motor carriers to one another are some of the proposed changes.
The first stage of envisioned modifications to the agency's SMS is a new website, the Compliance Safety Accountability (CSA) Prioritization Preview, which is already operational. The website allows motor carriers to see how their data will look after the proposed revisions. Businesses are urged to evaluate these findings and provide feedback to FMCSA on the suggested adjustments at the Federal Register website. Sample pages will be accessible to other users.
Stakeholder participation in the preview and submission of comments to the public docket is encouraged by FMCSA. Beginning on February 15 and ending on May 16, 2023, there will be a 90-day comment period. The FMCSA will provide four open online question-and-answer webinars where participants can ask inquiries regarding the preview and suggested improvements and, if time permits, get real-time responses. It is necessary to register.