Page 36 - ATR 1 2014 web

SCORES,
Continued from page 22

the scores are based on a rolling,
24-month period, a good inspection can “if You’re makiNg strides aNd improViNg Your
fall off a carrier’s scorecard, drastically performaNce, sometimes You doN’t alwaYs
affecting its percentile ranking even get that credit publiclY. it’s somethiNg that
though the carrier has done nothing to
become less safe. shippers reallY haVe to dig for, aNd quite
“I just did some analysis,” Pohlen hoNestlY, most that are lookiNg at this
said, “and what you’ll find is smaller sYstem to make busiNess decisioNs, are oNlY
carriers almost across the board have
higher scores than the larger carri- seeiNg the perceNtile raNkiNg, aNd theY’Ve
ers because once they get a percentile kiNd of beeN coNditioNed to look at that
score, it’s very hard for them to wash raNkiNg aNd make a quick judgmeNt.”
that out because they don’t get lots of
inspections. A small carrier’s got to get —jasoN wiNg,
inspected several times. They almost
have to be seeking out inspection sta- maNager of safetY aNd compliaNce traiNiNg,
tions to get that percentile score to drop abf freight sYstem, iNc.
again.”
The FMCSA’s Ruban said opportu-
nities for inspection vary and are not
necessarily dependent on size. A small
operator carrying hazardous materials understands the industry’s concern. Department of Transportation’s John A.
in the Northeast, for example, may be Currently, crash reports sent by states to Volpe National Transportation Systems
inspected often. the FMCSA do not record the carrier’s Center found support for the Safety
Wing said large carriers like ABF role in the accident. Ruban said FMCSA Measurement System’s effectiveness.
can be treated unfairly, too. Failure to takes crashes into account because past That study analyzed carrier safety data
land in a high enough percentile in a crashes are a predictor of future crashes, over a two-year period before the sys-
particular BASIC can flag a carrier as regardless of who originally was at fault. tem was created and then studied safety
being in alert status. A carrier may have The agency currently is conducting a records over an ensuing 18-month peri-
improved in its performance but could crash weighting study that will consider od. The carriers it would have identified
still slip in its ranking because other whether or not to change that BASIC. as needing enforcement interventions
carriers improve as well. Also, the incre- FMCSA also is considering revis- went on to have crash rates that were
ments separating carriers can be very ing its methodologies so that the Safety more than double the national average.
small. Measurement System would be used to ABF’s Wing agreed that CSA is an
“I liken it to having a class full of make a safety fitness determination. improvement over SafeStat and said
Rhodes Scholars, and applying the CSA According to the agency, only about FMCSA has been open to the carrier
criteria, you’re going to flunk out 20 to 12,000 carriers receive a safety fitness industry’s concerns. He said CSA has
40 percent of that class,” he said. determination each year. The agency made a difference in the way carriers
A constant source of irritation says it is considering several options. It are doing business. For example, carriers
since CSA was created has been the hopes to publish its notice of proposed are more careful about the drivers they
lack of assignment of responsibility for rulemaking by May 2014. hire because they know a driver’s per-
accidents in the crash indicator BASIC. Regardless of its problems and formance will reflect on the company’s
Currently FMCSA makes no distinc- strengths, CSA is here to stay. Ruban scores.
tion between an accident where the said that Safety Measurement System “It’s gotten carriers’ attention –
motor carrier driver was at fault and is an improvement over the FMCSA’s good, bad or indifferent,” he said. “I
one where he or she was an innocent previous enforcement tool, Safestat, think carriers on the whole are taking
victim. and that it is helping the agency better a closer look at what they’re doing and
The crash BASIC isn’t available for identify and collect data while helping how safe they are and are taking action
public viewing. However, the FMCSA’s the motor carrier industry utilize that to reduce violations at the roadside.”
Ruban acknowledged that the agency data. A study released in January by the

36 arKansas trucKing report | issue 1 2014