Message from the CEO & FMCSA Changes to the Safety Measurement System
Dear Readers,
Before we dive into our latest insight on the proposed changes to the Safety Measurement System, I wanted to shift gears and express my deep gratitude and appreciation towards an invaluable group of people – our hardworking truckers.
Trucking is not an easy job; it requires a commitment and dedication that is seldom matched in other professions. The men and women behind the wheels make immeasurable sacrifices to ensure the smooth functioning of our country. Their routine is a testament to resilience and determination – spending countless hours on the road, away from loved ones, moving goods from one corner of the country to the other.
To give you a glimpse of their life, let me share a personal story. My extended family resides in Northern California, and the drive from Southern California (where I live) is a grueling seven-hour journey. By the end of the drive, I’m exhausted and relieved to be done. Imagining our truckers, who cover such distances multiple times over, from the West Coast to the East Coast, day and night, is a stark reminder of the sacrifices they make for us and the role they play in keeping our economy thriving.
In addition to the demanding travel, truckers are consistently navigating through a sea of ever-changing safety regulations and compliance requirements. They must balance adherence to these regulations while also managing the unpredictability of road conditions and other drivers. They wait patiently at loading docks, often for hours, ready to move as soon as their cargo is loaded or unloaded. If there’s an accident involving a truck, the blame often unfairly falls on the truckers – an additional burden that makes the job even more challenging.
Across America is privileged to work with these extraordinary individuals, along with our carrier partners and retail insurance agents who trust us to secure coverage for their trucking companies. We want to take this moment to say thank you – your efforts are seen, your sacrifices are acknowledged, and your contributions are deeply appreciated.
It is my sincere hope that our educational blog series will offer updates and news to make your lives easier. With that said, please enjoy this month’s article on how the FMCSA is working to update the Safety Measurement System, and let me know if you have any questions I can answer.
Sincerely,
Harish Kapur, CEO of Across America Insurance Services
FMCSA Seeks to Make Significant Changes to Safety Measurement System
To some, the FMCSA Safety Measurement System (SMS) from the Federal Motor Carrier and Safety Administration (FMCSA) may be about as exciting as watching grass grow. But the SMS is an important tool for keeping our roads safe, and the FMCSA is shaking things up with several new changes and updates to the system. The SMS is a process that the FMCSA uses to audit and prioritize motor carriers that may be operating out of compliance. The system measures the safety performance of commercial motor carriers using a variety of criteria, such as:
✓ Crash history
✓ Roadside inspections
✓ Violations
According to the FMCSA, it is the job of the SMS to “quantify the on-road safety performance of carriers and drivers,” identifying specific safety problems that may require ongoing monitoring to determine if issues are improving or worsening.
Using data from roadside inspections, “including safety-based violations, state-reported crashes, and the federal motor carrier census to quantify performance in the following Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASIC),” the SMS can determine whether the driver is a candidate for intervention and, if so, begin the necessary process.
According to the FMCSA, the threshold of what determines whether further involvement by the FMCSA is required or if it can be addressed by the employer depends on the type of carrier and the severity of the violation. Should the data reveal that one or more of a carrier’s BASIC percentiles exceed the established threshold, then the carrier becomes a candidate for a safety intervention.
Changes Made to the SMS
- Updated Violation Codes On March 31, the FMCSA moved forward with updates to the SMS – beginning with new software containing updated violation codes to be used during roadside inspections. If you are an insurance professional serving the transportation industry, your clients can view the complete list of violations in the SMS Appendix A spreadsheet, as well as see examples in the SMS fact sheet.
- Employer Notifications Also in March, additional changes were made to the Commercial Driver’s Clearinghouse system, allowing employers to receive notifications via email when new information about a driver’s history and status is uploaded to the Clearinghouse database.
According to the FMCSA, a transportation company can complete a follow-on query within 24 hours of receiving a notification from the Clearinghouse to determine if the new information has resulted in a driver having a prohibited status. At that time, the employer can evaluate the findings and the most appropriate course of action.
Conclusion According to the American Transportation Research Institute, accidents in the trucking industry are on the rise – causing insurance premiums to increase. Insurance professionals with clients in the trucking and transportation industry will likely have policyholders asking questions about rates, as well as changes to the SMS over the coming months. By having a discussion regarding premiums and coverages, and educating clients regarding updates, you can help them to better mitigate potential safety issues that can lead to costly lawsuits brought against drivers and carriers.
Still have questions? To learn more about our insurance transportation products and how we can best serve you, please email info@acrossamericainsurance.com.