Giving Carriers Credit for Using Key Safety Tools
By now you have probably heard of the “Beyond Compliance” program. In the 2015 infrastructure bill, Congress required the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to establish a “Beyond Compliance” program that would provide motor carriers “credit” on their Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) scores for adopting tools, technologies and programs that exceed minimum regulatory compliance and improve safety. While the FMCSA has held hearings and requested public input on which safety tools to use in the program, nothing of substance has been accomplished in the intervening years.
To move along the process of creating the program mandated by Congress, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) and several private companies have created a demonstration program that intends to select various safety tools to be used by carriers. Their intent is to show the FMCSA that (1) these tools obtain safety results and (2) carriers who adopt such tools should receive the “credit” to their CSA scores mandated by Congress for using those tools. ICSA is the only association representing small carriers to be involved in the demonstration program, in part because ICSA has shown through its own safety programs that these tools work to reduce risk and crashes.
The first safety tool that will be reviewed in the program is in-cab forward facing cameras. ICSA is uniquely positioned to provide aggregated information and data about the use and benefits of cameras by single-truck operators and small fleets. Recently, ICSA responded to a critical survey about the next steps of the demonstration program and emphasized the importance and value of ICSA’s safety programs, including in-cab cameras and hair drug testing.
As the demonstration program proceeds, ICSA will remain involved and provide updates to our members.
Every year, TAT (formerly called Truckers Against Trafficking) honors a member of the trucking, bus or energy industry, whose direct actions help save or improve the lives of those exploited or prevent human trafficking from taking place, with the Harriet Tubman Award
Bob Costello has indicated that the freight market has improved – but very slowly – since January. It must be said that ATA’s indices are dominated by contract freight as opposed to spot rates.
Now, however, with Republican control of both houses of Congress and the White House (and, some say, the Supreme Court) I am optimistic that trucking will get a fairer shake than it has during Biden’s term in office.