CSA 2010 – DRIVER VIOLATIONS
Posted on Thu, Jan 21, 2010 @ 10:21 AM
Another in a series of articles on CSA 2010 by Kevin Mullen, Director- Safety for ADS LOGISTICS CO, LLC/Area Transportation.
The Department of Transportation has assigned a point value [1 – 10] to every violation which could be cited on a roadside inspection. These points are assigned even if no warning or citation is issued. If the violation appears on the Driver/Vehicle Examination Report points are assigned. [In the past only out-of-service violations were used to rate carriers.]
The following is a partial list of some of the violations the DOT has identified as most likely to predict future involvement in a crash and thus has assigned a value of 10:
- Reckless Driving
- Using or possessing drugs or alcohol
Operating while ill or fatigued - “Jumping” an Out-of-Service Order
Possessing multiple licenses - Most load securement violations
Other violations assigned high point values include:
- Most tire & wheel violations- 8
- Size & weight violations- 7
False log- 7 - 70/14/11-hour violations- 7
All of these violations and the resulting points are designated by the DOT to apply to both the carrier rating and the driver safety determination.
More recent violations are given a higher weight rating. For instance, a load securement violation less than six months old receives a weight rating of 3 for a total value of 30. After six months it’s weighted only twice for a total value of 20 and after twelve months its’ value drops to 10.
The DOT has not revealed the “intervention thresholds”, the point totals at which interventions, which could range from a warning letter to a finding of “Unfit” and result in disqualification, could occur.
CSA 2010 is designed to identify carriers and drivers with excessive behaviors (violations) that have been shown to be predictors of the likelihood of involvement in future crashes. Carriers and drivers who do not correct or eliminate those behaviors will receive increased scrutiny and escalating interventions.
Carriers and drivers would be well-served by educating themselves and implementing programs and training today to reduce or eliminate violations on roadside inspections. Read the other articles in the CSA 2010 Category of the ADS Logistics blog for more information.
Download this DOT brochure for more information about the CSA 2010 Driver Violations.
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