Courtesy of Minnesota Trucking Association

Minnesota and Montana are the first states who begin implementing the Comprehensive Safety Analysis (CSA) 2010 initiative, on June 1st. The goal of CSA 2010 is to look for new ways to improve the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) ability to meet its goal of significantly reducing crashes, fatalities, and injuries involving large trucks and buses by:

Changing the way FMCSA monitors motor carriers and drivers (replaces many elements of SAFESTAT),
Making FMCSA's processes more efficient (i.e. current Compliance Review Program),
Expanding the enforcement and compliance reach in the regulated community.
There are four major elements to CSA 2010:

Measurement System - The measurement system will group the safety performance data of motor carriers and drivers into seven categories, called BASICs - Behavioral Analysis Safety Improvement Categories. The seven BASICs are:
(1) Unsafe Driving
(2) Fatigued Driving
(3) Driver Fitness
(4) Controlled Substances/Alcohol
(5) Vehicle Maintenance
(6) Improper Loading/Cargo
(7) Crash Indicator

Intervention - Once the measurement system signals the need to intervene, CSA 2010 will draw upon a broad array of progressive interventions that are designed to advise the motor carrier or driver that their safety performance has come to the government's attention. These steps are meant to improve unsafe behavior early.

Safety Evaluation - Safety fitness determination will be based on performance data processed through the measurement system and will not necessarily be tied to the current FMCSA compliance review. Each motor carrier or driver for which there is sufficient data will receive a safety fitness determination that would be updated every 30 days.

COMPASS - CSA 2010 is closely aligned with COMPASS, an FMCSA-wide initiative that is leveraging new technology to transform the way that FMCSA does business.

Motor carriers should take a look at their current CSMS results (BASIC scores) and a more detailed explanation of the system at http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/csi. You will need your PIN to access these Web sites. Information for obtaining a PIN can be found at https://li-public.fmcsa.dot.gov/LIVIEW/pkg_registration.prc_option_decision and select "I want to request a copy of a document" or call 1-800-832-5660 for assistance.

You can also view a copy of the Methodology and Introduction to CSA 2010 here. Or a copy of the CSA listening session here.