House Subcommittee discusses CSA improvements

Washington – The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, trucking industry representatives, law enforcement officials and safety advocates testified Sept. 13 before a House transportation subcommittee on improving FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability program.

In prepared comments (.pdf file) to the House Highways and Transit Subcommittee, FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro testified that recent changes to the program have increased its ability to identify carriers with poor safety and compliance histories.

Speaking out against CSA, a representative of the Arlington, VA-based American Trucking Associations stated (.pdf file) that the program has yet to achieve its primary goal – predicting carriers’ future crash risk – and called for additional methodology changes.

Subcommittee Chairman Rep. John J. Duncan Jr. (R-TN) stated in a press release that small trucking companies appear to be underrepresented in the program ratings. The Grain Valley, MO-based Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association submitted comments to the hearing stating that small businesses receive a rating only after being cited for a violation during an inspection. This ignores carriers that have not had an inspection, have a clean record or have had no violations cited during inspections, OOIDA claims.