CSA Releases BASICs Factsheets

The Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program which establishes a nationwide system for making the roads safer for motor carriers and the public recently released a new Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) factsheet series.  “Generally CSA affects carriers subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs), carriers transporting passengers or cargo in interstate commerce, and carriers of hazardous materials in intrastate commerce, but may also include carriers whose State requires that they obtain a U.S. DOT Number.” The factsheets provide information about the CSA program and the relative FMCSA regulations.  The titles include:

• Vehicle Maintenance
• Unsafe Driving
• Crash Indicator
• Fatigued Driving (Hours-of-Service)
• Controlled Substances/Alcohol
• Driver Fitness
• Cargo-Related

Initiated in December 2010, CSA is a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) initiative to improve large truck and bus safety and ultimately reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities that are related to commercial motor vehicles.  It introduces a new enforcement and compliance model that allows FMCSA and its State Partners to contact a larger number of carriers earlier in order to address safety problems before crashes occur.  FMCSA incorporated five key attributes when they developed the CSA program.  They are flexibility: adapting to a changing environment, efficiency: maximal use of resources, effectiveness: improving safety performance, innovation: leveraging data and technology; and equitability: being fair and unbiased.

Resource: csa.fmcsa.dot.gov