Updated:
1/5/2010 1:00:00 PM
CSA 2010 Test Results Raise Some Concerns
By Daniel P. Bearth, Staff Writer
This story appears in the Jan. 4 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.
Testing of CSA 2010, a new safety protocol, is under way in nine states. The results have generated some praise but also have raised some hackles among carriers and trucking industry association executives.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration began a 30-month test of the safety protocol in February in four states: Colorado, Georgia, Missouri and New Jersey. The test covered 50% of carriers in those states, with the remaining carriers serving as a control group.
All carriers were included when FMCSA extended testing to Minnesota and Montana in May, Kansas in September and Maryland in November. Delaware was added in December.
“Most carriers really like [CSA 2010],” said Patti Olsgard, safety director for the Colorado Motor Carriers Association and chairwoman of the American Trucking Associations CSA 2010 Task Force.
Olsgard said FMCSA officials have done a “really good job” of responding to questions and concerns raised by carriers.
One Colorado-based carrier that saw a spike in equipment violations has “reworked” its maintenance department and has hired additional personnel to improve “weaknesses” in its vehicle maintenance practices, Olsgard said.
Tom Crawford, president of the Missouri Motor Carriers Association, said a lack of data in states with the split testing format has made it difficult to assess the effects of the new safety rating system.
“It’s caused some difficulties,” he said, but he added that most carriers applaud the “intention and direction” of CSA 2010.
Gail Toth, executive director of the New Jersey Motor Truck Association, said she has noticed an “uptick” in people stopping by to inquire about safety compliance, mostly operators of dump trucks or construction fleets and port drivers that are being “caught in the loop.”
Freight haulers have expressed some concerns, but “no one’s panicking,” Toth said.
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