Trucking safety is important to everyone else on the roads in Georgia, especially as crashes involving tractor-trailers can be devastating to other drivers, passengers, cyclists and pedestrians. In a crash involving a large semi-truck, passenger car occupants are far more likely to suffer severe injuries or even fatalities due to the disparity in weight and size. Because truck accidents can be so severe, it is critical that accurate data is kept by federal agencies charged with assessing the safety protocols of different trucking companies.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration released a report on its plans to reform its trucking safety assessment program, called Compliance, Safety, Accountability. In the report, the FMCSA said that it planned to replace the existing CSA system with a new scoring process that focuses on item responses and identifying particular problems, each with a weighted value. The new system would make it easier for trucking companies to assess and evaluate their own safety scores, meaning that they would be unlikely to be surprised by the announcement of the agency’s evaluations. In addition, the agency said that it was considering the introduction of absolute scores rather than those based on comparing one company to another.
While accurate assessments that seek to reduce truck crashes are important to public safety, companies repeatedly complained about the scoring system used by the agency. In 2015, Congress passed a highway bill that required the FMCSA to remove its scores from public view and mandated the agency to develop a new system to evaluate truckers’ safety.
The consequences of a lapse in trucking safety can be deadly. People who are injured in trucking accidents can suffer permanent disabilities or even death as a result of a truck driver’s negligent or dangerous actions. A personal injury lawyer may be able to help accident victims pursue compensation for the damages they have suffered.
