CSA 2010 Implementation to be Delayed?
Posted on April 7, 2010
Filed Under GENERAL, IN THE NEWS
The CSA 2010 implementation will be delayed… probably until 2011 according to the American Trucking Association. The FMCSA denies this, and says everything is on schedule, and that an implementation schedule will be issued in a Federal Register in the coming weeks. Just so you know: that means the coming months.
What does it all mean? It means what I’ve been saying from the get-go…. CSA 2010 means CSA 2011 or 2012. One of the undeniable laws of government; they overpromise and underdeliver.
While we are on the subject, here are a few thoughts on CSA 2010. My customers have been ringing my phone off the hook on the subject, whereas I have not gotten that excited about the topic. First: it’s a new way of ranking the motor carriers, and will replace Safestat. It’s unknown if the ranking system will be dramatically different, my guess is in won’t be. In other words, if you’re at the top of the Safestat rankings, you’ll probably be at the top of the CSA 2010 rankings, too.
Second: CSA 2010 does not change the regulations. You still have to take a 10 hour break, you still need a medical, you still need to annually inspect your truck. Third: FMCSA intends to contact more carriers. They are going to use new methods such as conducting audits via the mail and phone, rather than making on-site visits. I suspect they may even send out civil fines based on roadside inspections. Fourth: Drivers are going to be ranked as well, counting up all of their roadside inspections, and/or moving violations that FMCSA has in their giant database. This information can be checked by prospective employers. Drivers who have poor scores will probably be locked out of the better paying jobs, as the more reputable carriers will not want to chance a driver with a poor history.
Finally, the FMCSA wants to eliminate the Satisfactory, Conditional, and Unsatisfactory rating system they have in place now, and replace it with the CSA 2010 scores. My opinion is this will never happen. Maybe this is what is being delayed. There are several legal issues the agency needs to solve before this happens, and I highly doubt they’ll be able to do it. The new ranking methodology, the background check website, and threatening letters in the mail…. all of that you might see by the end of the year.
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2 Responses to “CSA 2010 Implementation to be Delayed?”
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Eric, you make some great points, but I don’t think I would go so far as to say that CSA 2010 is just a reincarnation of Safe Stat. True that many of the same requirements by drivers will be the same, but in addition to that CSA 2010 will implement a new pre-employment screening, that will track the previous 5 years of driver crash and inspection data. That will certainly help carriers like us make more informed decisions about the drivers that we hire. You can read more about our assessment of what CSA 2010 means for the driving industry here…http://www.adslogistics.com/blog/bid/36863/Announcing-the-1st-Phase-of-CSA-2010-Driver-Compliance
Bill R is right. When the government says “CSA 2010″, I think of its ranking-rating methodology, I forget they also include the new driver background check website in their definition of CSA 2010.
Whereas you can get a driver’s accident history now on the State MVR, undoubtably, there will be numerous accidents listed in the FMCSA database which the State MVRs miss. Also, the roadside inspection will be a new, powerful tool.
You can get out Bill R’s blog (which apparently is ADS Logistics, LLC, from Chesterton, IN) at http://www.adslogistics.com/blog/bid/36863/Announcing-the-1st-Phase-of-CSA-2010-Driver-Compliance. Thanks for stopping by, Bill.