FMCSA Update: Programmatic and
Regulatory Activities
Dee Williams
Chief, Compliance Division
October 9, 2015
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
Agenda
• Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) Core Components
1. The Safety Measurement System (SMS)
2. The Safety Interventions Process
3. The Safety Fitness Determination (SFD)
Proposed SMS Enhancements
• DataQs
• Electronic Recording of Drivers’ Hours of Service
• 34 Hour Restart Study
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Compliance, Safety, Accountability
(CSA)
• CSA did not create any new regulatory requirements
• Safety Investigators use drivers’ roadside inspection and crash data when investigating a carrier
• The SMS does not assign safety ratings, “scores,” or points to drivers
• The Federal or State governments do not issue a “CSA score” or “CSA driver scorecard”– Some carriers and third-party companies combine Pre-Employment
Screening Program (PSP) records and other driver information and call it a “CSA score” or “CSA driver scorecard”
CSA: What You Should Know
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1. Safety Measurement System (SMS)– FMCSA’s workload prioritization tool that identifies carriers for interventions in
seven Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs)
2. Safety Interventions Process– Wide array of interventions (e.g., warning letters, investigations) and tools to help
FMCSA work with carriers to bring them into compliance with safety rules and
regulations
– Safety Management Cycle
3. Safety Fitness Determination (SFD)
– To assess safety performance of larger segment of industry, keeping more
unsafe carriers off the road (under rulemaking process)
CSA’s Three Core Components
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1. Safety Measurement System (SMS)
• Provides enforcement personnel, motor carriers, and other
safety stakeholders with comprehensive, informative, and
regularly updated safety performance and compliance data.
– Quantifies on-road safety performance and considers prior
investigation findings to prioritize enforcement resources
– Helps determine the safety problems a motor carrier is
exhibiting
– Monitors motor carrier’s safety problems for improvement or
interventions
Warning Letter– Alerts to safety issues and consequences – Chance to improve
Investigation − Offsite
− Onsite Focused
− Onsite Comprehensive
Follow-on Corrective Action− Cooperative Safety Plan
− Notice of Violation (NOV)
− Notice of Claim (NOC)
− Out-of-Service Order (OOSO)
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2. Safety Interventions Process
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Current Process (49 CFR Part 385): • Ratings issued based on investigation findings, do not account for
roadside inspection data
• A rating may only result from an Onsite Investigation
• Drivers are not rated, and they do not have a SFD
Rulemaking Proposal (planned for 2015):
1. A carrier's on-road safety performance - 5 of 7 BASICs;
2. An investigation; or
3. A combination of on-road safety data and investigation information.
Note: Difference between SMS and SFD - Rating is based on a
carrier’s individual performance.
Intended effect is to more effectively use FMCSA data and resources to identify
unfit motor carriers and remove them from the Nation's roadways.
3. Safety Fitness Determination (SFD)
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Proposed SMS Enhancements
• SMS is continually improved based on:
– Availability of new data and additional analyses
– Feedback from enforcement, industry, and other stakeholders
• FMCSA prioritizes and packages changes as needed
• FMCSA applies a systematic approach to implementing
improvements
– Includes announcing the proposed changes in a Federal
Register Notice and providing a preview and comment period
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Why an SMS Preview?
• Gives stakeholders an opportunity to view and comment
on the proposed enhancements, verify data, and
educate all stakeholders BEFORE the enhancements
are implemented and become publicly available
• Enables FMCSA to make final refinements to the
package of enhancements BEFORE public release
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SMS Methodology Enhancement Objectives
1. Make SMS more effective at prioritizing carriers that pose the
greatest safety risk for interventions• Increase Utilization Factor to account for higher exposure
• Simplify data sufficiency standards to only assign BASIC percentiles from
inspections with a violation in the last year
• Segment HM Compliance BASIC
2. Improve FMCSA’s focus on carriers with high crash rates and
serious safety problems• Adjust Intervention Thresholds for Vehicle Maintenance, Controlled
Substances/Alcohol, Driver Fitness, and HM Compliance BASICs
• Move operating while OOS violations to the Unsafe Driving BASIC
3. Improve the consistency of data in FMCSA systems• Align vehicle miles traveled update requirements with the Unified
Registration System (URS)
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What should you do during the preview of the
proposed SMS methodology enhancements?
During the SMS Preview, motor carriers and the public should:
1. Submit comments on the proposed SMS enhancements via the
Federal Docket Website at: https://www.federalregister.gov
2. Try out the “Tour This Change” feature, which provides detailed
information on each of the proposed enhancements
3. Visit the Help Center to download preview resources, browse FAQs,
and learn how to get started on the preview site
4. Contact our CSA InfoLine Team at 1-877-254-5365 or online at
http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/CSA_Feedback.aspx
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Building A Nationwide Commitment to Safety
• Get Road Smart About CSA– Visit http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/getroadsmart/ to:
• Learn more about CSA and find ways to improve safety performance
• Check company safety records
• Order driver records
• Ensure Compliance and Check and Update Records– Monitor and review all inspection and crash data, and address
safety problems at http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/SMS/Default.aspx
– Question potentially incorrect data
(DataQs: https://dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov)
– Update your MCS-150 form and VMT data
– Sign up for important updates via the CSA Website at:
http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/subscription.aspx
DataQs
• Allows carriers/drivers to file a Request for Data Review (RDR) to identify concerns about data in FMCSA’s data systems that may be incomplete or incorrect
• Forwards your RDR to the appropriate State office for resolution
• Gives you updates on the status of your RDR, from submission through resolution
• RDRs can only be submitted for violations that were erroneously
reported or incorrectly documented during the inspection• Adjudicated Citations
DataQs: Improving Your Safety Data
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• When filing an RDR, remember to: – Write a specific and detailed explanation
– Attach relevant supporting document(s): Example: include a lease agreement if you are an owner-operator with a valid
lease agreement with another company
− Ensure your contact information is accurate
− Check the status of your RDR frequently (additional information may
be requested)
− Consult the DataQs guide for additional tips: https://dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov/Data/Guide/DataQs_Users_Guide_and_Best_Practices_Manual.pdf
DataQs: Improving Your Safety Data
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Electronic Recording of Drivers’
Hours of Service
49 CFR 395.15: Automatic On Board Recording
Devices (AOBRD)
• Every driver required by a motor carrier to use an
AOBRD must use the device properly
• Drivers must be adequately trained in the proper
operation of the device
• The carrier must maintain a back-up copy of the eHOS
• Paper logs must be used if equipment is not working
Current Regulation: AOBRD
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• A valid recorder:
– Displays daily driving and duty hours and miles
– Displays duty hours for 7 consecutive days plus the
current day, the prior 8 consecutive day period
– Records each driver’s duty status separately when
there are multiple drivers
– Is maintained and recalibrated according to
manufacturer’s specifications
395.15 Selected Requirements
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• Support systems for AOBRDs must be capable of
providing summaries for:
– Individual driver’s records of duty status
– On-board system failures
– Identification of edited data
395.15 Information Requirements
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1. Prescribes minimum technical standards for ELDs
2. Subject to a limited exception, requires drivers who need to keep
RODS to use ELDs
3. Establishes explicit requirements for HOS supporting documents
4. Protects drivers from harassment
Establishes a complaint process for drivers, due process for
carriers, and specifies civil penalties
5. Helps businesses cut paperwork and save money and assists
law enforcement and safety inspectors with reviewing HOS
records.
Electronic Logging Devices (ELD) Rule
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• AOBRs, ELDs, and electronic logs are all different
• Ensure drivers are well versed in requirements for the
type of device they use
ELDs – What You Should Know
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34 Hour Restart Study
• The Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act
2015:
– Suspended enforcement of certain aspects of the final rule for
utilizing the 34-hour restart period
– Effective until September 30, 2015 or until research can be
completed
– Congress directed Agency to conduct a driver CMV restart
study
34 Hour Restart: Why the Change?
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• Temporarily suspends enforcement of the two restrictions on
the use of the 34-hour rule:
– Could only be used once per week (every 168 hours)
– Had to include two periods from
1:00 a.m.–5:00 a.m. home terminal time
34 Hour Restart Enforcement Suspension
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• A restart is not required
• Primary benefit to those drivers operating at the
maximum weekly limits
• No change to 60/70 hour rule or 30 minute break.
34 Hour Restart: What You Should Know
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• Data analysis has commenced
• FMCSA is working toward completing the final report by the
end of the year
• No preliminary study findings, but pleased with the high
volume of data collected from participating drivers
• Data will help inform future activities by FMCSA as well as
the current study
Restart Study: Data Collection Concluded
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• Included 220 participating drivers from a wide variety of
fleet sizes and operations contributing data as they drove
their normal, revenue-producing routes, including:
– More than 3,000 driver duty cycles, as captured by
electronic logging devices
– More than 75,000 driver alertness tests; and
– More than 22,000 days of driver sleep data
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Restart Study: Data Collection
• Data will be used to:
– Assess operator fatigue, alertness levels, and the safety
performance of drivers whose work schedules involve
one-night restarts compared to two-nights off duty
required by the 2011 revisions to the restart rule.
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Restart Study: Objective
Enforcement of the HOS restart provisions remain
suspended as required by Congress until the Secretary of
Transportation submits the CMV Driver Restart Study final
report to Congress.
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34 Hour Restart Enforcement Suspension
FMCSA Update: Programmatic and
Regulatory Activities
Dee Williams
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)