New PrePass whitepaper explains FMCSA’s Crash Preventability Determination Program

Reducing crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and buses remains the primary mission of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. FMCSA pursues its mission through federal safety regulations and through the prioritization of motor carriers and drivers whose safety performance calls for closer attention from state and federal commercial motor vehicle enforcement agencies.

Making higher-risk carriers and drivers a priority presents a challenge due to the sheer size of the industry. As of December 2018, more than 560,000 active motor carriers and 4.2 million drivers holding a commercial driver’s license (CDL) operate according to federal regulations. FMCSA and state enforcement officials simply cannot touch every carrier and driver. Instead, FMCSA relies on data from inspections and investigations to rate carriers in seven safety performance groups, called Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories, or BASICs for short.

The BASIC category, Crash Indicator, measures the likelihood that a motor carrier or driver will be involved in a future crash, according to FMCSA. For years, FMCSA considered every DOT-reportable crash in the Crash Indicator, regardless of the circumstances surrounding the crash. Motor carriers and law enforcement expressed concern that some unpreventable crashes prioritized fleets and professional drivers for enforcement attention.

After a three-year trial, FMCSA finalized the Crash Preventability Determination Program (CPDP). This new program allows motor carriers and drivers to seek FMCSA review of certain crashes and remove them from the Crash Indicator calculation if it determined the crash not preventable.

In a newly-released whitepaper, “Improve Your Safety Scores by Removing Not Preventable Crashes from Federal Calculations,” PrePass helps you understand how to submit a crash to the CPDP and what types of crashes are eligible for review. You will also learn how carriers and drivers benefit from an FMCSA determination that certain crashes were not preventable. This PrePass whitepaper also distinguishes CPDP findings from the legal determination of fault and from civil actions surrounding liability. Plus, you will learn when not to submit a crash at all.

The FMCSA Crash Preventability Determination Program offers an opportunity for motor carriers to potentially improve their safety scores and for drivers to maintain accuracy in their driving records.

Download the free PrePass whitepaper, “Improve Your Safety Scores by Removing Not Preventable Crashes from Federal Calculations” to learn more about this new program and how it can help you.