FMCSA adds two violations to Safety Measurement System

Washington – The government’s Safety Measurement System for assessing commercial motor vehicle carriers and drivers has been updated to incorporate two new violations.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability program helps the agency determine which carriers most need interventions by assigning them safety ratings based on multiple categories. According to an FMCSA press release on the two new violations:

• The hours-of-service compliance Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category now includes a violation for any non-exempt operator who drives beyond the eighth hour of on-duty time without taking a 30-minute rest break. The rest-break requirement was established by a 2011 hours-of-service final rule that went into effect July 1 and was amended by a federal appeals court Aug. 2 to exempt short-haul drivers.
• The controlled substances/alcohol BASIC now includes a separate violation for operators only found to be in possession of alcoholic beverages while driving, not consuming them. The violation will have less impact on a carrier’s safety rating than operators found to have used alcohol while driving.