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Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead! Or Maybe She’s Just Sleeping On December 4, 2015, President Obama signed into law a “Highway Bill.” Rob Moseley rob.moseley@smithmoorelaw.com
the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
The “Highway Bill” brings with it
entire Safety Measurement System
many changes to Motor Carrier Transportation. The 1,300-page compromise bill is named Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act or the FAST Act; the name didn’t match the process. CSA Changes In response to the Highway Bill,
Administration took down the website. The removal of Compliance, Safety, Accountability scores and the raw data has created a conundrum for many. For example, insurance underwriters have become accustomed to looking at this data in order to make underwriting and premium pricing decisions for motor carriers. Without this information,
underwriters will be writing from a vacuum beyond loss runs. Motor carriers may still access their raw data through the carrier portal using their PINs. Because the agency was prohibited from sharing its SMS scores, it pulled all of the data. The FMCSA has recently reinstated the public view of the raw data. The FAST Act charged the agency with working with the government accountability office to resolve the failings of the scoring system and to develop a plan for resolving these deficiencies. The Act gives FMCSA 18 months to carry this out. Continued on Page 2