SafeStat Revisited: The Feds Have Listened

The good news: Carriers' crash data is no longer public. The bad: This honeymoon might not last.

      Moe Tetreault's blood pressure still goes up, just thinking about what happened after the crash. Moe is general manager of safety for Abenaqui Carriers, a hazmat hauler out of North Hampton, N.H.
      It was 8:30 on a clear April morning two years ago. An automobile driver - who later was found to be three times over the legal limit for alcohol - was killed when his car crossed the center line and struck one of Abenaqui's petroleum transports.
      The accident report became public information on SafeStat's online Crash Profile list. The problem: It provided no information on the type of event, weather conditions or who was at fault. It was so flawed, Moe says, that it even listed the Abenaqui driver as the fatality.
      And while it's the only fatality on Abenaqui's record, "We've had to live with this since," he says. "The lack of information creates lost time and expense to explain - not only to customers - but to the ever-shrinking pool of insurance carriers who do not want to underwrite policies for hazmat carriers."
      The SafeStat database, used by the feds to identify carriers with poor safety records, recently came under fire from DOT's Office of Inspector General. Its audit report criticized the system for inadequate reporting by carriers and states - which led to problems like Abenaqui's.
      The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration listened. It has temporarily suspended public access to the records while it moves to improve the system.
      "The quality of state-reported crash data differs from state to state," an FMCSA spokesman says. "As a result, it is very difficult to make across-the-board comparisons. This is exactly why we use it as a guide to help us identify motor carriers for investigation - not as a tool for providing a safety rating."
      The agency has already made some changes to improve SafeStat data, and it is working on others. Included:
      • A study to revalidate the SafeStat model is due for completion this year.
      • In January 2003, FMCSA started a "new entrant" program to improve the accuracy of carrier registration information.
      • Updated carrier data are now reflected in SafeStat within 30 days, instead of six months as was done before.
      • Last summer, FMCSA provided grants to 22 states to help them improve crash data reporting; 11 of those states have shown marked improvement.
      • Software used to collect moving violation data was upgraded to help enforcement personnel improve their reports.
      • A new electronic system for filing concerns about data released to the public now automatically forwards those concerns to the appropriate FMCSA office for resolution.
      FMCSA emphasizes that it uses crash data only as a "pointer" to help it select high-risk carriers for compliance reviews: "SafeStat does not provide a safety rating," it says. "Carrier safety ratings are recommended based on compliance review results."
      The agency says that while it shares concern for better data, it saw no evidence in the OIG report that "data problems make good carriers look bad."
      Don't tell that to Moe Tetreault.
      And FMCSA says it will consider restoring public access to SafeStat crash data "at a later date."
      I don't think Moe's going to like that idea.
      Neither do I.

Doug Condra
President

      E-mail Doug Condra at dcondra@truckinginfo.com or write PO Box W. Newport Beach, Calif. 92656.