Prevent motor carriers from operating if they put vehicles with mechanical problems on the road or unqualified drivers behind the wheels.
The two most important factors in safe motor carrier operations are the operational status of the vehicles and the performance of the individuals who drive them. If significant problems exist with vehicles and/or the qualifications or fitness for duty of the drivers, the carrier should be rated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) as unsatisfactory, forcing corrections of the problems identified within a specified time period, along with greater FMCSA oversight because problems in either of these areas could result in severe consequences for safety. If problems in these two areas persist, the motor carrier should have its license to operate revoked. The NTSB has called on the FMCSA to implement such changes to its safety fitness rating methodology.
The Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984 directed the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to establish a procedure to determine how safely motor carriers operate. Currently, the U.S. Department of Transportation, through the FMCSA, uses a system for determining how safely a motor carrier operates that does not place sufficient emphasis on driver or vehicle qualifications.
Under the current compliance review system, when any motor carrier receives an unsatisfactory rating in two of six factors (general, driver, operational, vehicle, hazardous materials, or accident), the carrier receives a proposed unsatisfactory rating, which becomes effective according to the following timeframes: a passenger or hazardous-materials carrier has 45 days to correct the noncompliance; freight carriers have 60 days. If the carrier corrects the noncompliance to the satisfaction of the FMCSA, the rating is revised to either satisfactory or conditional. If the carrier does not correct the noncompliance within the established timeframe, the carrier receives an out-of-service order and is prohibited from operation.
The NTSB believes that if the carrier receives an adverse rating (conditional or unsatisfactory) for either the vehicle or driver factor, regardless of ratings received in any of the other factors, the overall compliance rating should be unsatisfactory.
The FMCSA believes that its Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 Initiative (CSA 2010) will address this issue through the development of new performance-based systems for determining motor carrier and driver safety that emphasize preventive measures, motor carrier education, and early detection of unsafe driver and carrier conditions. As the FMCSA demonstrated to stakeholders at an October 2008 public listening session; to staff members from Congress, the General Accounting Office, the Office of the Inspector General, and the NTSB at a February 2009 meeting; and during a December 2009 two-part webcast public listening session, the agency is continuing to develop CSA 2010 programs to improve enforcement efficiency. The new Safety Measurement System (1) measures safety performance using all roadside inspection safety-based violations, (2) weights time and severity of violations based on relationship to crash risk, and (3) calculates safety performance in seven Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASIC). These BASICs include unsafe driving, fatigued driving, driver fitness, drugs and alcohol, vehicle maintenance, cargo securement, and crash experience. The Comprehensive Intervention Process provides tools to educate carriers and compel safety compliance before crashes occur.
In February 2008, the FMCSA launched a pilot test of the CSA 2010 operational model in four states: Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, and New Jersey. The tests in these four states divided the carriers into two groups-a test group, carrying out CSA 2010 interventions, and a control group, using the traditional compliance reviews; additional test states are being added using only CSA 2010 interventions. Preliminary results indicate that nearly half of the test carriers have logged onto the Comprehensive Safety Information System website to view their violations data, as suggested in a warning letter, and have replied to the FMCSA describing the corrective actions they have taken or are initiating in response to the warning. In May 2009, Minnesota and Montana were added to the pilot test; Maryland and Kansas were added in fall 2009. The FMCSA expects to complete the pilot test in June 2010 and to implement CSA 2010 nationwide during July through December 2010. The FMCSA is launching an outreach effort to inform carriers and drivers of the upcoming change and to encourage all stakeholders to become more involved.
On March 5, 2007, the FMCSA Administrator appointed experts from the motor carrier industry, safety advocates, and safety enforcement officials to serve on the Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee (MCSAC). The MCSAC, which holds quarterly public meetings, provides advice and recommendations to the Administrator regarding motor carrier safety programs and motor carrier safety regulations. On August 6, 2008, after considering the potential safety benefits and operational feasibility of the task, the MCSAC recommended that Safety Recommendation H-99-6 be incorporated into CSA 2010. Based on the MCSAC's recommendation, the preliminary safety fitness methodology that is currently being tested, and the progress that has been made with the CSA 2010 initiative, the FMCSA has been preparing a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to address Safety Fitness Determination, the third element of CSA 2010. The NPRM was expected to be published in February 2009; however, it was delayed for further analysis, and has an anticipated publication date of April 2010. There is as yet no proposed date for publication of the final rule.
The NTSB is concerned with the FMCSA's continued slow progress in addressing this issue. Although the agency has assured the NTSB that it is on schedule to begin implementing this program in 2010, until the Safety Fitness Determination rulemaking is complete, the FMCSA must rely on the current safety rating system, which lacks sufficient emphasis on driver and vehicle qualifications. Although the FMCSA has made progress with CSA 2010, during the investigation of a January 2, 2008, motorcoach rollover on U.S. Highway 59 near Victoria, Texas, the NTSB again found that the current FMCSA safety rating methodology did not provide adequate oversight of motor carrier safety. The NTSB will continue to monitor the FMCSA's actions to recognize the importance of driver and vehicle factors in addressing motor carrier safety as the CSA 2010 pilot testing continues and rulemaking is completed.
Continue efforts to develop standards that appropriately recognize the importance of vehicle and driver factors in measuring the overall safety of a motor carrier's operations.
H-99-6 (FMCSA)
Issued February 26, 1999
Added to the Most Wanted List: 2000
Status: Open-Unacceptable Response
Change the safety fitness rating methodology so that adverse vehicle and driver performance-based data alone are sufficient to result in an overall unsatisfactory rating for the carrier. (Source: Selective Motorcoach Issues. [NTSB/SIR-99/01])
