Tune in to the Dave Nemo radio show on Sirius XM Satellite Radio's Road Dog Trucking channel, SIRIUS 147 and XM 171, on Thursday, January 13th at 8:05 a.m. EST, to hear from FMCSA about the CSA program.

Beginning January 12, 2011, CSA brochures and pocket cards for Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) drivers will be available at hundreds of travel centers across the country. These materials provide important information to CMV drivers about the new CSA Safety Measurement System (SMS). They will be available in "Info to Go" racks at large travel center chains, and in countertop containers at independent truck stops.

The pocket cards and brochures are also posted electronically on the CSA outreach website on the Outreach and Media page: http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/outreach.aspx#factsheets with instructions for printing.

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) took a major step toward improving commercial truck and bus safety with the launch of the Compliance Safety Accountability (CSA) program.

The centerpiece of CSA is the Safety Measurement System (SMS), which will analyze all safety-based violations from inspections and crash data to determine a commercial motor carrier's on-road performance. The new safety program will allow FMCSA to reach more carriers earlier and deploy a range of corrective interventions to address a carrier's specific safety problems. The SMS has replaced the old measurement system, SafeStat.

Tune in to the Dave Nemo radio show on Sirius XM Satellite Radio's Road Dog Trucking channel, SIRIUS 147 and XM 171, on Thursday, November 18th at 8:05 a.m. EST, to hear from FMCSA about the upcoming CSA 2010 rollout and what carriers can expect.

Listen to FMCSA dispel myths about the CSA 2010 program Monday, September 27th on The Lockridge Report at 2 p.m. Eastern on Sirius XM Satellite Radio's Road Dog Trucking channel, SIRIUS 147 and XM 171.

Just the Facts

Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 (CSA 2010) has not changed any of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA) regulations. There is one rule that FMCSA is trying to change as part of CSA 2010.
The carrier safety rating process that determines whether FMCSA will deem a carrier Unfit is currently in
rulemaking to potentially change to a new process called Safety Fitness Determination.

Check out the FMCSA's Just the Facts that addresses other myths about CSA 2010.

FMCSA Releases Safety Measurement System to Motor Carriers

CSA 2010 Data Preview

Commercial motor vehicle carriers may now view their individual safety assessments on the Data Preview Website. This updated Website provides motor carriers with information on where they stand in each Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) based on roadside data and investigation findings. Each motor carrier's BASIC assessments are visible only to them (and to enforcement staff) until December of 2010. In December, assessments will be made available to the public. Also, enforcement agencies will use these assessments to prioritize the Agency's enforcement and compliance assistance workload. By providing carriers with this information now, FMCSA's approach gives carriers the earliest possible opportunity to improve compliance.

FMCSA is providing motor carriers with this early look at the new Safety Measurement System (SMS) so they can see their performance data, can address safety compliance issues right away and can update and verify their data online. Release of this safety performance information underscores FMCSA's commitment to data integrity and the motor carrier industry's responsibility for ensuring commercial vehicle safety. This important step is designed to allow motor carriers to identify and address unsafe behaviors that can lead to crashes. What can motor carriers do now to prepare for the new system? Motor carriers should look at their assessment on the Data Preview Website, identify any data mistakes, verify and update their motor carrier census data, in particular power units (PU) and vehicle miles travelled (VMT) on the MCS-150 form, and take the necessary steps to correct unsafe driver and/or company safety practices.

More Information
Complete details on the Data Preview are available through Data Preview Guidance (FAQs), the new SMS Methodology Version 2.0 and SMS Changes Explanation.

FMCSA Provides Motor Carriers with an Early Look at CSA 2010 Safety Standings; Announces Improvements to the Safety Measurement System

Motor Carrier Data Preview:

In April 2010, FMCSA launched the CSA 2010 Data Preview Website which allowed commercial motor vehicle carriers to view an inventory of their safety performance data by the new Safety Measurement System's (SMS) Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs). On August 16, 2010, FMCSA will update the Data Preview Website by providing carriers with an assessment of where they stand in each BASIC based on roadside data and investigation findings. The BASICs will replace SafeStat's Safety Evaluation Areas (SEAs) in December 2010, and this early look gives motor carriers an opportunity to understand and address their safety compliance issues right away.

Recent Updates to SMS:

The Data Preview assessments will be based on an improved SMS methodology. As a result of input from enforcement personnel, industry representatives, and safety experts, as well as findings from an extensive, 30-month field test, FMCSA is implementing several updates to the SMS that will make it more effective in identifying high risk and other carriers with safety compliance problems. Specifically:

• The measure of exposure will be changed from Power Units (PUs) only to a combination of PUs and Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT) in the Unsafe Driving BASIC and Crash Indicator. In addition, these two BASICs will change from using PUs as a safety event grouping (formerly referred to as peer grouping) to using the number of crashes for the Crash Indicator and the number of inspections with a violation for the Unsafe Driving BASIC.

• The measure of exposure will change from PUs to the number of relevant inspections in the Controlled Substances/Alcohol BASIC;

• Severity weights for some roadside inspection violations will be updated; and

• The Agency will employ a more strategic approach to addressing motor carriers with a history of size and weight violations rather than counting these violations in the Cargo-Related BASIC; the new approach will include alerts to roadside inspectors when carriers have a history of size and weight violations.

Previously, FMCSA stated that only the number of power units would be used to measure accident and compliance exposure as part of the CSA 2010 Carrier Safety Measurement System. However, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Anne Ferro has verified that the agency plans to incorporate vehicle miles traveled (VMT) as an exposure factor, in addition to the number of power units. To assist in obtaining accurate VMT data, FMCSA intends to make the vehicle mileage field mandatory on the MCS-150 form.

Listen to FMCSA dispel myths about the CSA 2010 program Tuesday, June 29th on The Lockridge Report at 2 p.m. Eastern on Sirius XM Satellite Radio's Road Dog Trucking channel, SIRIUS 147 and XM 171.