Industry leaders react favorably to recent study on CSA effectiveness

Trucking industry leaders are pleased with a recent independent review of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) safety monitoring system that substantiates may of the concerns the industry has raised about the program since its implementation in 2010.

The American Trucking Associations specifically noted that the NAS study validated the trucking industry’s concerns about the inclusion of certain types of violations in the CSA system, that geographic enforcement disparities can have a significant impact on carriers’ scores and that the collection and use of clean inspections is critical to the accuracy of the program.

“We appreciate the work the National Academies of Science has done in helping motor carriers, FMCSA and the general public learn about the limitations of CSA,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “This report has confirmed much of what we have said about the program for some time: the program, while a valuable enforcement tool, has significant shortcomings that must be addressed and we look forward to working with FMCSA to strengthen the program.”

ATA’s Director of Safety Policy Sean Garney also agreed with the National Academies’ conclusion that CSA should be based less on the ‘subject-matter expertise’ of enforcement and more on the empirically validated data.  “We also see great potential in the Academies’ recommendation that FMCSA overhaul the current CSA methodology in favor of a new, more adaptive, data-centric model with the potential to address serious flaws in the system,” he said.