Transportation 28

A hearing was held yesterday on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's ("FMCSA") new enforcement program, CSA 2010.  While there is general support for the program, some of the concerns deal with timing, data quality and funding.  For example, one concern voiced by Keith Klein, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Transport Corporation of America, who spoke on behalf of the American Trucking Associations, was that under the FMCSA's current CSA 2010 system, accidents enter the system without the recognition of fault.  In other words, there is no way to recognize the difference between preventable and non-preventable accidents.  In response, Ann Ferro, the agency's chief, emphasized that crash data are a legitimate indicator of a motor carrier's safety performance regardless of fault.  She went on to say, however, that the agency recognizes the problem of crash accountability and will analyze the data if the carrier's safety fitness rating comes into question.