ATA Requests CSA Modifications

  

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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) could be losing a major supporter if things do not change soon. This is because many in charge of American Trucking Associations (ATA) are unhappy with the way the FMCSA has been operating lately.

Problems with the CSA

The main complaint from ATA is that FMCSA has been ignoring the concerns of many carriers regarding the Compliance, Safety Accountability (CSA) program. The CSA was meant to keep drivers safe on the road, but it has actually led to some carriers being punished for things not in their control. In fact, FMCSA insists that certain events indicate the likelihood of crashes in the future, which is why it records these details in the CSA.

For example, accidents are recorded and count against carriers when their drivers are involved. This means some carriers have been punished for accidents supposedly caused by their drivers, even when they did not cause them at all. The CSA does not have a way to record whose fault an accident was, which is why it tends to punish anyone who was in an accident, whether it was a truck driver’s fault or not. This is a major issue since these records can have such an impact on carriers.

FMCSA’s Lack of Response

ATA takes particular issue with the fact that FMCSA apparently refuses to discuss the faults of the program, let alone change anything. Even though the concerns held by the staff of many carriers have been brought up, FMCSA has not taken steps to acknowledge or improve the issues. Though both groups claim to always put safety first, ATA officials do not appear to believe FMCSA is going about this the right way, and they have commented that they will do anything necessary to change that.

In short, those in charge of ATA hope to change FMCSA in the following ways:

• Allow CSA records to show whether a truck driver was at-fault in an accident.
• Encourage FMCSA to pay more attention to the public’s concerns.
• Help the agency meet its goals when it comes to improving safety on the road.

ATA officials want to make it clear that they agree with the objectives of FMCSA, which is why they want to see some improvements in how the goals are carried out. In addition, the concerns mentioned here are just some of the most recent ones, since carrier officials have been voicing their problems with FMCSA and the CSA for a while now. It remains to be seen if FMCSA will finally respond to the concerns.