In its analysis of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's new CSA program data, TransCore found that there are significant state and regional differences in particular BASIC scores and that more carriers have alerts under CSA than they did under the previous SafeStat figures.


The CarrierWatch CSA 2010 Industry Report was based on FMCSA data issued December 12, 2010. The FMCSA data covers all commercial vehicles subject to the new Compliance, Safety, and Accountability program, but the CarrierWatch CSA 2010 Industry Report focuses on the approximately 166,000 for-hire, interstate carriers for whom data was reported.

Key findings of the CarrierWatch CSA 2010 Industry report include:

* Larger carriers had significantly lower BASIC (Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories) scores than smaller carriers.

* There are significant state-by-state and regional differences in particular BASIC scores : carriers domiciled in certain states appear to be scored more stringently than carriers domiciled elsewhere for controlled substances, unsafe driving, fatigued driving, and vehicle maintenance. For instance, of the 10 states with the highest rate of carrier alerts for Controlled Substances, six are in the Southest: Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Georgia.

* More carriers have alerts under CSA when compared to SafeStat, the FMCSA's previous carrier safety evaluation program. That's not surprising, note the report's authors. "CSA now offers potential for carriers to be scored in five categories instead of three, and an alert under CSA can be issued without any score at all." Nevertheless, it says, nearly four out of five carriers do not have any alerts.

* Larger carriers are more likely to have scores, and on average, the scores will be lower than smaller carriers, TransCore found. That's because a small carrier is most likely to be inspected when it has previously been cited for a deficiency or if the carrier's truck or driver is caught on the road with a violation. Larger carriers, on the other hand, are expected to receive more frequent roadside inspections simply because of the numbers involved.

"The net effect of the new safety program is that the size of the carrier and the location of its domicile and routes are among the factors that will affect the carrier's safety scores more than ever before," the report notes.

The free report can be downloaded from www.transcorefreightsolutions.com.