FMCSA Improving Timeline for Investigating High-Risk Carriers, IG Audit Says
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration investigators are conducting more timely compliance reviews of high-risk motor carriers, but the agency faces challenges in ensuring that the reviews adequately address fleets’ safety performance, according to a new audit from the Department of Transportation inspector general.
“FMCSA’s compliance reviews are an important tool for identifying carrier safety performance and compliance issues, and ultimately correcting carrier behavior through timely enforcement of safety regulations,” according to the audit. “FMCSA has implemented several policy and programmatic changes regarding the conduct of these reviews.”
The audit, made public July 27, said that under its High-Risk Prioritization Policy, implemented in January 2016, FMCSA has improved the timeliness of its high-risk compliance reviews by narrowing its focus to carriers that require immediate intervention.
The IG audit was conducted at the request of Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), after a 2014 fatal crash in Illinois involving two motor carriers that were not given compliance reviews although they were flagged by the agency as a high-risk operator. The audit also was a requirement of fiscal 2015 appropriations legislation.
In its investigation of the Illinois crash, the National Transportation Safety Board found that the drivers of both carriers involved were engaging in logbook falsification and that their employers were on the agency’s high-risk list for at least two years. Fatigue was listed as a cause of the crash.
“Until the FMCSA can find a way to make high-risk carriers, such as DND International and Michael’s Cartage [the two carriers involved in the crash], comply with requirements to operate safely or to remove them from the industry, they will continue to jeopardize the safety of other highway users,” NTSB said.
But since the crash, FMCSA has adopted a prioritization methodology and shortened the target timeline for reviews from 12 months to 90 days, according to the audit.
“FMCSA also incorporated a software program to prioritize, assign and track completion of compliance reviews. Since implementation, FMCSA has completed investigations of high-risk carriers, on average, within 1.2 months, compared to 7.2 months under its previous policy,” according to the audit.
However, the agency initially has enhanced the timeliness and quality of its compliance reviews, the audit said, but “it is too early to determine whether these changes will result in sustained improvements in FMCSA’s investigative practices.”
The IG investigation, headed by Barry DeWeese, assistant inspector general for surface transportation audits, said that under the previous mandatory policy, FMCSA faced backlogs of compliance reviews, with some delays so long that carriers’ safety profiles changed significantly.
“For example, we found 50% of compliance reviews in four sample states had been pending for more than the 12-month completion target,” the audit said.
But senior FMCSA officials have stressed that under the new 90-day target for compliance reviews, carrier risk profiles are unlikely to change because they are based on 24 months of data.
In 2016, FMCSA completed more than 97.7% of its 1,695 high-risk carrier compliance reviews within 90 days. A review was completed, on average, 1.2 months after a carrier was identified, the IG said.
Yet, a 2016 IG survey of agency safety investigators indicated that some perceived a need for more time to conduct quality compliance reviews.
Specifically, 103 of 251, or 41% of investigators surveyed nationwide, and 46 of 89, or 52% of investigators surveyed at FMCSA’s Western Service Center, responded that they do not have enough time to complete quality compliance reviews, according to the IG.
FMCSA concurred with the IG’s recommendations, which included a suggestion that the agency establish metrics that compare violations written by the investigator with the risk predicted by the CSA Safety Measurement System scores. The IG also recommended that the agency implement and measure policy adjustments, training, and procedures intended to better align investigative outcomes with on-road risks.
In a written response to DeWeese, Daphne Jefferson, FMCSA deputy administrator, said that her agency has developed, piloted and implemented two essential quality improvement efforts nationwide, completed more than 1,400 Quality Investigation Assessments and 1,300 Enforcement Case Assessment Skills Evaluations since Feb. 2-17 and developed the Activity Center for Enforcement, which provides online tools to enhance the ability of agency field personnel to identify and manage the high-risk carrier population.
