FMCSA aims to make Crash Preventability Determination Program permanent

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration wants to make permanent a program designed to determine to what extent commercial motor vehicle crashes are preventable, according to a proposed rule published in the Aug. 5 Federal Register.

From Aug. 1, 2017, to approximately Jan. 30, 2019, FMCSA reviewed more than 5,600 crash data submissions from commercial truck and bus companies under its Crash Preventability Determination Program. An Aug. 5 agency press release states FMCSA found that about 94% of the crashes reviewed during the first 18 months of the initial 24-month duration of the program were not preventable by the motor carrier or CMV driver.

The proposal calls for a continual extension of the program to gather further data. Additionally, FMCSA proposes to remove “not preventable” crashes as a classification under the Crash Indicator Behavior Analysis Safety Improvement Category of its Safety Measurement System website, as well as expand to 15 from eight the types of crashes eligible for evaluation:

• Struck in rear
• Legally stopped or parked
• Suicides or suicide attempts
• Wrong direction
• Animal strikes
• Individuals under the influence
• Infrastructure failure or struck by cargo, equipment or debris
• Struck on the side in the rear
• Struck by a vehicle that did not stop or slow in traffic
• Struck by a vehicle that failed to stop at a traffic control device
• Struck by a vehicle that was making a U-turn or an illegal turn
• Struck by a driver who experiences a medical issue that caused the crash
• Struck by a driver who admits to falling asleep or driving distracted
• Involves an individual under the influence, even if the CMV was struck by another vehicle involved in the crash
• Involves a driver operating in the wrong direction, even if the CMV was struck by another vehicle involved in the crash

“Data drives our agency’s decisions, and the information we’ve received and analyzed during the demonstration project informed our action today to expand and improve the crash preventability program,” FMCSA Administrator Raymond Martinez said in the release. “We’ve listened to carriers, drivers and other commercial motor vehicle stakeholders throughout each step of this process and strongly encourage all interested parties to submit comments on our proposed changes.”

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association voiced its support for the proposal.

“For far too long, these non-preventable crashes have unnecessarily discredited safety ratings for drivers and motor carriers,” OOIDA Director of Federal Affairs Jay Grimes said in an article published Aug. 5 in OOIDA’s Land Line magazine.

Comments are due Oct. 4.