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“the issue with the hazmat basic is the fmcsa’s failure to recogNize
there are Vast leVels of exPosure iN that oNe basic.”

—JasoN wiNg,
maNager of safety comPliaNce aNd traiNiNg,
abf freight system, iNc.

There is also new criteria for defin- months with one of those inspections We’ve got to make this easy to under-
ing which carriers will be subject to the occurring in the past 12 months. Those stand for our shippers, our insurance
lower HM intervention thresholds in inspections of placarded vehicles also companies, or attorneys,” Wing said.
each BASIC. must make up at least 5 percent of the “Carriers with a sufficient number
“As a large LTL carrier, we wanted carrier’s total inspections. Any carrier of inspections, but lack violations will
a revision to the hazmat BASIC because that has a hazmat safety permit or that be assigned a score of 0 percent. On
we didn’t feel we were getting a fair has been identified as a carrier of plac- a scale of 0 to 100, if a shipper sees
shake,” Wing said. “Our shippers are arded quantities of hazardous materials a score of ‘0’ instead of ‘Insufficient’
not regulated by FMCSA, they don’t from an investigation in the past two they’ll know that’s a pretty good score.”
have to follow the same rules as we do. years is considered a hazardous materi-
The only defense we have is to say ‘no’ als carrier. coNcErNS rEMaIN
to a load. If the packages don’t have Still, Wing says, the changes leave Questions loom regarding CSA’s
labels on them, it’s our responsibility to something to be desired. “You tell effectiveness in determining accident
tell them.” me we can haul the most dangerous preventability.
Take for example a major retailer substances in transportation because “When you have 43 percent of
that sells a product containing a hazmat we’re that safe, yet because of arbitrary your program proven to not correlate
component—an at home helium balloon scoring I’m on alert status because the with crash risk, I think there is a prob-
kit for instance. If it’s returned to the hazmat BASIC? The right hand is not lem,” Wing said. FMCSA is expected to
store, and not emptied, it needs to be talking to the left hand.” publish a final rule in 2013 that will
packaged and labeled for a hazmat haul, tie a carrier’s safety rating to roadside
and this is largely a challenge many cHaNgINg THE laNgUagE performance and CSA scores. “I cannot
shippers would prefer not to deal with. SMS has made changes to better imagine this going forward, as is, a year
“Do you think anyone at a major clarify violations, including a revision from now. If it does, well, we haven’t
retail establishment is hazmat trained? to the “Summary of Activities” section seen a legal battle come to pass that will
Do you think they want to be? of the SMS homepage to separate the rival this one.”
“We go to great lengths with our fatality/injury category into two sepa- Time and resources dedicated to
shippers to get it right. But in this case rate categories the program, Wing fears, is behind the
the retailer becomes the shipper,” Wing “If there were 50 injuries and one determination to fully implement CSA.
said. “FMCSA asked should we require fatality, it would read ‘51,’” Wing said. “They began working on CSA 2010 in
training for these retailers or should we “Shippers and insurance companies 2004, with the end goal of assigning a
provide additional exceptions for them? were having trouble distinguishing safety rating. With that being the end
It all relates back to business decisions.” between fatalities and injuries.” goal, I think they are struggling with
FMCSA has made minor changes What previously read as the thought of having to stop short
to the definition of its hazmat carrier “Insufficient Data” will now be “Less of doing that. That worries me a little
classification category, which has lower Than 5 Inspections” and “Inconclusive” bit. We’re a safe carrier and we want
intervention thresholds than for non- will now be “No Violations Within 1 to be identified as such, but I’m afraid
hazmat carriers. To be subject, a carrier Year.” CSA still has a ways to go to before it
must have had at least two inspections “You and I know what ‘insufficient becomes all it was laid out to be.”
on placarded vehicles within the past 24 data’ means, but our shippers don’t.

arkansas trucking report | issue 6 2012 33