Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

The roadside Inspection Selection System (ISS) was developed in response to a 1995 congressional mandate that called for the use of prior carrier safety data to guide the selection of commercial vehicles and drivers for roadside inspections. The program was developed in part by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation. As ISS has developed, FMCSA’s Performance and Registration Information Systems Management (PRISM) program has also been evolving. One objective of PRISM is to identify relatively unsafe carriers by assigning Safety Status Measurement System (SafeStat) scores and also encouraging those drivers to improve their safety performance or risk losing registration privileges. SafeStat was designed to prioritize carriers for monitoring and compliance reviews, but ISS was designed to prioritize carriers for roadside inspection. Both algorithms, however, use similar data to define a relatively unsafe carrier. It would be advantageous therefore to have a single uniform rating system for all FMCSA programs. This research briefly describes the PRISM and SafeStar algorithms; discusses the integration of the SafeStat algorithm into ISS; and presents conclusions on the initial testing of the resulting system, ISS-2. An analysis of over 213,000 roadside inspections reveals that ISS-2 is as effective as the original ISS in meeting the goals for which it was designed. It successfully identifies and prioritizes for roadside inspection the vehicles and drivers of carriers with poor prior safety performance, as well as those with few or no previous inspections. In addition, safety inspectors who have tested the system say they are pleased with the new algorithm and its added features.

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Safety Meetings for Motor Carrier Drivers

Motor Fleet Safety and Security Management ◽

10.1201/9780203503409.ch11 ◽

2004 ◽

pp. 111-116

Keyword(s):

Motor Carrier

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The Impact of Information Technology on Motor Carrier Productivity

Journal of the Transportation Research Forum ◽

10.5399/osu/jtrf.43.2.456 ◽

2010 ◽

Author(s):

B. Starr McMullen

Keyword(s):

Information Technology ◽

Marketing Strategy ◽

Technical Efficiency ◽

Economic Efficiency ◽

Technology Use ◽

Malmquist Index ◽

Satellite Communications ◽

Efficiency Change ◽

Motor Carrier ◽

The Relationship

This study examines the relationship between motor carrier productivity, marketing strategy, and use of information technology for a sample of U.S. general freight commodity carriers. We use a unique data set containing information on firm marketing strategy and information technology use collected in a survey of Class I and II motor carrier firms (U.S. Department of Transportation, 1999). The measure of productivity used here is the non-parametric Malmquist Index as explained in Grosskopf (1993) and previously applied to general freight motor carriers by McMullen and Okuyama (2000). The Malmquist Index is decomposed into two components: economic efficiency change (EC) and technical efficiency change (TC). A tobit model regression model is used to examine the relationship between firm productivity, marketing strategy, and use of information technology. Information technologies included in the tobit analysis are electronic data interchange (EDI) and satellite communications (SATCOM). We also include firm size, use of owner-operators, and percent unionization as explanatory variables in the tobit regression. Results indicate that use of EDI has a positive and significant impact on economic efficiency (EC). Firms that try to market their product by providing service at the "lowest freight rate" are found to exhibit greater technical efficiency (TC), suggesting that productivity and cost measures that ignore marketing strategy may be biased. Finally, economic efficiency (EC) is found to be significantly greater for firms that are more heavily unionized.

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Nothing good happens after dark: the influence of temporal factors on motor carrier crash severity

Journal of Transportation Management ◽

10.22237/jotm/1541030520 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 28 (2) ◽

pp. 7-18

Author(s):

Misty Moody ◽

S Scott Nadler ◽

Doug Voss

Keyword(s):

Public Policy ◽

Time Of Day ◽

Regulatory Agencies ◽

Future Research ◽

Crash Severity ◽

Property Damage ◽

Motor Carrier ◽

Temporal Factors ◽

Safety Outcomes ◽

Day Of The Week

Motor carrier safety is a topic of great importance for both industry and makers of public policy. Regulatory agencies, such as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), regularly publish data detailing the circumstances surrounding roadway accidents. FMCSA’s Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts (LTBCF) data demonstrate an increase in accidents during daylight hours and on weekdays. Roadway risks are ever-present but differ by time of day and day of the week. These differences may potentially engender crashes of different severities at different times. This study analyzes FMCSA LTBCF data to determine when crashes of different severities are more likely to occur. Findings indicate that crashes resulting in property damage are more likely to occur during the day and on weekdays. However, fatal and injury crashes are significantly more likely during nights and weekends. Recommendations to improve safety outcomes are provided along with suggestions for future research.

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Motor Carrier Costs and Minimum Rate Regulation

The Quarterly Journal of Economics ◽

10.2307/1884193 ◽

1958 ◽

Vol 72 (1) ◽

pp. 139 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Howard W. Nicholson

Keyword(s):

Minimum Rate ◽

Rate Regulation ◽

Motor Carrier

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Original-Cost Concepts of the ICC in Motor-Carrier Accounting

Harvard Law Review ◽

10.2307/1335478 ◽

1946 ◽

Vol 60 (1) ◽

pp. 118

Keyword(s):

Motor Carrier

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Methodology for Estimating Vehicle Miles Traveled for Commercial Motor Vehicles at the State Level

Transportation Research Record Journal of the Transportation Research Board ◽

10.3141/1830-10 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 1830 (1) ◽

pp. 72-76

Author(s):

Candace Brown ◽

Nancy Kennedy ◽

Don Wright ◽

Walt Zak

Keyword(s):

Program Effectiveness ◽

Motor Vehicle ◽

State Level ◽

The State ◽

Motor Vehicles ◽

Commercial Vehicles ◽

Motor Carrier ◽

Exposure Data ◽

Commercial Motor Vehicle ◽

Commercial Motor Vehicles

Described is one specific effort to better estimate commercial motor vehicle-related exposure at the state level in order to better determine commercial motor vehicle-related crash rates for state and federal programs. Limitations in the crash and exposure data affect the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and a state’s ability to plan and assess operations and conduct ongoing analyses of program effectiveness. One important limitation has been the lack of reliable estimates of commercial motor vehicle exposure data at the state level. Exposure data, for the purpose of this report, are defined as the number of truck and bus vehicle miles traveled (VMT). Described is the methodology that was developed to calculate adjusted state VMT for commercial vehicles; results are presented for 1999 and 2000. The results support estimation of crash involvement rates for each state and provide exposure data for other analytical studies. The methodology to calculate adjusted state VMT for commercial motor vehicles has resulted in improved information resources in support of all crash analyses. The adjusted state VMT for commercial vehicles supports measurement of program effectiveness and development of countermeasures to promote motor carrier safety. The adjusted state VMT for commercial motor vehicles methodology and the commercial vehicle fatal-crash involvement rate reports enable state and federal agencies to better focus their safety programs and enforcement resources.

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