Motor Carrier Safety Research Articles

Ranking and selection of motor carrier safety performance by commodity

We use recent safety performance data to rank US motor carrier commodity segments (e.g., Tank segment or Produce segment) in terms of several driver-related, vehicle-related, and crash-related safety measures. Ranking and selection inference techniques are used to determine the best and worst performing commodity segments at the 95% confidence level. The results are mixed, however the Passenger segment is generally best, while the Produce, Intermodal, and Refrigerated segments tend to be worst.

Lessons Learned during Two Naturalistic Truck-Driving Studies

The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) was contracted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to collect data from Commercial Vehicle Operators (CVO) under two contracts. The first study, Impact of Local/Short Haul Operations on Driver Fatigue (Hanowski, et al., 2000), focused on those drivers who drive an average of three hours a day while delivering goods but sleep at home each night. The second study, Impact of Sleeper Berth Usage on Driver Fatigue (Dingus, et al., 2002), studied fatigue in drivers who are on the road up to two weeks at a time and use the truck sleeper-berth unit for rest. Each study presented unique obstacles to overcome in order to make data collection possible. This paper will summarize the lessons learned during recruiting, truck licensing, and coordination and will provide insight into the rigors of collecting data in a truck-driving environment.

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

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.

Motor Carrier Safety: Crash Patterns of Inspected Commercial Vehicles

A linked database comprising state and federal roadside inspection, crash, and firm records of commercial motor vehicles is described. This combined database links information on vehicles inspected in the state of Illinois to the crashes that these vehicles may have been involved in anywhere within the United States. Two issues are addressed: determination of the components of an inspection-violation detection rate and the relationship between inspections and crashes. The first issue involves an attempt to quantify the components of a violation detection rate. For the second issue, four separate research questions are posed. The results of the second component indicate that there is no evidence that a significant difference exists in the expected number of crashes in which vehicles incurring zero violations were involved compared with the expected number in which vehicles incurring one or more violations were involved. About 2 percent of all inspected vehicles, which incurred zero violations, were subsequently involved in crashes. With every increase in the number of violations, the percent of vehicles involved in crashes increases by about 0.04. Further, a smaller percentage of vehicles that incur zero violations in Level I inspections are subsequently involved in crashes, compared with vehicles incurring zero violations under all Level II and Level V inspections. Moreover, the rate of increase in the percent involvement in crashes is greatest for vehicles incurring a positive number of violations in Level I inspections compared with vehicles subject to other types of inspection.

Development of Intrastate Inspection Selection System for Wisconsin

Roadside safety inspections have been an important component of federally supported programs to improve motor carrier safety. The inspection selection system (ISS) and its successor, ISS-2, were designed to help roadside inspectors target the vehicles of Interstate carriers with the worst past safety performance. ISS was used as a starting point for developing an intrastate ISS for Wisconsin. Logistics regression was used to identify the relevant independent variables. The logit model estimates the probability that a vehicle will be found to have an out-of-service (OOS) safety violation. An alternative to the logit model, a simple direct-estimation technique that uses the total OOS rate for a motor carrier, was found to produce the highest success rates in predicting inspections that result in an OOS violation. The model can be implemented as a field inspection tool and as a means to generate a list of intrastate carriers ranked by their historical OOS violation record.

A Field Evaluation of Safety Issues in Local/short Haul Trucking

Despite comprising the largest segment of the trucking industry, very little research has been directed at investigating safety issues in Local/Short Haul (L/SH) operations. To this end, the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is funding a research project aimed at investigating safety issues in L/SH. A two-phased research project was conducted to (1) determine the general safety issues in L/SH trucking and (2) determine the extent to which fatigue is an issue. Phase I of this research, which involved focus groups with L/SH drivers, has been described previously (Hanowski, et al., 1999). The present research outlines Phase II of this effort which involved conducting a field study with instrumented L/SH trucks. Two L/SH trucking companies and 42 drivers participated in this study. L/SH trucks were instrumented with a variety of data collection systems, and data were gathered as the drivers worked their normal delivery routes. The focus of the analyses is on critical incidents (i.e., crashes and near-crashes) that the L/SH drivers experienced.

Integration of the Motor Carrier Safety Status Measurement System into the Roadside Inspection Selection System

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.

SafeStat: Motor Carrier Safety Status Measurement System

In 1993, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (the Volpe Center) began a multiyear research effort to propose an improved process for assessing motor carrier safety fitness for the Federal Highway Administration’s Office of Motor Carriers (OMC). At the time, OMC’s primary method of determining safety fitness came from ratings based on the results of onsite safety compliance reviews. The intent of OMC was to take advantage of improved safety data reporting, information systems technologies, and the Volpe Center’s experience in safety measurement methodology, as well as to address the weaknesses of the rating process. The Volpe Center proposed using an automated safety performance monitoring system and subsequently developed SafeStat (Motor Carrier Safety Status Measurement System) as part of a federal-state pilot program. Since then, SafeStat has been implemented nationally by OMC to rank individual motor carriers for compliance reviews. SafeStat is designed to incorporate current on-road safety performance information and enforcement history with the compliance review information to measure the overall relative safety fitness of interstate carriers. In arriving at this overall assessment, SafeStat evaluates carriers in four safety evaluation areas: accident, driver, vehicle, and safety management. SafeStat enables OMC to quantify and monitor the safety status of carriers continually, thereby allowing OMC enforcement and education programs to efficiently allocate resources to carriers that pose a high risk of crashes. The methodology and the current and proposed uses of SafeStat are described.

Effectiveness Analysis of SafeStat: Motor Carrier Safety Status Measurement System

SafeStat (Safety Status Measurement System) is an automated analysis system developed for FHWA’s Office of Motor Carriers (OMC) that combines current and historical safety data to measure the relative safety fitness of interstate motor carriers. SafeStat enables OMC to quantify and monitor the safety status of motor carriers and guides the deployment of resources to focus on carriers posing the greatest safety risk. SafeStat resulted from research performed by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Volpe Center for OMC to improve motor carrier safety fitness assessment and prescribe actions for correcting safety deficiencies. SafeStat initially was developed and implemented as part of a federalstate pilot program. It has been implemented nationally by OMC to identify and rank individual motor carriers for on-site safety compliance reviews. An effectiveness study was devised to confirm that SafeStat-identified carriers were high-safety-risk carriers. Postidentification carrier crash experience was examined and SafeStat’s effectiveness was tested by comparing the crash rates of identified and nonidentified carriers. The effectiveness study shows that SafeStat identifies carriers likely to have significantly higher crash rates than carriers not identified. Specifically, the carriers designated in the highest “at risk” category by SafeStat had a much higher crash rate (169% percent higher) following their identification than carriers not identified as safety risks. In addition to confirming SafeStat’s effectiveness, the results of the study enable SafeStat developers and OMC to assess the relative strengths of SafeStat’s components and to continue enhancing its efficiency.

Characteristics of Hazardous‐Material Accidents in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania has accounted for the highest number of hazardous material incidents in the United States between 1971 and 1983, with 90% of the incidents being highway related. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has sponsored a research project that focuses on the risk assessment associated with the movement of hazardous materials and determination of corresponding vulnerable areas in the state. The risk assessment of hazardous‐material movements is data intensive, and its analysis depends on several data sources and on the quality of the input data. Three data bases are analyzed for this project: (1) The Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) hazardous material incident reports (HMIR); (2) the Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety (BMCS) truck accident data base; and (3) the Pennsylvania State traffic accident data base for hazardous material. In addition to the individual analysis, a comparison among these data bases was also made. The comparison was conducted to find out whether the characteristics of accidents and incidents are consistent in different data bases.

The effectiveness of motor carrier safety audits

In 1986 the federal government expanded its program of company inspections for enforcement of motor carrier safety regulations. We find that many parts of these inspections are unrelated to the safety performance of firms. Never the less, reinspection of firms found to be unsatisfactory in a previous inspection does appear to bring about a substantial improvement in their safety performance. However, such firms represent a small fraction of the industry, and the probability of being inspected is very low. Thus, the program does not appear to have resulted in a detectable improvement in the accident rate of the industry.

Financial aspects of motor carrier safety inspection performance

This paper investigates the empirical relationships between the safety performances and the financial conditions and management forms of a group of motor carriers. Unlike previous work, we utilize cash flow analyses and random, comprehensive roadside safety inspection results to measure financial status and safety performance, respectively, thus avoiding many criticisms of previous studies.

Formulating accident occurrence as a survival process

A conceptual framework for accident occurrence is developed based on the principle of the driver as an information processor. The framework underlies the development of a modeling approach that is consistent with the definition of exposure to risk as a repeated trial. Survival theory is proposed as a statistical technique that is consistent with the conceptual structure and allows the exploration of a wide range of factors that contribute to highway operating risk. This survival model of accident occurrence is developed at a disaggregate level, allowing safety researchers to broaden the scope of studies which may be limited by the use of traditional aggregate approaches. An application of the approach to motor carrier safety is discussed as are potential applications to a variety of transportation industries. Lastly, a typology of highway safety research methodologies is developed to compare the properties of four safety methodologies: laboratory experiments, on-the-road studies, multidisciplinary accident investigations, and correlational studies. The survival theory formulation has a mathematical structure that is compatible with each safety methodology, so it may facilitate the integration of findings across methodologies.

Tractor-trailer driver fatality: The role of nonconsecutive rest in a sleeper berth

Federal regulation allows truck drivers to use sleeper berths to accumulate eight hours of off-duty rest in two separate periods. Because sleep disruption may cause fatigue and deterioration of performance, a study was conducted to evaluate the association between sleeperberth use in two periods and tractor-trailer driver fatality. Using Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety Reports, crashes that resulted in tractor-trailer driver fatality were compared with property damage crashes. After adjusting for confounding variables by logistic regression, tractor-trailer driver fatality was found to be significantly associated with sleeper-berth use in two shifts (odds ratio = 3.05). Statistically significant but weaker associations were found between driver fatality and rural district, night driving, gross vehicle weight of 72,000 pounds or more, single-vehicle collision, intercity trip, and employment on an occasional basis.

How reliable is the bureau of motor carrier safety truck accident data?

AbstractThis paper examines the degree of compliance with the accident reporting requirements imposed by the Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety (BMCS) of the U.S. Department of Transportation on motor carriers involved in interstate and foreign transport. It also examines the reliability and validity of the accident information reported by these carriers to the BMCS. The study shows that there is a high degree of accident underreporting, especially by the private and exempt carriers, and that the information reported on variables such as cargo weight, gross vehicle weights, and usage of seat belts at the time of accident, is biased toward the interests of the reporters of the accidents.

The highway transportation system as a commons: Implications for risk policy

The highway transportation system may be viewed as a commons, that is, property that is owned by everyone and open to use by everyone. However, a commons has certain characteristics that lead to its exploitation or even demise. The motor carrier industry is used to illustrate the dilemma posed by the commons and how existing systems of deterrents and incentives fail to promote safety. Recommendations are made for modifications in motor carrier safety regulations to take into account the commons characteristics of the highway transportation system.

How safe is safe enough?

Plant/Operations ProgressVolume 3, Issue 2 p. 71-72 Article How safe is safe enough? Kenneth L. Pierson, Kenneth L. Pierson Department of Transportation, Washington, D. C. 20590 Kenneth L. Pierson: is Director, Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety, Federal Highway Administration, at the U.S. Department of Transporation. He graduated cum laude from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Public Administration. He is a member of the American Society of Safety Engineers, the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Laws and Ordinances, the National Committee of Motor Fleet Supervisor Training, the Hazardous Materials Committee of the Transportation Research Board, and other professional organizations.Search for more papers by this author Kenneth L. Pierson, Kenneth L. Pierson Department of Transportation, Washington, D. C. 20590 Kenneth L. Pierson: is Director, Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety, Federal Highway Administration, at the U.S. Department of Transporation. He graduated cum laude from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Public Administration. He is a member of the American Society of Safety Engineers, the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Laws and Ordinances, the National Committee of Motor Fleet Supervisor Training, the Hazardous Materials Committee of the Transportation Research Board, and other professional organizations.Search for more papers by this author First published: April 1984 https://doi.org/10.1002/prsb.720030205Citations: 2 AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article.Citing Literature Volume3, Issue2April 1984Pages 71-72 RelatedInformation

Organization Form, Residual Claimants, and Corporate Control

EUGENE FAMA and Michael Jensen's treatment of the "Separation of Ownership and Control" is both insightful and informative. It deepens our understanding of corporate control, and the analysis of residual claimants usefully extends the economics of internal organization to include partnerships, mutuals, nonprofits, and the like. The basic argument is this: specialized governance structures arise in response to the efficiency needs of each type of organization. This is an important argument and one with which I broadly concur. They couple this, however, with a strong suggestion that these structures have reached a high degree of refinement-on which account there is not now, if indeed there ever has been, an organization control problem with which scholars and others are legitimately concerned. On this point I have grave doubts. My discussion of the paper addresses three issues: What is the relation, if any, of the hierarchical organization of the firm to economic performance? What relation, if any, does residual claimant status have to the composition and character of the board of directors? And is there now or has there ever been a corporate control problem? I deal with each of these issues in order.

Interior/Exterior Noise Levels of Over-the-Road Trucks

Interior/exterior measurements were made on 15 trucks covering many makes, models, and drive-train combinations to provide an information base concerning vehicle interior noise levels for rulemaking by the Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety, Department of Transportation. Measurements were made 6 in. from the left and right ears of the drivers under various vehicle operational modes with windows open and closed. Stationary tests included: (a) low idle, (b) acceleration from low idle to maximum governed rpm with wide open throttle while in neutral gear; and (c) high idle. In addition to the acceleration and deceleration tests specified by SAE J366 (Exterior Sound Level for Heavy Trucks and Busses), an additional moving test was performed to simulate a truck starting up in city traffic. In order to study the effect of total truck noise on the community, simultaneous exterior measurements were made with an array of six microphones. The data obtained, as well as the test procedure and measurement techniques utilized, will be discussed.

2003 Handbook of Employment Regulations Affecting Florida Farm Employers and Workers: Transportation -- Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for Drivers of Farm Trucks [Federal

Motor Carrier Safety Regulations establish safety and licensing standards for trucks, buses, and semi-trailers where gross vehicle weight exceeds 10,000 pounds. This is EDIS document FE417, a publication of the Department of Food and Resource Economics, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. Published July 2003. This information is included in Circular 1200, Handbook of Employment Regulations Affecting Florida Farm Employers and Workers. 
 FE417/FE417: 2017 Handbook of Employment Regulations Affecting Florida Farm Employers and Workers: Transportation -- Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for Drivers of Farm Trucks [Federal] (ufl.edu)