CSA 2010 Is Coming

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s new enforcement plan, Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010, seems destined to be a major step forward in how the federal government oversees truck fleets and drivers.

The plan — which most of us know as CSA 2010 — is designed to focus enforcement efforts on the carriers that need it most, the ones that have had difficulties meeting the rules and laws that govern the industry.

But as FMCSA has rolled out the plan in pilot states, it has become obvious that there are some issues that need to be addressed to maximize the program’s effectiveness and to make sure that it is fair and sensible.

It’s not a surprise that a comprehensive new program would have flaws. But what’s critical is that FMCSA acknowledge those flaws and quickly move to address them.

In her remarks to American Trucking Associations’ board of directors last week, FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro seemed to be saying that her agency was aware of some of the problems and prepared to deal with them. She said FMCSA was determined “to get it right” and it was important to “recognize there are going to be some snafus” (see story, p. 1).

ATA already has informed the agency that it has several concerns: that CSA 2010 uses all crashes in its calculations, and not just the ones in which the fleet or driver is accountable; that the agency plans to rely more on the number of trucks a fleet operates than the number of miles its trucks cover for determining violation frequency; and that the plan to issue warnings, as well as citations for violations, which don’t allow carriers to appeal the actions.

Ferro made it clear that the agency will push to get the program implemented nationally by July, even knowing that it will have bugs.

Carriers will be able to preview their ratings under CSA 2010 in the spring, and we urge fleets to do so quickly, so they can take appropriate action, if necessary, to address problems that arise.

Ferro told ATA’s board members that the program is the kind of safety enforcement program that “many of you have been asking for, and expecting from FMCSA, for many years.”

And ATA Chairman Tommy Hodges said CSA 2010 “is going to make us a better, safer industry that’s better able to manage our safety processes, and that makes it worth it.”