GAO issues report on FMCSA program delay

Washington – The Government Accountability Office recently called for more assessments and greater transparency to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability program.

The CSA program (formerly known as Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010) was rolled out in 2004 and was scheduled to be fully implemented in every state by 2010. In a Sept. 29 report (.pdf file), GAO found that FMCSA has implemented only two of the three planned oversight activities to date. A rulemaking to implement the use of data from a new Safety Management System – which uses roadside inspection and other data to identify at-risk carriers instead of “time-consuming” compliance reviews – is two years behind schedule, GAO said.

The report recommended FMCSA develop a plan to implement driver fitness ratings in a “reasonable” time frame and regularly report to Congress any problems and delays with implementing CSA. Both recommendations are in the process of being implemented by FMCSA, according to the report.