A group of brokers and other trucking interests have added to the call for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to remove CSA safety scores from public view.

In a September 17 letter, the Alliance for Safe, Efficient and Competitive Truck Transportation and nine other groups asked Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx to draw a curtain over the scores.

There is plenty of evidence that the scores are flawed, the groups said, echoing the same message American Trucking Associations and 10 other groups sent late last month.

“From the first publication of (Safety Measurement System) methodology in December 2010, the statistical flaws of SMS have been pointed out to the FMCSA and have been shamelessly and repeatedly ignored in Agency publications,” the groups said.

SMS is the data from crashes and roadside inspections the agency uses to flag carriers for enforcement action in its Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program.

The industry has long contended that SMS data is neither consistent nor accurate and should not be available to the public.

FMCSA contends that SMS has been a safety “game changer” because it makes carrier violations and safety records available to consumers, law enforcement and shippers.

ASECTT, which represents brokers and small carriers, has been in the forefront of the industry’s push to hide the data. It recently lost a legal challenge of CSA when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit dismissed its suit.

Joining ASECTT in the letter are the National Association of Small Trucking Companies, the Airforwarders Association, the California Construction Trucking Association and the Auto Haulers Association of America.

Also, the Air & Expedited Motor Carrier Association, the Expedite Alliance of North America, the Specialized Furniture Carriers, the Laredo Licensed Customs Brokers Association and the Transportation Loss Prevention & Security Association.

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