As of December 13, 2010 the CSA 2010 data is on line at: http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/sms/
If you’re a chemical shipper, or any shipper for that matter, hazardous or not, you should be looking at the new data to evaluate your hazmat and chemical carriers for safety. You will find that each carrier is rated on 6 BASICS.
- Unsafe Driving
- Fatigued Driving
- Driver Fitness
- Controlled Substances and Alcohol
- Vehicle maintenance
- Cargo Related
The BASICS are then used to calculate a Crash Indicator. This is the statistical likelihood that a carrier will be involved in a crash. I explain the process in more detail in a past blog article here.
What you want to look for is a carrier who is deficient in one of the BASICS. The way the rating system works is a percentile rank off all the carriers in the system. For example, a carrier with an unsafe driving score of 30% means that 30% of carriers have a better ranking and 70% have a worse ranking. To be deficient in a BASIC you have to have a percentile rank above the minimum threshold.
These values are listed below.
| Intervention Thresholds by Motor Carrier Type | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | General | Hazmat Carrier | Passenger Carrier |
| Unsafe Driving | ≥65% | ≥60% | ≥50% |
| Fatigued Driving (Hours-of-Service) | 65% | 60% | 50% |
| Driver Fitness | 80% | 75% | 65% |
| Controlled Substances and Alcohol | 80% | 75% | 65% |
| Vehicle Maintenance | 80% | 75% | 65% |
| Cargo-Related | 80% | 75% | 65% |
| Crash Indicator | 65% | 60% | 50% |
At DSN Chemical Transportation we will be evaluating the available data and data quality provided by the FMCSA to incorporate this new information in our hazmat and chemical carrier selection and qualification process.
For further information you can contact DSN Chemical Transportation at 1-800-388-3487