Smile! Your Safety Record Is Online

The availability of vehicle inspection and accident data on the Internet from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is beginning to play a bigger role in determining who qualifies for insurance coverage.

Linda Earhart, underwriting manager for Lancer Management in Cary, N.C., said she routinely examines carrier safety ratings online and can quickly check critical information on drivers and the safety performance of motor carriers.

Insurance companies, as well as anyone else, can obtain FMCSA files on the safety fitness of trucking companies under the Motor Carrier Management Information System. The records were further opened in December with the start of the Analysis and Information Online system, which can be accessed over the Internet at www.fmcsa.dot.gov.

he system shows the safety performance of individual companies as measured against all other trucking operations. Each carrier is scored by the Safety Status Measurement System, or SAFESTAT, based on accidents, safety audits and traffic tickets. SAFESTAT is used by government officials to single out “problem” carriers for closer enforcement attention.

For the full story, see the May 29 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.