The American Trucking Associations (ATA) applauds the announcement by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to make improvements to the Cargo-Related BASIC (Behavior Analysis & Safety Improvement Categories) component of CSA 2010.
ATA agrees with the agency’s decision to withhold Cargo-Related BASIC scores from public view when carrier scores are released to the public in early December, until the agency can confirm that changes to that part of the system effectively and accurately identify unsafe carriers.
The Cargo-Related BASIC measures a motor carrier’s compliance with load securement procedures, and with a host of hazardous materials requirements.
ATA identified the Cargo-Related BASIC as a component of the CSA 2010 program that needed additional work and recently met with FMCSA to present evidence demonstrating that scores in this category do not accurately reflect carrier safety performance.
ATA also agrees with the agency’s decision to replace the term “deficient” with “alert” on its public website, and to include pop-up disclaimer language alerting users to the intent of the scores, and cautioning against misuse.
FMCSA now plans to withhold scores in two—the Crash Indicator and the Cargo-Related BASICs—of the seven CSA 2010 categories when the agency implements the next phase of the program in early December.
ATA supports CSA 2010’s objectives of identifying potentially unsafe operators, changing their behavior, and removing the most egregious actors from the road.
