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Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 (CSA2010)

CSA 2010 is on the near horizon. The plans have been laid, the infrastructure is in place, and the program will be ready to roll in the Summer of 2010. This is a complex program that will have some bearing on every driver and carrier in the United States. At BigRigDriving we’re going to cover the CSA 2010 Program extensively to clarify the policies, eliminate false rumors, and help you understand how this program will effect truck drivers and commercial carriers nationwide.

For now we’ll start with the basics and then we’ll steer you toward resources that will help you understand the program better, including our blog and forum topics dedicated to your questions, answers, and comments regarding CSA 2010.

About CSA 2010 – What Is It?

According to the CSA2010 Website:

“Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010, CSA 2010, is a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) initiative to improve large truck and bus safety and ultimately reduce commercial motor vehicle (CMV)-related crashes, injuries and fatalities. It introduces a new enforcement and compliance model that allows FMCSA and its State partners to contact a larger number of carriers earlier in order to address safety problems before crashes occur. When the program is fully rolled out by the end of 2010, FMCSA will have a new nationwide system for making the roads safer for motor carriers and the public alike!”

What Does This Mean In English?

The Federal Government is creating a new program to monitor the safety of truck drivers and trucking companies. It will replace the SAFESTAT system that has been used for many years to help track commercial driver and commercial carrier safety performance.

Why Is CSA 2010 Needed?

According to the CSA2010 Website:

“Since the 1970s, Federal and State enforcement agencies in partnership with many other stakeholders have progressively reduced the rate of commercial vehicle crashes resulting in injuries or fatalities on our Nation’s highways.

“The rate of crash reduction has slowed, prompting FMCSA to take a fresh look at how the agency evaluates the safety of motor carriers and drivers and to explore ways to improve its safety monitoring, evaluation, and intervention processes. CSA 2010 is the result of this comprehensive examination.

Basically, they’ve found that the rate of reduction in accidents and fatalities over the years has slowed and it’s time for a new system that can take safety and accountability to the next level, making the roads safer for everyone.

How Will CSA 2010 Work?

According to the CSA2010 Website:

“When FMCSA rolls out CSA 2010, the Safety Measurement System (SMS) will replace SafeStat. Every month, SMS will measure the previous two years of roadside violation and crash data and calculate a score in seven safety behavior areas, called BASICs (Behavioral Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories).”

In other words, CSA 2010 will gather information nationwide from crash sites and roadside vehicle inspections and calculate just how safe a particular commercial carrier or truck driver may be. Note that these scores are only based on data from the previous two years.

What Are The CSA 2010 BASIC’S For Calculating Scores?

There are seven BASIC’s (Behavioral Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories) that will be used to evaluate the safety performance of commercial drivers and commercial carriers. They are:

  • Unsafe Driving
  • Fatigued Driving (Hours of Service)
  • Driver Fitness
  • Controlled Substances and Alcohol
  • Vehicle Maintenance
  • Cargo Related
  • Crash Indicator

We’ll cover each of these in detail later on.

BigRig Blogs For CSA 2010

How Will The FMCSA Pre-Employment Screening Program Affect Drivers?

Written by Brett Aquila on 2010-10-02 04:13:13

The Pre-Employment Screening Program is a screening tool that allows motor carriers and individual drivers to purchase driving records from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS). Ok, so the Federal Government is maintaining information on truck drivers. That probably sounds terrifying to most drivers. I know it does to me. So naturally it raises a lot of questions and we’ll answer em here.

CSA 2010 Will Not Assign Safety Ratings to Individual Drivers (yeah right!)

Written by Brett Aquila on 2010-02-11 08:49:12

CSA 2010, as is typical of any government-run program, is already full of misconceptions, contradictions, and confusion. Trucker drivers are obviously concerned about their safety rating and how that will affect their current job, and prospects for truck driving jobs in the future. Well, oddly enough, the FMCSA (Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration) claims there is not going to be a safety rating assigned to individual company drivers at all. And yet they clearly state that when a carrier gets audited, their driver’s safety records will be reviewed. They also have a pre-employment screening program in place to allow trucking companies to get driver safety information before hiring a driver. Will this pre-employment screening and safety rating system apply to owner-operators only? What effects will CSA 2010 have on company drivers? Let’s take a look.

Understanding The Six CSA 2010 BASIC’s

Written by Brett Aquila on 2010-01-19 10:03:45

There are six BASIC’s regarding the CSA 2010 implementation and one last measure called “Crash Indicator”. The CSA 2010 team developed the BASICs under the premise that commercial motor vehicle crashes can be traced to the behavior of motor carriers and/or drivers. Here is a list of all seven items, their definitions, and some examples of how they apply.

Recent News From The CSA 2010 Website

CSA Outreach

A listing of new items posted to the CSA Outreach site!

CSA Website Features the Fatigued Driving (HOS) BASIC Factsheet

Posted on 30 January 2012 @ 12:00 am

The Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) Website now features the Fatigued Driving (Hours-of-Service (HOS)) Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) factsheet. This new factsheet is the second in a series of seven that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released on January 17, 2012 to better educate motor carriers, commercial motor vehicle drivers, and other industry stakeholders on CSA’s seven safety categories. Motor carriers and drivers can access this factsheet, as well as the other BASIC factsheets, on the Resources page.

This week FMCSA is putting the spotlight on the Fatigued Driving (HOS) BASIC factsheet, which gives information about driver fatigue management and HOS requirements, as outlined under Parts 392 and 395 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). Motor carriers and drivers can refer to this factsheet for information regarding the types of documents associated with this BASIC they should keep, such as records of duty status (RODS), and for information about how to proactively address HOS and driver fatigue-related problems.

January SMS Snapshot Will Incorporate Two SMS Improvements

Posted on 27 January 2012 @ 12:00 am

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has enhanced the Safety Measurement System (SMS) Methodology so that it includes violations based on new cell phone use regulations and provides more detailed breakouts of some existing brake, wheel, and coupling regulations. In February, when the January snapshot is released, motor carriers may notice the following two changes.

  1. The addition of five texting and cell phone use violations in the Unsafe Driving Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) as outlined below. The violations reflect FMCSA’s decision on January 3, 2012 to ban commercial drivers from using mobile telephones while driving, which includes a ban on texting. Motor carriers should discuss the new violations with their drivers to ensure that they are aware of these requirements.
    Added Carrier SMS Unsafe Driving BASIC Violations
    Section Violation Description Shown on Driver/Vehicle Examination Report Given to Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Driver after Roadside Inspection Violation Group Description Violation Severity Weight
    177.804(b) Failure to comply with 49 CFR 392.80 – Texting while Oper a CMV – Placardable HM Texting 10
    177.804(c) Fail to comply with 392.82 – Using Mobile Phone while Oper a CMV – HM Phone Call 10
    392.80(a) Driving a commercial motor vehicle while texting Texting 10
    392.82(a)(1) Using a hand-held mobile telephone while operating a CMV Phone Call 10
    392.82(a)(2) Allowing or requiring driver to use a hand-held

    Know More Facts about the Unsafe Driving BASIC

    Posted on 23 January 2012 @ 12:00 am

    The Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) Website now features the Unsafe Driving Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) factsheet. This new factsheet is one in a series of seven that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released on January 17, 2012 to better educate motor carriers, commercial motor vehicle drivers, and other industry stakeholders on CSA’s seven safety categories. Motor carriers and drivers can access this factsheet, as well as the other BASIC factsheets, on the Resources page.
     
    This week FMCSA is highlighting the Unsafe Driving BASIC factsheet, which addresses the careless and dangerous operation of commercial motor vehicles by drivers, as outlined under Parts 392 and 397 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). Motor carriers and drivers can refer to this factsheet for information about the types of documents associated with this BASIC they should keep, such as driver training certificates, and for information about how to proactively handle unsafe driving problems.

    BASIC Factsheets Now Available on Website

    Posted on 17 January 2012 @ 12:00 am

    The Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program has just released a new Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) factsheet series on the CSA Outreach Website. These factsheets are targeted for motor carriers and commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers who want to learn more about the agency’s seven BASICs, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) upon which they are based, and how to ensure they comply with those regulations.
     
    Motor carriers and drivers should read all seven of these new factsheets to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the CSA program and, more specifically, the BASICs. The BASICs are Unsafe Driving, Fatigued Driving (Hours-of-Service), Driver Fitness, Controlled Substances/Alcohol, Vehicle Maintenance, Cargo-Related, and Crash Indicator. As these factsheets outline, the BASICs are safety categories in the CSA program’s Safety Measurement System (SMS). Motor carriers can see where they stand in each BASIC by logging into the SMS online (http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/sms/).
     
    These BASIC factsheets fulfill an informational need for motor carriers and drivers looking for ways to improve their safety performance. Motor carriers should consider these factsheets not only as a resource for themselves but also as a tool for educating their drivers. FMCSA will highlight one BASIC factsheet each Monday for the next seven weeks through this subscription email service to support industry’s understanding of the BASICs.
     
    View the BASIC factsheets now.

     Stay connected to CSA by subscribing to the RSS feed and signing up for the email subscription

    Reminder Commercial Motor Carriers: Update your VMT and PU data now!

    Posted on 6 January 2012 @ 12:00 am

    Did You Know…As a motor carrier, your Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT) and Power Unit (PU) data from your Motor Carrier Registration form, known as the MCS-150, are used to calculate your Unsafe Driving and Crash Indicator Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) percentiles.

    If your VMT data is 2009 or older, it will not be used in your calculations when the January Safety Measurement System (SMS) snapshot is posted at the beginning of February.

    Update your MCS-150 now with your 2010 or 2011 VMT/PU data to ensure FMCSA is using the most accurate data available to calculate your percentiles. Visit https://li-public.fmcsa.dot.gov/LIVIEW/PKG_REGISTRATION.prc_option to update your MCS-150 information. Under the “Existing Registration Updates” section, choose the first option – “I need to update my USDOT number registration information or file my biennial update.”

    PLEASE NOTE: The SMS website is updated monthly, so your MCS-150 changes will not be reflected on that site until the next monthly update. You can find the schedule of SMS updates at http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/SMS/InfoCenter/#question5. MCS-150 updates show up faster on SAFER and the FMCSA Portal websites.

    Below are a few questions and answers that help to explain the situation.
     
     
    1)      If the VMT data is not updated and is 2009 or older, what impact will this have when the snapshot is posted in the beginning of February?  SMS uses VMT data if it has been provided within the last 24 months and references one of the two previous years.  So,

    CSA Safety Measurement System (SMS) website updated

    Posted on 4 January 2012 @ 12:00 am

    The CSA Safety Measurement System (SMS) website has been updated with the December 16, 2011 snapshot.  Check your safety assessment now at: http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/sms. 

    NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS website and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select ‘Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.’ Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

    Attention Commercial Motor Carriers: Update your VMT and PU data now!

    Posted on 19 December 2011 @ 12:00 am

    Did You Know…As a motor carrier, your Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT) and Power Unit (PU) data from your Motor Carrier Registration form, known as the MCS-150, are used to calculate your Unsafe Driving and Crash Indicator Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) percentiles.

    If your VMT data is 2009 or older, it will not be used in your calculations when the January Safety Measurement System (SMS) snapshot is posted at the beginning of February.

    Update your MCS-150 now with 2010 VMT/PU information or shortly after January 1, 2012 with your 2011 data to ensure FMCSA is using the most accurate data available to calculate your percentiles. Visit https://li-public.fmcsa.dot.gov/LIVIEW/PKG_REGISTRATION.prc_option to update your MCS-150 information. Under the “Existing Registration Updates” section, choose the first option – “I need to update my USDOT number registration information or file my biennial update.”

    PLEASE NOTE: The SMS website is updated monthly, so your MCS-150 changes will not be reflected on that site until the next monthly update. You can find the schedule of SMS updates at http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/SMS/InfoCenter/#question5. MCS-150 updates show up faster on SAFER and the FMCSA Portal websites.

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    Comments

    2 Comments

    1. Don Roudebush says:
      November 26, 2010 at 12:55 pm

      If we can send men and women into harms way at 18 years of age… why can't we train truck drivers right out of high school… send them to truck driving boot camp. There is a lot to be said for getting young men and women fresh out of high school into the military. As a Former Marine, I was totally "Marine Green" by the time basic was over with. The military knows they have the advantage over you if you have no civilian work experience to compare to your military experience. If they can die for us, why can't they drive for us ? The trucking industry could grow a generation of potentially safer drivers. Since the industry is already regulated by the government, maybe the government should take the next step and consider training drivers according to their imposed rules and regulations…

      • Brett Aquila says:
        November 30, 2010 at 3:23 am

        Hey Don.

        I'd say the #1 reason for not letting people under 21 drive interstate is because of their horrendous safety statistics and the tendency for younger people to be more aggressive, less patient, and greater risk takers. In trucking, it's all about liability and trust. Trucking companies need people with a proven track record of smart decision making which is why they tend to rule out anyone who has ever had a felony, DUI, or severe driving infractions. They even look at your credit score and social networking pages to get all the information they can about you. Unfortunately, someone who is 18 has never been anywhere except high school and mommy's house – they usually have no track record of decision making at that point in their lives to show they can be trusted. At least at 21 you've been out in the world for a few years (hopefully) and have shown you can be trusted (or not) as an adult making your own decisions.

        Naturally the military loves 18-21 year olds because most people at that age are a bundle of fearless adrenaline junkies – idealistic, looking to make their mark in the world, and easier to mold. That's not a complaint against the military at all – it's just a simple matter of finding the right person in the right circumstances for the job.

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