An Introduction to CSA 2010

In July of 2010, the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA) will begin to implement Comprehensive Safety Analysis (better known as CSA). It’s intent is to improve the safety of large trucks and buses, and reduce the number of accidents involving commercial vehicles

It’s more than just a safety program. The CSA 2010 will have an impact on hiring, firing, employment screening, pay packages, training, CDL certification, background checks and more.

The fundamental tasks of CSA 2010 are:

To monitor the performance and safety records of individual truck drivers

Address drivers with safety issues, based on their histories with multiple employers

Hold both the company and the driver responsible for all safety concerns

How is it Enforced?

The new system will enable Safety Investigators (SI) to monitor and assess performance of drivers during a 3-year period, including across multiple employers.

A SI can then find “high profile” drivers that have had frequent safety issues in their histories. A CSA 2010 investigation can follow. If they find that there are violations by the driver, there can be an FMCSA action such as a Notice of Violation or a Notice of Claim.

From that, a driver can face fines, corrective action plans, or a request to completely cease operations due to unfit status. To avoid these potential consequences, all drivers need to follow a safety program now. Changing jobs will not help because your history will be tracked through several employers.

There are several specific infractions that the FMCSA has deemed as an automatic audit failure for a trucking company:

Refusing to implement a drug testing program

Employing a driver who has tested positive for any controlled substances

Hiring a driver that does have a valid commercial driver’s license

Failure to correct service defects in a vehicle

Having any vehicles that are not regularly inspected

As for drivers, there is a point system that will penalize you for driving violations such as:

Following the vehicle ahead too closely

Failing to keep previous 7 days logs

Broken tail light

Not signing duty status records

Violating an OOS order

Thought CSA 2010 has not yet been put into action, they will be looking back to 36 months of records. That means you have to diligent now in order to keep a clean record. The FMCSA website has a full list of violations as well as their point value.