Acting Administrator Scott Darling laid out the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) goals for the rest of 2015. The memo referred to small changes to the Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program, publishing a rule to mandate electronic logging devices as well as other priorities.
Will the FMCSA change the CSA Algorithm?
One of the goals of the agency is to change the algorithm used in the Safety Measurement System. Specifically the agency would like to make changes to the carrier percentile rankings, a key factor of the CSA program. The memo indicated that a preview of the changes will be available “in the coming months.”
Darling also indicated the agency is preparing to launch two new CSA related intervention campaigns. He referred to them as “off-site investigations and cooperative safety plans.” The agency is currently training federal and state enforcement officers for these new types of investigations.
The another goal listed was the FMCSA’s plan to implement “a new type of investigation,” Darling wrote, that will attempt to find pre-crash behavioral trends of carriers and drivers. Presumably this would be done using big data.
The changes will help the FMCSA target at-risk carriers, Darling wrote.
Darling also indicated the publication of a Final Rule on electronic logging devices is a high priority. The rule is currently stalled and under review with the White Houses’ Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The rule is currently forecasted by the Department of Transportation (DOT) to be published on or about October 30, 2015. The rule would become effective two years later or in October 2017.