Motor carrier safety rating
Encyclopedia
The motor carrier safety rating is an evaluation given to an interstate commercial motor carrier
(a company which employs truck
or bus driver
s) by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
(FMCSA).
A safety rating is determined by a compliance review, an on-site examination of motor carrier operations, such as drivers' hours of service
, maintenance and inspection, driver qualification, commercial drivers' license requirements, financial responsibility, accidents, hazardous materials, and other safety and transportation records to determine whether a motor carrier meets the safety fitness standard. A compliance review may be conducted in response to a request to change a safety rating, to investigate potential violations of safety regulations by motor carriers, or to investigate complaints, or other evidence of safety violations. The compliance review may result in the initiation of an enforcement action.
One of three safety ratings will be issued following a compliance review:
Satisfactory - A Satisfactory rating means that a motor carrier has in place and functioning adequate safety management controls to meet the safety fitness standard prescribed in §385.5 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR). Safety management controls are adequate if they are appropriate for the size and type of operation of the particular motor carrier.
Conditional - This rating means a motor carrier does not have adequate safety management controls in place to ensure compliance with the safety fitness standard found in §385.5 of the FMCSR.
Unsatisfactory - An Unsatisfactory rating means a motor carrier does not have adequate safety management controls in place to ensure compliance with the safety fitness standard which has resulted in occurrences listed in §385.5 (a) through (k)of the FMCSR.
Generally, a motor carrier rated unsatisfactory is prohibited from operating a CMV. If a proposed unsatisfactory safety rating becomes final, the FMCSA will issue an order placing its interstate operations out of service. Any motor carrier that operates CMVs in violation of this section will be subject to the penalty provisions listed in 49 U.S.C. 521(b).
MCMIS contains information on the safety fitness of commercial motor carriers and hazardous material (HM) shippers subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and the Hazardous Materials Regulations.
A number of reports are available from the MCMIS. Anyone may request these reports for a fee, however, a "Company Snapshot" is available to the public, free of charge. This information includes:
have shown that for a considerable number of audit items, correllation coefficients between audit item outcome and actual safety performance have counter-intuitive signs: the better the compliance rating of firms, the worse their accident rates. Some elements of the audit are important predictors of actual safety performance, in particular questions concerning if a safety director is appointed, and background checks on new drivers. Nevertheless, "the overall conclusion is that the worse a firm does on a large part of the audit, the better its accident record".
Motor carrier
Motor carrier may refer to:* A company which employs large semi-truck and bus drivers. See Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration .* Motor Carrier an English automobile....
(a company which employs truck
Truck driver
A truck driver , is a person who earns a living as the driver of a truck, usually a semi truck, box truck, or dump truck.Truck drivers provide an essential service to...
or bus driver
Bus driver
A bus driver, bus operator or omnibus driver is a person who drives buses professionally. Bus drivers typically drive their vehicles between bus stations or stops. They often drop off and pick up passengers on a predetermined route schedule. In British English a different term, coach drivers, is...
s) by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration , established January 1, 2000, regulates the trucking industry in the United States. FMCSA is headquartered in Washington, DC and employs more than 1,000 people in all 50 States and the District of Columbia...
(FMCSA).
A safety rating is determined by a compliance review, an on-site examination of motor carrier operations, such as drivers' hours of service
Hours of service
The hours of service are regulations issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration governing the working hours of anyone operating a commercial motor vehicle in the United States for the purpose of "interstate commerce"— moving commercial goods from one U.S. state to another...
, maintenance and inspection, driver qualification, commercial drivers' license requirements, financial responsibility, accidents, hazardous materials, and other safety and transportation records to determine whether a motor carrier meets the safety fitness standard. A compliance review may be conducted in response to a request to change a safety rating, to investigate potential violations of safety regulations by motor carriers, or to investigate complaints, or other evidence of safety violations. The compliance review may result in the initiation of an enforcement action.
One of three safety ratings will be issued following a compliance review:
Satisfactory - A Satisfactory rating means that a motor carrier has in place and functioning adequate safety management controls to meet the safety fitness standard prescribed in §385.5 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR). Safety management controls are adequate if they are appropriate for the size and type of operation of the particular motor carrier.
Conditional - This rating means a motor carrier does not have adequate safety management controls in place to ensure compliance with the safety fitness standard found in §385.5 of the FMCSR.
Unsatisfactory - An Unsatisfactory rating means a motor carrier does not have adequate safety management controls in place to ensure compliance with the safety fitness standard which has resulted in occurrences listed in §385.5 (a) through (k)of the FMCSR.
Generally, a motor carrier rated unsatisfactory is prohibited from operating a CMV. If a proposed unsatisfactory safety rating becomes final, the FMCSA will issue an order placing its interstate operations out of service. Any motor carrier that operates CMVs in violation of this section will be subject to the penalty provisions listed in 49 U.S.C. 521(b).
Records requests
A carrier's current safety rating can be found on http://www.safersys.org. The Safety and Fitness Electronic Records (SAFER) System offers company safety data to industry and the public over the internet. Data from the SAFER website is pulled from the Motor Carrier Management Information System, a database administered by the FMCSA.MCMIS contains information on the safety fitness of commercial motor carriers and hazardous material (HM) shippers subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and the Hazardous Materials Regulations.
A number of reports are available from the MCMIS. Anyone may request these reports for a fee, however, a "Company Snapshot" is available to the public, free of charge. This information includes:
- Carrier Legal Name/Doing Business As (DBA) Name
- Complete Address (Physical/Mailing)
- US Department of Transportation (DOT) Number
- Carrier Operation (e.g. Private/For Hire)
- CargoCargoCargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...
(s) Carried - Hazardous Material(s) Carried
- Fleet Size
- Number of Drivers
- Total Crashes
- Number of Fatalities/Injuries/Disabled Vehicles
- Total Inspections
- Number of Violations for Drivers/Vehicles
- Safety Rating
Criticism of the effectiveness of motor carrier safety ratings
The audit activity and the resultant motor carrier safety rating has been criticized for being imperfect, and perhaps misleading. Studieshave shown that for a considerable number of audit items, correllation coefficients between audit item outcome and actual safety performance have counter-intuitive signs: the better the compliance rating of firms, the worse their accident rates. Some elements of the audit are important predictors of actual safety performance, in particular questions concerning if a safety director is appointed, and background checks on new drivers. Nevertheless, "the overall conclusion is that the worse a firm does on a large part of the audit, the better its accident record".