Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/71813
Irregular ratings told them to do, and I don't think Congress is going to step into the weeds and tell them how to do it." FMCSA is trying this summer to improve the overall system relative by moving load securement violations from CSA's Cargo BASIC (behavior analysis and safety improvement category) into the Vehicle Maintenance BASIC. That leaves only hazardous material standards under Cargo, and that BASIC has been renamed Hazmat. The changes were expected to be effective this month, following the June 30 end of a preview available to motor carriers. Some flatbed haulers' scores in the Vehicle Maintenance BASIC, as expected, jumped with addition of securement-related violations, which are much more obvious in that segment than in dry van or reefer, for instance. With the removal of the Cargo BASIC, however, in some senses the change may be a wash for any overall rating, or Safety Fitness Determination, that is expected to come out of CSA in the future. However, carriers who haul hazmat just often enough to meet the new Hazmat BASIC standard now will be inspected as such. Because some of their drivers aren't regular hazmat haulers, some fleets could easily see an increase in their percentile rankings there. That's what Bryan discovered when his company ran advance simulations of the new methodology with data from its customers. "Many of the largest, safest, best-operated companies were finding themselves … over the threshold or having an alert in the new Hazmat BASIC, where really none of them had any alerts in the past," he says. Bray says FMCSA has acknowledged that the new category isn't about safety as much as it is simply about compliance. FMCSA's argument, Bray says, is that "if these rules aren't followed, the effects of the crash are worse. The responders don't know what they're dealing with, the public is unaware of the hazard." There again, says Bray, "CSA was created to be about crashes. A lot of the hazmat violations have nothing to do with crash causation." ATA's Rob Abbott says the trade group wants two things included in the highway bill: "That the DOT do not use crashes that the motor carriers did not cause and could not have prevented, and that carrier scores should only relate to risk of future crashes." Abbot says he also sees "regional disparities" as a major issue, and "in a system based on comparative scoring, it produces skewed results." Bryan says Louisiana, for example, writes more seatbelt violations than any other state, whereas other states may focus more on hours of service, log violations, re-imagined. re-engineered. remarkable. Greatness takes time. At Great Dane we've had nearly a century to hone our expertise making trailers. To relentlessly test our industry-leading innovations. Not for the sake of change, but because we are ab- solutely driven to continue delivering the world's best trailer. And we've done it again. Our all-new, best-ever line of American-made Reefers, Dry Vans, and Flatbed trailers are as revolutionary as they are evolutionary. Each incorporates the latest industry-best innovations as standard, not optional. Each is re-engineered to deliver the best results for your business. Introducing Great Dane's All-New Line of Revolutionary Trailers: www.greatdanetrailers.com everest reefers 28 OVERDRIVE JULY 2012 champion dry vans freedom flatbeds Circle 201 on Reader Service Card or visit overdrive.hotims.com