We don’t have to tell you that trucking businesses face a lot of risks. The roads aren’t always the safest place, and that’s why it’s so important to take steps to emphasize and improve safety at your truck business. While this is beneficial because it will lessen the chance of your drivers and employees getting hurt, safety can also help you avoid truck insurance claims. In turn, that can help your truck insurance rates.
The following articles give suggestions and tips for improving different areas of safety at your business. Take some time to check out the various topics that we explore in the articles. We’ll explain the dangers of distracted driving, the importance of pre-trip vehicle inspections and preventive maintenance, why you should always wear a seatbelt, and more. Safety is an ongoing process, so it’s important to always be looking for ways to make your business a little safer. The following articles might help you think of ways to do that.
Unsafe driving is one of the seven categories of the Behavioral Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) created and monitored by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). BASIC uses data from all seven categories to rank drivers against others who have a similar number of safety events. These can include violations, accidents, or poor inspection results.
Read moreHow can a carrier improve in the Unsafe Driving BASIC?
On March 29, 2019, the secretary of the Department of Transportation (DOT) announced that the Compliance, Safety, and Accountability (CSA) scores of commercial truck drivers would undergo a significant change starting in August 2019. According to Secretary Elaine Chao, points from a crash in which commercial drivers are not at fault will no longer count against them for CSA scoring purposes. Instead, the organization will classify the accident as non-preventable.
Proper vehicle maintenance is one of seven factors that inspectors from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Behavioral Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) program evaluate to assign scores for the Compliance, Safety, and Accountability (CSA) initiative. The goal of the program is to prevent accidents, spillage, and other events that endanger public safety. We’ll go over how you can improve your Vehicle Maintenance BASIC.
To help identify drivers for intervention, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) uses a ranking system managed by its Compliance, Safety & Accountability (CSA) program. It can be distressing as a driver to see your percentile rank increase from one month to the next, especially if you don’t understand the reason for it. We discuss some of the most common reasons for a CSA percentile increase below.
According to the Safety Measurement System (SMS), a program of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), five million people are employed as commercial truck and bus drivers in the United States. Drivers of these large commercial vehicles share the same roads as more than 250 million Americans using their own personal vehicle. The FMCSA counts on the SMS to intervene with drivers who demonstrate potentially unsafe behavior.
Read moreWhich carriers are included in the Safety Measurement System?
As a commercial bus or truck driver, it’s in your best interest to know the information contained in your safety record. Monitoring your own performance allows you to be proactive with correcting issues before the Compliance, Safety & Accountability (CSA) division of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) selects you for intervention. We’ll explain how you can obtain a copy of your safety data below.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) conducts periodic roadside inspections of commercial trucks and buses to ensure public safety. Any violation on your record with the FMCSA can have a negative impact on your career as well as single you out for further intervention from the agency’s Compliance, Safety & Accountability (CSA) program. What if you want to challenge the result of an FMCSA inspection? We’ll explain.
Read moreCan I challenge the results of an FMCSA inspection?
Compliance and Safety Accountability (CSA) is a program of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) for the purpose of helping motor carriers comply with federal regulations. It institutes three levels of intervention known as Early Contact, Investigation, and Follow-On. CSA interventions help to determine the reason for safety issues and recommend solutions to correct them. It also issues penalties to non-compliant motor carriers. Below is a brief description of each of these forms of CSA intervention.
Drivers of commercial motor vehicles must undergo a physical examination to make sure they are medically fit for duty. If the truck driver passes the medical exam, the examiner will complete a medical examiner’s certificate, which can be submitted to the Department of Transportation. Below is some information to help you understand this certificate and determine whether you need it.
Read moreWhat medical criteria are required to obtain a medical certificate? (And who needs one?)
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is responsible for making sure that commercial trucks and drivers are safe enough to be on America’s highways. To protect the public, the FMCSA completes regular inspections of equipment, driver log books, records of violations, and more. If your business is found to have a violation, the FMCSA will then notify the motor carrier of violations by mail in the form of a warning letter.
Read moreWhat do I do if I get a warning letter from the FMCSA?