This manual discusses countermeasures which may be used to reduce the incidence of preventable Commercial Motor Vehicle accidents. It presents guides and tips to help drivers and safety supervisors formulate strategies which are reflective of the particular needs and circumstances of their company and will lead to improved driving safety.

Accident Preventability:

The manual uses the notion that a preventable accident is one wherein the driver and/or the carrier failed to act in a reasonably expected manner to prevent it. This concept is broader than the commonly used safety management tool for improving safety where accident preventability is judged only on the basis of the driver's performance. Thus, this manual presents countermeasures which seek to improve carrier performance as well as driver performance. It should be noted that this manual does not set out criteria for judging whether a given level of performance is reasonable.

How this Manual should be used:

The manual contains a table of typical accident situations keyed to individually numbered countermeasure or guide sheets. For each accident situation, some potential causes are listed, together with the principal and secondary countermeasures which may help to address those causes. Each countermeasure referenced in the table is fully described on an individual sheet which contains tips and questions intended to prompt the reader to focus on strategies that could be implemented to counter the indicated accident situation. These strategies may be directed either towards the improvement of the driver's performance or the motor carrier's procedures. Since no two drivers or carriers are the same, countermeasures should be viewed as guidelines which could be developed into strategies that best address the needs and circumstances of the particular driver or carrier.

Where appropriate, the countermeasure sheets reference selected books and resources for further information from the list at the end of the manual. Also, where appropriate, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) which address the issues are noted.

Finally, the manual presents an accident analysis work sheet, as an aid to the safety analyst. The intent of the work sheet is to provide a systematic method for the analyst to explore the accident history of the carrier or individual driver and identify appropriate countermeasures which could then be utilized to develop safety improvement strategies.