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CSA 2010 – What & When?

“So, what exactly is CSA 2010?”

I’ve heard this question asked a lot over the past several months, and wanted to give a little insight to our customers and readers regarding this important initiative.

CSA 2010 is defined by the U.S. DOT as “a FMCSA initiative to improve large truck and bus safety and ultimately reduce commercial motor vehicle related crashes, injuries and fatalities.”  The basic methodology behind this initiative is to allow states to work with carriers earlier in the game addressing safety related issues.  CSA 2010 will change the old system of looking at four broad categories and will now be organized by 7 Behavior Analysis Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs).

  • Unsafe Driving
  • Fatigued Driving
  • Driver Fitness
  • Alcohol & Drugs
  • Vehicle Maintenance
  • Cargo Securement
  • Crash History

Currently, carriers are able to view their violation assessment based on the new Carrier Safety Measurement System (CSMS), which will replace the current SafeStat later in 2010.  This provides motor carriers an opportunity to begin evaluating their scores and to continue their training on CSA 2010 with a focus on areas that need improvement.

“When will CSA 2010 be fully implemented?”

In February of 2008 the U.S. DOT began to implement a new initiative to improve commercial motor vehicle safety.  By October of 2009, nine states were part of a test phase.  So, the question now is when will it be fully implemented?

The FMCSA’s next steps toward full implementation include:

  • Making CSMS available to the public
  • Prioritize enforcement issues
  • Issue warning letters to carriers with deficient BASIC’s scores
  • Release the Notice of proposed rule-making
  • Train staff on enforcement of the new rules
  • Implement new interventions with carriers

Although this has been a long process for both the government and carriers, and one where we are likely to be working out the kinks into 2011, all parties involved are hopeful that the ultimate goal will be achieved – reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities.