Federal Motor Carrier Safety Program Tested, Found Effective
Ryan Bradley | January 1, 2020 | Federal Motor Carrier Regulations \ Truck Accident
The federal government recently evaluated the cost and effectiveness of the Compliance, Safety, and Accountability (CSA) program in Missouri. The CSA is a federal initiative designed to strengthen the safety of the nation’s public roadways. The CSA aims to improve the safety of large trucks and trucking companies, thereby reducing the property damage, serious injury, and death associated with tractor trailer accidents. The CSA is a new model for the enforcement and compliance of federal motor carrier regulations. The federal government hopes that an efficient, cost-effective, nationwide system for motor carrier safety will prevent and reduce Missouri 18 wheeler accidents.
In recent months, the federal government released an independent evaluation of the CSA from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI). The UMTRI evaluation showed that the new CSA program improved the federal government’s ability to enforce federal motor carrier regulations. The evaluation focused on four test states: Missouri, Colorado, Georgia, and New Jersey. UMTRI conducted its evaluation there for 29 months. As the evaluation showed that the CSA improved compliance with safety regulations, several more states were added: Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Delaware, and Montana.
The CSA evaluation is good news for the safety of Missouri’s public roadways. For example, the CSA program provides the federal government a cost-effective way to intervene with an unsafe trucking company. The evaluation showed that 83% of motor carriers resolved the safety issued identified through CSA interventions. CSA on-site focused investigations dramatically reduced the number of motor carriers with continuous safety problems. When the government can enforce regulations designed to improve the safety of Missouri roads, fewer Missourians lose their lives to Missouri trucking accidents.
Despite the government’s best efforts, some trucking companies insist on unsafe motor carrier operations. Despite the success of CSA interventions, 17% of unsafe motor carriers continued to have safety problems after 12 months. In addition, Missouri had the highest number of crashes during the evaluation period – 2,466. Truck accidents pose a serious risk of danger to Missourians, even as improved safety monitoring takes effect.
The legal implications of Missouri semi-trailer accidents are more complicated than typical traffic accidents. Federal motor carrier regulations, employer liability doctrines, and contractor relationships may complicate the truck accident victim’s claim for compensation. Truck accident victims need experienced Missouri truck accident attorneys to represent their interests in litigation and settlement negotiations.
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