The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said Monday that, effective immediately, it has activated previously announced changes to its Safety Measurement System ratings program, including adoption of its controversial proposal to step up hazardous materials compliance and elimination of a perceived enforcement bias against flatbed carriers.
In a teleconference call Monday, FMCSA administrator Anne Ferro said the agency’s website now reflects a total of 11 changes to Compliance, Safety, Accountability program, including creation of a stand-alone hazardous materials compliance carrier rating category and rolling cargo-securement violations into the vehicle maintenance category.
FMCSA said when it first unveiled the changes in August that the CSA tweaks would only cause “modest” changes to carriers’ safety-rating scores, but that that would be “enough to sharpen our focus on the carriers that need our focus.”
“These safety measurement system enhancements reflect FMCSA’s commitment to listening to our stakeholders and researching and analyzing enhancements in the name of safety,” Ferro said. “By strengthening our cornerstone enforcement program, we are continuing to raise the bar for truck and bus safety.”