WASHINGTON — Preliminary data compiled by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reveals a steady rise in crashes involving large trucks among companies that entered the industry since 2018.
The data was presented by FMCSA statistician Dan Burrill during the agency’s annual Analysis, Research, and Technology Forum on Wednesday.
The data was presented as a supplement to an analysis of the surge in new common-carrier registrations since just before and during the pandemic. In 2021, for example, FMCSA data found that new registrations for motor carrier authority averaged 17,000 per month, compared with 8,500 per month in 2019. New entrants with one power unit accounted for most of the surge.
Starting with crash data for carriers that entered the industry in 2018, “we found that there’s a general tendency among the new carriers to be in a small number of crashes in their first year of operation, and then for the number of crashes to increase over time,” Burrill said.
In 2018, for example, new entrants were involved in about 1.3% of all crashes involving a large bus or truck. By 2021, the crash rate for those 2018 entrants rose to about 3.5%.
“We do plan to do additional analysis of this data, according to Burrill. “A lot will be assessing new carriers and comparing them to a more well-established group to see if there are differences in safety performance.”
Burrill also noted that while the average number of new registrations has started to fall from a peak in 2021, “it’s still much higher than pre-COVID.”
Other presentations during the forum included a briefing on Level 8 commercial vehicle inspections, a new type of safety inspection that is done electronically while vehicles are at highway speed with no direct interaction with an enforcement officer.
“The vision for the Level 8 inspections is that they collect more data about the carrier, vehicle and driver, including CDL status, hours-of-service compliance information, which is electronically checked against national compliance databases in real time,” said FMCSA Transportation Specialist Tom Kelly.
The information is then used “not only to make a bypass decision [whether or not to conduct a more intensive safety check], but also to record the results electronically without human interaction.”
FMCSA estimates it can conduct as many as 10 times more inspections through Level 8 inspections, which can help the agency better monitor the growing number of trucks on the road, Kelly said. The agency is designing an operational test model for the inspections.
The agency is also developing a model operational safety plan as a template for carriers operating automated driving systems.
Monte Wiederhold
As usual the FMCSA makes a statement with nothing in the way of statistics to corroborate the story. Who’s at fault in these accidents?? We have a pretty good idea from the AAA, University of Michigan or ATRI studies on crash causation. Depending which study the car driver’s at fault 75-80% of the time. So FMCSA says “We need more enforcement dollars spent on truckers” These people like Admin Hutcheson and DA Earl Adams are clueless. They double down on failed policies, like the idea to expand ELD’s. Speed limiters are so good in Canada we need a mandate here! ELD’s were going to save 26 lives and millions in property damage. They didn’t and and expanding them won’t make things any better. Level 8 inspections are going to save us all. These people are incorrigible at FMCSA
Ronald Broyles
The FMCSA is trying to put their flawed ELD device numbers on to the new entrant carriers now? That’s exactly what they are attemting to do. It’s not new entrants, it’s the flawed ELD Mandate that is increasing accidents. The FMCSA was told this by everyone and did not believe them. Well guess what? Numbers don’t lie. Instead of acknowledging their mistake, they pass the buck. No suprises there.
Paul Bernadin
I think this clearinghouse and registration is a bunch of BS. They take good drivers and experience drivers. Put them threw hell with a failed drug test. Saying they can’t drive again for 5 years. Knowing industry is under maned. Then push to hire anyone to fill gaps. Only to have record highs of accidents of drivers who don’t know what they doing. So they won’t hire experience drivers because of failed drug test but hire new borns who don’t know how to drive killing people on the road. Then switching to automatic trucks was the worst things they could have ever done. To please women for the job. Because automatic trucks have less control. Can’t stop as fast. Got to rely on the brakes only. These people that make the rules and regulations. Has never driven a truck don’t know how it is to work in this industry. Yet make the rules of how things should go. I say they should go away with this clearinghouse B’s. Bring back the drivers that had years of driving under there belt. Stop making life harder for drivers who lives in already harsh off the jobs they do daily. I remember before I went out on the road by myself I passed backing and drive test . To still train for 3 to 4 months with an experienced driver. I didn’t just get license then left to fend on my own. These companies are just in rush to hire and training them properly.
Johnson
How many hours do the medical practitioners work everyday? How many hours are they required by law to sleep? What about teachers, business folks, who later use the road to drive to or from work? Hiw many hours are mandated to operate daily, and then weekly?
We truckers are unfairly treated!!!! Thats it. Daily drive time, cycle time, then so many tolls, repairs, no truck parking in some states with most enforcement like California, hefty tickets….WTF!
Is it a crime to be a trucker, yet our taxes are enormous! We need more concerned legislation which is not biased or self seeking.
Non commercial drivers are the most indiscplined on the road….not truckers! Some of these DOT officers even don’t know the law! They give you a violation and you fight it with the FMCSA and they throw their violations into a trash bin….everything about trucking is sucking!!!!
Scott Hoffenkamp
Nice that you use a picture of a car that rear-ended a truck and talk about truck safety. Your picture alone explains half the issue.
sam
ELD effect , more pressure on drivers
Carlos
It is the electronic log book no the driver don’t blame the carriers it is because you have to be there with the delivery no matter what …the customer don’t care if you have a log book they the merchandise. That’s why I quit driving on the road…THANK YOU.
William Kennedy
WHAT!!!!! NO I refuse to believe this!!! After forcing ELDS down everybody’s throat this can’t happen!! These ELDS were to eliminate all this sort of thing just like shoving speed limiters on us but allowing car manufacturers to still build cars that run at least 120 mph! Uh somethings not right here! You think for one millisecond that speedlimiters are going to reduce accidents, roadrage, drive by shootings LOL oh just wait the highways are going to backed up that bad it will make your head spin. All these morons leaving for work at the Sametime then driving 80 mph whipping in and outta traffic so we’re not late for work…LOL oh just wait! These morons in FMCSA are about as dumb as a bag of hammer handles just listen to the Mega Carriers and give them everything they want whether it just benefits them which 99.9% of the time that’s all it does! Safety you gotta be kidding just like these DOT cops want to do a level 3 inspection you pass it hey where’s my CVSA sticker oh we don’t have any! Really the law is written you give a level 3 and pass it your required to give a CVSA sticker to prove it was passed not only on the tractor but trailer also! I actually had one DOT Officer tell me I’m putting one on your truck but not the trailer nobody looks at the trailer anyway!!!! Really you just inspected mine it passed so one for the truck one for the trailer! All I can say is drivers you better know your rights and the constitution and how to use it if I so desire I can get myself out of an inspection if you know your rights and when and how to apply them. Seriously the more I’m inspected the lower my score goes so I really don’t put up much of a fuss if they want to do an inspection but it depends also on the additude of the officer when first contact is made! I’ve met some really nice ones and met my share of jackasses also! Yall better stop and think before you just act because somebody’s going to get bit in the ass and then your NOT going to be a happy camper!