FMCSA Proposes Changes to Motor Carrier Scoring System
Federal trucking regulators are previewing proposals that would modify a program that measures the safety performance of motor carriers on the nation’s highways.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration outlined the changes to its Safety Measurement System, or SMS, on a website Oct. 5, and the agency is seeking public feedback for the next two months before deciding whether to adopt the proposed changes.
SMS is part of FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability performance scoring program, and it is used to determine safety concerns with carriers.
The changes include increasing the number of crashes required to determine a percentile from two to three, and assigning percentiles to carriers with an inspection violation in the past year. The percentiles are determined by calculations under the Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories, or BASICs, which are assessed by SMS.
Other changes include changing certain SMS thresholds, reclassifying violations for operating while out of service, and increasing the maximum vehicle miles traveled to better reflect the operations of high-utilization carriers. Also, the changes call for enhancements to the hazardous materials compliance under BASIC.
The proposals are meant to help the agency identify motor carriers posing safety risks, prioritize investigative resources, accurately account for carriers driving on roadways and recognize hazardous materials compliance issues, the agency explained.
An agency official in a video explaining the proposed changes, added: “FMCSA is committed to continually improving SMS methodology in response to new data.”
The public has until Dec. 3 to share their views about the proposals. In the meantime, FMCSA has scheduled question-and-answer webinars to address concerns on Oct. 12 at 10 a.m., Oct. 13 at 2 p.m., Oct. 18 at 3 p.m. and Oct. 20 at 11 a.m.
While regulators collect input from the public, SMS’ public website will not be tweaked or updated until a review of the CSA program is completed. The 2015 FAST Act highway law requires the review.
