The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has been going through previous rulings at the behest of numerous industry insiders. The rise of electronic logging devices (ELDs) helped shore up arguments about making changes to hours of service (HOS) regulations as well as overhauling the Compliance, Safety, Accountability initiative.
While FMCSA is considering changes to both, both will remain in effect albeit with addendums. To that end, fleets need to ensure their drivers are operating their vehicles in a safe and compliant manner to maintain a good score. The poorer a fleet’s score, the more likely FMCSA is going to come knocking with questions and interventions.
Tips for Better CSA Scores
Fleets that want to avoid interventions need to take steps to ensure a safe fleet. Some simple tips include:
- Look at the company culture. Fleet managers can espouse the importance of safety on a daily basis, but it won’t do them any good if the company leadership isn’t adhering to it as well. Safety needs to be a core value of the fleet with tangible evidence beyond lip service.
- Start with the violations with the harshest penalties. Not all violations carry the same weight when it comes to a fleet’s CSA score. Fleet managers need to know which violations carry the heaviest penalty points and work on improving those first. This will have the biggest effect on the total score.
- Educate employees. With FMCSA making changes to safety regulations, fleet managers need to make sure their drivers are up to date on the rules. Remind them about the costs associated with violations, interventions, and potential out-of-service orders.
- Utilize resources. FMCSA didn’t implement CSA scores to make life difficult for fleets. The driving force has always been to improve road safety. As such, they offer a variety of resources on their website to help drivers remain compliant.
- Implement an action plan. Fleet managers need to make sure drivers are aware of their most recent or frequent violations. Having a scorecard for each driver can help provide a visual reminder of the company’s safety efforts. They also need to establish written procedures to address the most concerning areas of safety.
DriverCheck knows implementing change is difficult and we are here to help. Our telematics solutions can help fleets identify unsafe behaviors that can contribute to negative CSA scores. Contact us to learn how we can help improve your fleet’s safety.
