Notification of Changes to the Definition of a High Risk Motor Carrier and Associated Investigation Procedures |
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T.F. Scott Darling, III
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
7 March 2016
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 44 (Monday, March 7, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11875-11876]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-04972]
[[Page 11875]]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2015-0439]
Notification of Changes to the Definition of a High Risk Motor
Carrier and Associated Investigation Procedures
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of definition and procedural changes.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the Agency's efforts to improve the
carrier prioritization process to enable safety investigators to take
more immediate action against carriers with the highest crash risk.
Specifically, FMCSA is announcing a new High Risk Motor Carrier
definition and associated investigative procedural changes. These
changes correspond with the ``Blueprint for Safety Leadership: Aligning
Enforcement and Risk'' report issued by a Federal Aviation
Administration Independent Review Team (IRT) in July 2014. The IRT
recommended that FMCSA sharpen its priority-setting focus and improve
the timeliness of investigator actions on those motor carriers
representing the highest risk. This notice explains the Agency's new
High Risk Motor Carrier definition and associated investigative
procedural changes.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received on or before May 6,
2016.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments bearing the Federal Docket
Management System Docket ID [FMCSA-2015-0439] using any of the
following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 0590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140,
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
Each submission must include the Agency name and the docket number
for this notice. Note that DOT posts all comments received without
change to www.regulations.gov, including any personal information
included in a comment. Please see the Privacy Act heading below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information concerning this
notice, contact Mr. David Yessen, Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590,
telephone 609-275-2606 or by email: david.yessen@dot.gov. If you have
questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, contact
Docket Services at (202) 366-9826.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments, go to www.regulations.gov at any time or visit Room W12-140
on the ground level of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE.,
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays. The online Federal document management system
is available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. If you want
acknowledgment that we received your comments, please include a self-
addressed, stamped envelope or postcard or print the acknowledgement
page that appears after submitting comments online.
Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits
comments from the public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT
posts these comments, without edit, including any personal information
the commenter provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the
system of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at
www.dot.gov/privacy.
Background
With the implementation of the Compliance, Safety, Accountability
(CSA) program in December 2010, FMCSA began using the Safety
Measurement System (SMS) to identify high-risk carriers for onsite
investigations (75 FR 18256). Section of 5305(a) of the recently
enacted Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act, Public Law 114-94,
(Dec. 4, 2015; 129 Stat. 1312) requires that FMCSA ensure, at a
minimum, that a review is conducted on motor carriers that demonstrate
through performance data that they are among the highest risk carriers
for four consecutive months.
Under the previous policy, which is being superseded and can be
found at 75 FR 18256, non-passenger carriers that meet or exceed
specific SMS Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC)
Intervention Thresholds for two consecutive months must receive an
onsite investigation within 12 months, unless they received an onsite
investigation within the previous 24 months. Passenger carriers that
meet or exceed the specific BASIC Intervention Thresholds for one month
must receive an onsite investigation in 90 days unless they received an
onsite investigation within the previous 12 months. Carriers that meet
these criteria are considered ``Mandatory'' for prioritization.
New Definition of High Risk
As part of FMCSA's continuing efforts to improve CSA, the Agency is
improving the carrier prioritization process to enable safety
investigators to take more immediate action against carriers with the
highest crash risk. The Agency's efforts also correspond with the
``Blueprint for Safety Leadership: Aligning Enforcement and Risk''
report issued by a Federal Aviation Administration Independent Review
Team (IRT) in July 2014. The IRT report recommended that FMCSA should
sharpen its priority-setting focus and improve the timeliness of
investigator actions on those motor carriers representing the highest
risk. The IRT report noted that the current High Risk definition does
not specify which carriers require the most urgent attention or allow
for dynamic risk management.
For these reasons, FMCSA developed, and today announces that it is
adopting, a new High Risk motor carrier definition. Under the new
definition, passenger carriers are ``High Risk'' if they have two or
more of the following Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement
Categories (BASICs), most closely correlated with crash risk, at or
above the 90th percentile for one month and they have not received
onsite investigation in the previous 12 months: Unsafe Driving, Crash
Indicator; HOS Compliance, and Vehicle Maintenance. Non-passenger
carriers are considered ``High Risk'' if they have two or more of these
BASICs at or above the 90th percentile for two consecutive months and
they have not received an onsite investigation in the previous 18
months.
The new definition will identify a smaller number of carriers, but
this group of carriers will have a higher crash risk than the group of
carriers identified under the current High Risk definition. This newly
defined High Risk list will be the Agency's investigative priority. It
will allow the Agency to more promptly conduct investigations of
carriers that pose the greatest risk to public safety, rather than
placing carriers at high crash risk in a longer queue of
investigations.
In addition, to address those carriers with poor safety performance
that will no longer fall under the High Risk definition, FMCSA will
identify and monitor additional carriers with
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significant crash risk using dynamic risk management tools recommended
by the IRT. The term dynamic risk management refers to the techniques
and processes that Agency managers will use to evaluate the safety
performance of carriers on the Moderate-Risk, Risk, and Monitor lists,
and to reprioritize these carriers as needed. Safety performance data
analysis tools were developed to support the dynamic management
decision-making process. The term ``Mandatory'' will no longer be used
to identify carriers for investigation prioritization. FMCSA will also
introduce other prioritization changes over the next year to address
other carriers with significant indicators of non-compliance and to
improve the Agency's ability to manage risk and respond appropriately
based on the best available data. As a result, the Agency anticipates
conducting a similar number of investigations as are currently
conducted.
Table 1 below provides the approximate number of carriers that
would be identified annually under the new High Risk definition and the
Agency's additional risk tiers.
Table 1--New High Risk Criteria Carriers and Crash Rates
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New High Risk Moderate risk Risk
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Number of carriers identified in 12 months...................... 2,800 1,500 9,200
Crash rate (24 months) per 100 Power Units *.................... 18.25 14.25 10.80
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* Current Mandatory Carrier Crash Rate: 13.35.
This change will not impact a carrier's safety fitness rating,
authority to operate, or SMS percentiles, and will not change the SMS
methodology, or how FMCSA makes enforcement decisions.
II. Summary of Changes
The following table defines the criteria for designating Passenger
and Non-Passenger carriers as ``High Risk.'' Table 2 is offered as
reference material to assist the public in understanding the new High
Risk definition.
Table 2--Passenger and Non-Passenger Carriers Designated As ``High
Risk''
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Criteria Current mandatory New High Risk
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SMS BASIC Performance........... Unsafe Two or
Driving, Crash more of the
Indicator, or HOS following BASICs
Compliance BASICs at or above the
greater than or 90th percentile:
equal to the 85th [cir] Unsafe
percentile and Driving.
one other BASIC [cir] Crash
at or above the Indicator,
``all other'' [cir] HOS
motor carrier Compliance.
threshold; or [cir] Vehicle
Any four Maintenance.
or more BASICs at
or above the
``all other''
motor carrier
threshold (65th/
80th percentiles).
Passenger Carrier............... Occurs in One Occurs in One
Month. Month.
Non-Passenger Carrier........... Occurs in Two Occurs in Two
Consecutive Consecutive
Months. Months.
Time Since Last Onsite
Investigation. Passenger--12 Passenger--12
Months. Months.
Non- Non-
Passenger--24 Passenger--18
Months. Months.
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Issued on: February 16, 2016.
T.F. Scott Darling, III,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2016-04972 Filed 3-4-16; 8:45 am]
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