Compliance standards are crucial across all industries, with transportation being no exception.
Incidents with large trucks are frighteningly common. In 2021 alone, there were over half a million large truck accidents across the United States. A year prior, there were over 400,000 incidents. With incidents on the rise, ensuring safety, efficiency, and fairness in transportation hinges on strict adherence to standards and regulations.
This article delves into the Compliance, Safety and Accountability (CSA) program, outlines the pivotal role of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), and explains why meeting these transportation standards is essential for fleet managers and logistics companies striving to lead the transportation industry.
Transportation Industry Compliance Standards
To ensure the safety of both drivers and the public, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) established a set of stringent regulations, including the Compliance, Safety and Accountability (CSA) standards.
By following regulations set by governing bodies and industry experts, transportation companies reduce the likelihood of incidents while providing consistent and reliable services to customers.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration: Creator of trucking compliance standards
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) was established in 2000 as the primary federal government agency responsible for regulating and overseeing commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in the United States.
Their focus is on reducing accidents, implementing hazardous materials compliance, enforcing regulations, and minimizing risks associated with long-haul transportation to ensure the safety of drivers and other road users.
FMCSA's Safety Measurement System (SMS)
As part of its mission to ensure safety on US roadways, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) uses a tool called the Safety Measurement System (SMS) to identify unsafe motor carriers and prioritize enforcement resources.
The SMS evaluates carriers' on-road performance and compliance by organizing data into seven categories, called Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs).
This information is used to identify carriers with potential safety issues and determine when to intervene as part of the Agency's safety compliance and enforcement program known as Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA).
The seven BASICS are:
- Unsafe driving
- Crash indicator
- HOS Compliance review
- Vehicle maintenance
- Controlled substances
- Hazardous materials compliance
- Driver fitness
Unsafe driving
The Unsafe Driving BASIC prioritizes interventions for repeated unsafe behaviors such as texting while driving, driving recklessly, and improper lane changes.
Crash indicator
State-reported crashes from the last two years are gathered by the SMS and used as part of this BASIC to identify patterns of high crash involvement and the contributing behaviors.
Hours of Service (HOS)
This BASIC ensures drivers follow strict guidelines for driving and rest periods to prevent fatigue-related accidents and unsafe driving.
Vehicle maintenance and inspections
This BASIC considers regular inspections and maintenance of CMVs to prevent mechanical failures, catch safety problems that may occur while on the road and prevent future roadside inspections.
Controlled substances
This BASIC addresses the misuse of alcohol and prohibited substances to empower fleet operators to maintain a drug-free workplace and prevent safety violations.
Hazardous Materials Regulations
The Hazardous Materials BASIC focuses on regulations requiring special attention from the driver and the fleet operator. This includes the HazMat regulations, which require drivers to accurately classify, describe, and pack the items they are transporting and ensure that all employees handling hazardous materials receive adequate training.
Driver fitness
The driver fitness BASIC refers to drivers unfit to operate a CMV due to a lack of training, experience, or medical qualifications.
What is the CSA Program?
The Compliance, Safety and Accountability (CSA) program is a federal initiative launched by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to improve commercial motor vehicle safety and reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities on the nation's highways.
The CSA program consists of three core components: the Safety Measurement System (SMS); interventions; and a Safety Fitness Determination (SFD) rating system to determine the safety fitness of motor carriers.
The CSA program collects data from roadside inspections and crash reports over two years using the Safety Measurement System (SMS). This data is used to identify carriers with safety performance and compliance issues.
The FMCSA evaluates a company based on the data from the SMS BASICs categories. The company is then given a CSA score ranging from 0% to 100%, which allows them to improve their performance before facing penalties or intervention.
The CSA program aims to promote a safety culture in the motor carrier industry and ensure that all commercial vehicles and drivers operate safely on our roads.
What does a CSA score mean?
The Safety Measurement System (SMS) is a tool designed to calculate and quantify a motor carrier's performance in each BASIC. This calculation takes into account various factors, such as the severity of the crash, how long ago the event occurred, and the number of miles the vehicle has traveled annually.
Based on these calculations, the SMS assigns each carrier a percentile ranking between 0 and 100, indicating their BASIC measure. Higher scores indicate poor compliance and an increased likelihood of CSA interventions. Lower scores indicate good compliance and reduced likelihood of commercial motor vehicle incidents.
What is considered a good CSA score or a bad CSA score?
Businesses should aim to stay under the recommended CSA score percentiles in each category to avoid interventions. It is best to stay as close to 0% as possible.
- Unsafe driving - 65%
- Crash indicator - 65%
- HOS Compliance review - 65%
- Vehicle maintenance - 80%
- Controlled substances - 80%
- Hazardous materials - 80%
- Driver fitness - 80%
Trucking companies transporting passengers or hazardous materials are expected to maintain a lower percentile of 50% in the unsafe driving, crash indicator, and HOS compliance categories.
How does the FMCSA intervene in poor CSA scores?
The FMCSA will intervene in multiple stages if motor carriers are performing poorly.
First, the FMCSA will send warning letters for BASICs above the recommended safety performance threshold. A trucking company operating out of compliance will also receive increased roadside inspections and enforcement on and off-site.
If a company continues to experience ongoing compliance issues, the FMCSA will work with them to create a plan to address the safety problems. This stage may include a comprehensive investigation and involve an FMCSA safety investigator reviewing current procedures at the company's site.
Persistent safety and compliance issues can result in a company receiving an out-of-service order, leading to the ceasing of operations. Within the trucking industry, an out-of-service order is something every company strives to avoid.
Improve CSA Scores with physical security solutions
Many transportation companies overlook the many uses of a physical security system. Your physical security system is a valuable solution that can help ensure compliance with regulations and standards, optimize safety, and reduce risks.
Transportation companies can implement, enforce, and report on business policies and processes effectively by combining physical security infrastructure with innovative software. This helps to ensure personnel flow and safety on and off-site, allowing businesses to operate as usual without worrying about security threats.
Reporting unsafe behaviors
Gallagher's comprehensive site plans and reporting allow companies to easily monitor and report on the time employees, visitors, or contractors spend on-site, including accumulated time and minimum break periods between shifts. With the system, you can also identify and report on employees who consistently breach their allowed time on the road. This enables you to achieve an acceptable percentile in the Hours-of-Service Compliance.
Random selection for alcohol and drug testing
Gallagher's Command Centre offers assistance in ensuring compliance with the Controlled Substances/Alcohol and Driver Fitness categories, which are important aspects of the CSA program.
Companies can use Gallagher's Random Selection tool to automatically select personnel for drug and alcohol testing or driver fitness. This tool ensures a fair and broad group of staff are checked when required.
Additionally, this tool can enforce policies ensuring employees are only allowed vehicle access once they have completed the required testing, such as an annual MVP, renewed their Commercial Driver's License (CDL), or completed safety training for loading hazardous materials.
The Alcolizer integration with Gallagher Security's solutions is a practical way to eliminate the serious risks associated with employees working under the influence of alcohol. This integration measures breath alcohol levels and denies employees access to their vehicle upon a failed result.
Vehicle Access Control Solutions
When integrated with access control, transportation companies can ensure that only authorized personnel can operate the vehicle. Combining driver and vehicle identification further enhances security by accurately tracking who is operating which vehicle.
Gallagher's integration with Nedap Vehicle Access solutions, UPASS, and ANPR automatic vehicle identification allows transportation companies to control vehicle movement and access. Driver-based automatic vehicle identification (AVI) ensures that a vehicle can never leave or access a secured area unless occupied by an authorized driver.
Traditionally, drivers had to stop and present their access cards, causing traffic congestion around the gates. However, current solutions, such as Gallagher's integration with Nedap, allow vehicles to activate gates up to 30 feet in advance at speeds up to 120 miles per hour. This eliminates the need for vehicles to stop, ensuring a smooth traffic flow. Such a feature is especially beneficial for transportation sites, where large trucks coming and going can be disruptive.
It's time to stay CSA compliant
Integrating physical security infrastructure and cutting-edge software offers a powerful solution for companies in the transportation industry to elevate their compliance with standards, safety, and risk management.
As the FMCSA continues to emphasize the importance of road and driver safety through programs like CSA, leveraging technology becomes paramount.
By adopting advanced solutions for monitoring operator behavior, implementing random testing, controlling vehicle access, and managing keys efficiently, businesses can improve their CSA scores and create a safer environment for drivers and the general public.
This holistic approach aligns with regulatory requirements and contributes to operational excellence, reinforcing the commitment to safety that is fundamental in the transportation industry.