Results of Early CSA 2010 Testing
Posted on Mon, Jul 19, 2010 @ 10:49 AM
The results from the early CSA 2010 testing opened quite a few eyes when the data first started to surface. The early reports showed that out of the 1,500 carriers who were tested; 69% of them will face some sort of federal intervention. Warning letters will be issued during the Fall and Winter of 2010. Roadside inspections will also start around the same time. All of this is in an attempt to lower the number of violations in future years.
To rate fleets, CSA 2010 will use 7 different criteria known as the BASICs. The 7 are:
- driver fitness
- unsafe driving
- fatigued driving
- controlled substance/alcohol
- crash indicator
- vehicle maintenance
- improper landing/cargo securing
The fleets are given a score based for each category and their score will determine whether or not intervention will occur. Out of the 1,500 carriers who were rated, 396 had one score above the intervention threshold, 288 had two, 163 had three, 76 had four, 34 had five, 9 had six, and 4 were above threshold in all seven. (more info at FleetOwner.com) The 4 that were over threshold in all seven of the BASIC categories were all in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) largest fleet. The FMCSA’s largest fleet contains carriers with a peer group rating of 500 power units or more. Drew Anderson, Director of Sales at Vigillo, (the risk management company that created the CSA 2010 scorecard) “I don’t believe that larger fleets are less safe. I think that statistic points out the inequity of [FMCSA’s] peer group rankings based only on the number of power units.” He continued, “I think once they introduce miles driven into the (rankings), the number of larger carriers (above the intervention thresholds) will go down.”
CSA 2010 compared to SafeStat
Under the current system, SafeStat, only 1.3 percent of the same 1,500 fleets will undergo intervention. That is only 20 fleets compared to the 1035 fleets that will require intervention within the CSA 2010’s standards. By Spring 2011, the CSA 2010 will be fully implemented which will impact over 750,000 companies. (additional details: TransportTopics.com). Although the CSA 2010 will not be in effect until the middle of next year, companies have been previewing their own data since April 12th and will continue to preview it until November 30th. (see the CSA 2010 Rough Timeline). The CSA 2010 was originally scheduled to take full effect in December 2010, but it was delayed so more data could be gathered. Once the full implementation is complete intervention will begin. The before-mentioned warning letters and road side inspections will be accompanied by on and off-site investigations, safety plans, and out-of-service orders.
Consequences of CSA 2010
The actions brought about by the CSA 2010 should vastly decrease each fleets score and make for much safer driving. About 80 percent of all violations are “driver controlled” such as moving violations and improper vehicle maintenance. The tighter guidelines should bring down the number of violations altogether, but it will also decrease the number of driver-related infringements. Another surprising statistic that has come to light as the result of these early reports is that 53 percent of all speeding tickets result in a warning and not a citation. This is good news for drivers, however it makes it more difficult for the CSA to account for all moving violations. This could mean that there are possibly more infractions than are reported; a scary thought considering the already elevated scores some fleets were given by the CSA 2010.