Safety systems that reduce CSA violations
Safety is the top priority for motor carriers. Running a safe operation requires thorough knowledge and understanding of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations. In addition to educating drivers on these regulations, there are specific company fleet safety policies and procedures that must be reviewed; such as the completion of roadside inspection paperwork
Mitigating collisions with the latest in safety systems
At the 2015 Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, Jack Van Steenburg, assistant administrator and chief safety officer at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), reported on trends in commercial motor vehicle safety. Citing 2013 data on crashes involving large trucks, Van Steenburg indicated that the increase from 2012 was less than half that in
Checks and balances for truck industry regulations
Once political appointees obtain the jobs they’ve campaigned for, they immediately begin campaigning to either keep the job they got appointed to or get promoted. They virtually never bother to improve the organization they head. For example, for more than 50 years, the U. S. Postal Service (USPS) has lost money. The USPS asks Congress
Tires & CSA: An update
Tires play a major role when it comes to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Compliance, Safety and Accountability (CSA) program. The two fleet Safety Management System (SMS) for CSA categories are 1) vehicle maintenance and 2) hazardous material compliance. Tires fall under the vehicle maintenance category. Violations associated with tires receive either a three
Regulations & business operations: Living in harmony
In today’s ever-changing regulatory landscape, fleets are faced with two options—adapt or perish. Faced with heightened regulations, such as FMSCA’s hours-of-service (HOS) rules, ensuring compliance is paramount to a fleet’s success. With the risk of hefty fines and harmful Compliance, Safety & Accountability (CSA) scores on the table, fleets must not only adjust to the
Disparities in CSA enforcement found
The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) recently released findings from a study it conducted, which revealed that state enforcement disparities create uneven safety playing fields for carriers that have different operating patterns and mileage exposure in the lower 48 states. It also discovered that there are different priorities and violation issuance rates across states that
Designing programs to avoid CSA violations
A 2013 CSA Violation Study by Vigillo, which provides a widely used CSA reporting system that aggregates, organizes and delivers fleet safety information in a suite of CSA Scorecards, reveals that maintenance related issues make up over 80% of all violations among all seven BASICs, or Behavior Analysis Safety Improvement Categories. Furthermore, notes Steve Bryan,
Training to avoid CSA lighting citations
More technical training courses and constructive support for avoiding potential FMCSA’s Compliance Safety Accountability (CSA) violations are two specific parts and service examples being brought forward to fleet management members by Truck-Lite. In response to fleet managers and truck technicians, the company developed online training modules on lighting and harness, basics in electricity, lighting fundamentals,
Avoiding CSA citations with LED lighting solutions
Of course, one of the most talked about benefits of LEDs is the potential for decreasing the chances of a CSA violation. Lighting is, quite literally, the most visible aspect of the truck as it rolls down the highway. If there’s a lighting issue, the tractor is practically screaming to be pulled over. Often times,
Good preventative maintenance can cure CSA headaches
Ever since the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration launched its initiative called Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) there has been increased attention to the condition of over-the-road equipment. Everyone wants to avoid problems during a roadside inspection because every infraction will be reported to the FMCSA and made public via the Internet. According to some fleet
