FMCSA 12-04
Contact: Bill MacLeod
Tel.: 202-366-8810
Friday, August 20, 2004
Transportation Department To Review New Ways to Improve Motor Carrier Safety;
Agency Asking for Public Comment
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA) today announced plans to conduct a comprehensive review
of how the agency can best monitor and assess the safety of the nation’s motor
carriers and ensure their compliance with federal regulations.
The multi-year review project, known as the Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010
initiative (CSA-2010), will begin next month with a series of public listening
sessions. FMCSA will ask motor carriers, insurance and safety advocacy groups,
traffic enforcement professionals and the public for their views on the ideal
ways to measure the safety of truck and bus operations and take effective
action.
“Today we are making great strides in improving motor carrier safety,” said
FMCSA Administrator Annette M. Sandberg. “Now is the time to look at every
aspect of our safety program – how we use it, how we can improve it, and how we
can add to it – so we can be ready for the future.”
The dates and locations of the sessions are:
• Sept. 21, Doubletree Hotel, Mission Valley, San Diego;
• Sept. 28, Sheraton Atlanta, Atlanta;
• Oct. 5, Hampton Inn & Suites Dallas/Mesquite, Mesquite, TX;
• Oct. 12, Wyndham Chicago, Chicago;
• Oct. 19, Fairview Park Marriot, Falls Church, VA;
• Oct. 26, Sheraton Springfield, Springfield, MA.
The agency currently inspects higher risk carriers through a series of on-site
inspections and reviews. However, it is uncertain whether the process will
remain effective in the face of expected increases in freight volume. Over the
next 20 years, freight volume is expected to increase 50 percent from current
levels.
FMCSA’s announcement is in today's Federal Register and will be on the Internet
at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov. It also can
be viewed in the DOT Docket Management System,
http://dms.dot.gov by searching for docket number FMCSA-2004-18898.
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