FMCSA PROPOSES PERMANENT CRASH PREVENTABILITY DETERMINATION PROGRAM
The U.S. DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recently proposed a permanent crash preventabilitydetermination program to gain additional data to recognize possible safety risks on the 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% of those reviewed have been found to be not preventable by the motor carrier or commercial driver.
Following the strong participation in the program from motor carriers, Transportation Secretary Chao announced U.S. DOT’s plan to make the current demonstration program permanent during a March 29 speech at the 2019 Mid-America Trucking show.
This recent 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 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 ... to expand and improve the crash preventability program,” FMCSA Administrator Raymond P. Martinez, in a news release. “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.”
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (accessed through: https://www.trafficandtransit.com/fmcsa-proposes-permanent-crash-preventability-determination-program?eid=331242585&bid=2501271)