American Trucking Associations urged businesses not to use data from SafeStat, the government’s system for tracking motor-carrier safety records, to make decisions or company comparisons because the data may be inaccurate.

Vehicle inspectors handed out fewer hours-of-service violation citations during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s recent 72-hour “Roadcheck” inspection event than in four previous years, CVSA officials told Transport Topics.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced plans last week to require carriers of hazardous materials to apply for federal permits to carry certain goods — including explosives and radioactive material — beginning Jan. 1.

The Transportation Security Administration will not delay fingerprinting for commercial drivers who haul hazardous materials until a program credentialing other transportation workers goes into effect, an agency spokeswoman said.

The Research and Special Programs Administration said May 28 it was delaying the effective date for rules that some trucking industry experts said would have hurt the hazardous material-hauling sector.

Trucking industry, law enforcement and private safety groups applauded the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s decision to remove overall carrier score data from its SafeStat Web site, but some said last week that FMCSA needed to do more to overhaul its trucking safety efforts.

American Trucking Associations has recommended that the government bypass fingerprint background checks for hazardous materials drivers and instead wait until a universal federal transportation credential program is available.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said it planned to restrict access to some data in its SafeStat system in response to a report the Department of Transportation’s internal watchdog published earlier this year.

A Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance official said the upcoming Roadcheck 2004, a massive three-day event during which the law enforcement association concentrates on the inspection of commercial vehicles, would also be used to educate drivers about pressing safety issues.

LAS VEGAS — Tank truck carrier executives meeting here for their annual conference said they had recently seen a significant pickup in business despite high fuel prices and new government regulations, and a leading industry analyst told them the favorable environment was likely to continue.