For The Defense, December 2011 - DRI Today

Trucking Law
formula and are also normalized by the
time weight of relevant inspections. See
Fed. Motor Carrier Safety Admin, U.S.
Dep’t Transp., Safety Measurement System
(SMS) Methodology, supra (explaining the
SMS methodology and each calculation).
The seventh and last BASIC differs from
the other six, and technically, it is not a
BASIC at all. The “crash indicator” measure
is designed to track crash histories
and high-crash patterns as identified in
state- reported crash records. Each crash
is weighted in severity from 1 to 3, with
crashes involving injuries, fatalities, and
hazardous material releases having greater
weights. Crashes also are time weighted.
Additionally, final scores for the “crash
indicator” measure take a utilization factor
into account, the same utilization factor
applied to the “unsafe driving” BASIC.
See Fed. Motor Carrier Safety Admin, U.S.
Dep’t Transp., Safety Measurement System
(SMS) Methodology, supra (explaining the
SMS methodology and each calculation).
To calculate the “crash indicator” measure,
the total time- and severity- weighted
applicable crashes are divided by a carrier’s
average power units multiplied by a utilization
factor.
Safety Event Groups
Once a carrier’s score for each BASIC is
computed, the motor carrier is placed in a
safety event group and assigned a percentile
based on how it compares with other
carriers in that safety event group. So a carrier
belongs to seven safety event groups,
each corresponding to one of the seven
BASICs. The FMCSA may subject a motor
carrier to an intervention based on the carrier’s
percentile if it exceeds an applicable
threshold. Table 2 presents the applicable
percentile thresholds at which the FMCSA
may intervene due to BASIC rankings.
However, the SMS methodology applies
certain “data sufficiency standards” before
assigning a percentile rank to a motor carrier.
In other words, a motor carrier won’t
receive a percentile rank in a BASIC until
74 ■ For The Defense ■ December 2011
the SMS has sufficient data for the carrier
in that BASIC. The “data sufficiency standards”
differ for each BASIC but essentially
require a minimum number of inspections
within the previous two years. For
the “crash indicator” measure, for example,
a motor carrier must have been involved in
two Department of Transportation (DOT)
reportable crashes before it will receive a
percentile in that BASIC under the methodology.
In the remaining BASICs, a motor
carrier must have undergone a specific
number of inspections that resulted in
applicable violations for that specific BASIC
before the methodology will calculate and
assign a percentile.
For example, in the “fatigued driving”
and “unsafe driving” categories, a motor
carrier must have three inspections resulting
in applicable violations before it will
receive a percentile rank in those BASICs.
In the “driver fitness,” the “vehicle maintenance,”
and the “cargo- related” BASICs,
a motor carrier must have five inspections
finding applicable violations. Lastly, in the
“controlled substances/alcohol” BASIC, the
percentile ranking methodology requires
only one inspection finding an applicable
violation before a motor carrier will
receive a rank.
The specific, final percentile that a motor
carrier receives varies by the BASIC and the
number of applicable violations found for
the carrier within the BASIC. The SMS assigns
a motor carrier to a safety event group
for a BASIC according to the number of violations
recorded in the SMS in that BASIC
for the motor carrier. In other words, motor
carriers assigned to a safety event group all
have BASIC violations numbering within a
particular range for that BASIC.
In the “unsafe driving” BASIC, the number
of inspections with unsafe driving violations
depends on whether a motor carrier
operates straight trucks or combination
tractor- trailers. As mentioned, the methodology
tries to compare like- vehicles with
like- vehicles in some ways. The methodology
similarly differentiates between the
Table 2.
Basic General Haz M Passenger
Unsafe Driving, Fatigued Driving (HOS), Crash Indicator 65% 60% 50%
Driver Fitness, Drugs/Alcohol, Vehicle Maintenance,
Cargo-Related
80% 75% 65%
two vehicle types for the “crash indicator”
measure. The safety event group to
which the SMS assigns a motor carrier for
the “crash indicator” measure obviously is
determined by the number of DOT reportable
crashes in which a carrier has been
involved. Tables 3 and 4 list the safety event
groupings, based on violation numbers, for
motor carriers operating straight trucks in
two categories, “unsafe driving” and “crash
indicator.”
Table 3. Unsafe Driving BASIC:
Straight Segment
Number of Inspections
Safety Event with Unsafe Driving
Group
Violations
Straight 1 3–4
Straight 2 5–8
Straight 3 9–18
Straight 4 19–49
Straight 5 50+
Table 4. Crash Indicator: Straight Segment
Safety Event
Group Number of Crashes
Straight 1 2
Straight 2 3–4
Straight 3 5–8
Straight 4 9–26
Straight 5 26
In the “controlled substances/alcohol”
BASIC, again the SMS methodology calculates
percentiles after organizing carriers
into safety event groups according to
the number of on-road inspections finding
controlled substances/alcohol violations, as
specified in Table 5.
Table 5. Controlled Substances/Alcohol
BASIC Safety Event Groupings
Number of Inspections
with Controlled
Safety Event Substances/Alcohol
Group
Violations
1 1
2 2
3 3
4 4+
Table 6 explains the safety event groupings
for the remaining BASICS, “fatigued
driving,” “driver fitness,” “vehicle maintenance,”
and “cargo- related,” again organiz-