The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has informed Congress that implementing the Carrier Safety Measurement System resulted in more carriers categorized as mandatory for investigation than using SafeStat.
FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro summarized the agency’s 2011 fiscal year record for compliance reviews on high-risk carriers in her March 30 letter to congressional appropriations and transportation committee leaders.
The agency deployed CSMS under its Compliance, Safety, Accountability program to help identify carriers posing the highest safety risk and carrier’s specific performance problems better than the previous SafeStat system.
Under CSMS, carriers deemed high risk for two consecutive months are labeled “mandatory,” as opposed to SafeStat Category A or B. FMCSA prioritizes carriers as mandatory for an on-site investigation if it has not conducted an investigation in the previous 24 months.
Between the agency starting CSMS in December 2010 and the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, 2011, FMCSA and its state partners conducted 4,262 investigations of high-risk carriers. The agency also uses roadside performance data to identify additional mandatory carriers each month.
During FY 2011, 9,868 carriers had mandatory status. In future congressional reports, the agency will provide additional statistics on mandatory high-risk carriers and investigations conducted, Ferro wrote.