FMCSA Adds Four Crash Types to Non-Preventable List

The addition brings to 21 the total number of crash types included in the program. (deepblue4you/Getty Images)

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Federal trucking regulators have added four non-preventable crash types to their list of 17 accidents that will not be included in the calculation of a motor carrier’s safety performance records.

The last time non-preventable crash types were added to the Crash Preventability Determination Program used to determine fleets’ safety scores was 2023. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration administers the list.

The addition brings to 21 the total number of crash types included in the program, according to a Dec. 3 agency announcement.

Eligible crashes modify information in the agency’s Safety Measurement System to distinguish preventable from not preventable crashes. Under the CPDP, a motor carrier involved in an eligible crash may submit a Request for Data Review with a required police accident report and other supporting information — such as documents, photos or videos — through the agency’s DataQs system. Crashes determined to be not preventable through the CPDP are removed from the calculation of the Crash Indicator Behavior Analysis Safety Improvement Category in the SMS but are still listed on the website. Not Preventable determinations are also noted in FMCSA’s Pre-Employment Screening Program, which carriers use when reviewing the driving record of a potential new hire.

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The new additions to the CPDP include crashes when:

• a CMV was struck on the side by a motorist operating in the same direction.
• a CMV was struck because another motorist was entering the roadway from a private driveway or parking lot.
• a CMV was struck because another motorist lost control of their vehicle.
• any other type of crash involving a CMV where a video demonstrates the sequence of events of the crash.

Across these categories, FMCSA said preventability will be determined according to the following standard: “If a driver, who exercises normal judgment and foresight could have foreseen the possibility of the accident that in fact occurred and avoided it by taking steps within his/her control which would not have risked causing another kind of mishap, the accident was preventable.”

In written comments, the industry largely supported the additions to the program, also suggesting 15 additional accident types that FMCSA officials declined to support as non-preventable.

FMCSA said 26 commenters supported the addition of the four new crash types in the program, noting that the crash type focused on the use of video evidence generated the most commentary. Several commenters addressed challenges with the DataQs system in uploading videos and requested that the system be updated to allow upload of more file types and larger file sizes.

American Trucking Associations said it has long supported the CPDP as a necessary process to ensure equal treatment of all carriers in the Compliance Safety Accountability SMS, but it said the CSA SMS should not grade motor carriers based on crashes that are not the fault of the CMV driver or carrier and should not be reflected in the CSA SMS safety record. It also raised concern about the FMCSA resources required to manage the program.

“ATA is pleased with the proposal to expand the CPDP; however, we are concerned that the increase in program eligibility will add to an already overburdened program with significant delays,” ATA said. “On average, our members are experiencing a 90-day or longer turnaround time.”

J.B. Hunt said it supports the program and stressed that removing non-preventable crashes from a carrier’s Crash Indicator BASIC calculation will better allow FMCSA to prioritize motor carriers that are experiencing a disproportionate number of preventable DOT-reportable crashes for safety interventions. It also believes the change will benefit drivers by including more notations of not preventable determinations on their Pre-Employment Screening Program records.

J.B. Hunt ranks No. 3 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America and also No. 3 on the TT100 list of the largest logistics companies in North America.

Motor carrier Werner Enterprises also backed the expanded crash list.

“After reviewing the proposal, Werner Enterprises, Inc. supports the addition of four more types of crashes that are not preventable, particularly a new crash type that encompasses circumstances where a CMV was involved and video demonstrates the sequence of events of the crash,” Werner said in a written comment. “Furthermore, Werner supports the proposed modifications that expand existing excludable crash types.”

Werner ranks No. 16 on the for-hire TT100 and No. 30 on the logistics TT100.

FMCSA said it believes that the public display of all crashes, regardless of the preventability determination, provides the most complete information regarding a motor carrier’s safety performance record. However, the agency noted that the non-preventable determinations do not establish legal liability, fault or negligence by any party.

“Fault is generally determined in the course of civil or criminal proceedings and results in the assignment of legal liability for the consequences of a crash,” FMCSA said. “By contrast, a preventability determination is not a proceeding to assign legal liability for a crash.”