Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/671314
component parts on which they are based. (That phrase is one we've all heard before when it comes to the CSA program, of course, going back to its early days.) "Once you get that," he says, once "you know what that means on the road" during inspections, it's easy to see it all as a "downward spiral." Despite a high percentile in the Crash Indicator BASIC of the CSA Safety Measurement System, "our company's in great shape, but this system is a broken system," he adds. While Congress has taken action on the CSA Safety Measurement Sys- tem and its categorical percentiles, pulling them from public view pend- ing a review/revamp of the program, FMCSA nonetheless continues to move forward with its long-planned Safety Fitness Determination safety rating system that would lean heav- ily on roadside inspection/violation data to make the ratings. As reiter- ated in reporting by James Jaillet just today, there is a push by an ad hoc coalition, including associations representing small carriers around the nation, to halt the SFD rulemak- ing process by arguing the release of the rulemaking proposal violated Congressional intent in the FAST Act highway bill. As I've written before, the coalition argues the proposal should have been held until the CSA SMS was reviewed/revamped, as required by law, given how much the SFD relies on the CSA SMS' archi- tecture. If you judge the industry by looking at the CSA SMS, DeLullo says, "the safest carrier on the road is the new carrier, the guy with no history. I've been doing this for 30 years and I look worse at a a glance than a brand-new carrier." In the fi nal analysis, he says, "In order to conquer things you have to have a two-way working rela- tionship," he says, one that's just not there at this point between the industry and law enforcement. "The end result — when you go to the store 10 years down the road, every- thing's going to cost more." ◆ May '16 www.studentdriverplacement.com 2 1