These regulations relate to Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) – FMCSA's data-driven safety compliance and enforcement program designed to improve safety and prevent commercial motor vehicle (CMV) crashes, injuries and fatalities.
In a recent newsletter, Joel Beal, general manager, LoadTrek, provided an overview of what these warning letters are all about. He was kind enough to allow me to share the information.
LoadTrek is a full service Transportation Management Systems provider.
BASICs
Beal says a warning letter is sent by the FMCSA to a motor carrier’s place of business that identifies the CSA’s Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) that have been assigned an “alert” and outlines possible consequences of continued safety problems. The warning letter also provides instructions for accessing motor carrier safety data in the CSA’s Safety Management System (SMS), as well as a point-of-contact for additional information.
“Motor carriers that receive warning letters should review their safety data in order to develop and execute strategies that will make their operations compliant with safety regulations,” he says. “Continued poor performance may lead to more intensive interventions.
Alerts
A motor carrier can receive an alert in a BASIC in one of two ways, he explains. The On-Road column lists the motor carrier's percentile for each BASIC. If the percentile is over the established intervention threshold, the percentile is presented with an orange outline around the percentile.
The Investigation column displays the "Serious Violation Found" icon for a BASIC if a serious violation was cited during an investigation within 12 months of the SMS results date, he says. The icon will remain present for 12 months following an investigation regardless of whether corrective actions have occurred.
Take Action
“Motor carriers that do not improve may be subject to more intensive interventions, such as full or focused compliance reviews or, for carriers in Op-Model Test States, onsite or offsite investigations,” says Beal.
He recommends that motor carriers continually work to improve safety. Among the actions to take: conduct detailed data analysis, address safety issues and periodically review SMS data.
More information on CSA can be found at: https://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov.
