Update on Tractor-Trailer Accident Injury Claims: Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010
The Comprehensive Safety Analysis (CSA) of 2010 is an initiative launched by the Federal Carrier Safety Administration to reduce the number of serious 18-wheeler accidents which result in serious injury or death to other motorists or truckers. Injuries and fatalities involving a commercial motor vehicle account for a large percentage of personal injury claims in Missouri each year. When the CSA program is fully launched in late 2010, the Department of Transportation hopes to really put the wraps on unsafe trucking companies and negligent truck drivers.
The CSA will comprise of three major operational components: measurement, evaluation, and intervention. The three components are aimed at identifying unsafe motor carriers before serious injury results. The CSA will partner with local state law enforcement, as local enforcement is critical in catching rogue trucking companies and those who continue to escape the compliance requirements set forth by the FMCSA.
CSA will utilize a Safety Measurement System (SMS) which analyzes roadside inspection information and data from tractor-trailer accidents. Based upon SMS date, enforcement officers can intervene into a trucking company's operations. This enforcement model is actually currently being tested in Missouri as this sentence is being published.
There is no double that the federal government is concerned with safety in the commercial trucking industry. As recently as May 1, 2010, a law was passed which will make it unlawful for truck drivers to text message or email while they are behind the wheel of a commercial motor vehicle. Trucking company safety is paramount to profits and these companies need to realize that. Hopefully with initiatives such as the CSA and SMS programs, serious semi-truck injury claims will be reduced and lives will be spared.