SEA score sinks drayman
Leave safety issues to FMCSA where they belong
Q We are a small drayman that must depend upon the steamship lines to interchange containers and chassis for delivery of our customer’s freight as well as shipments they route. We have one SEA score above 75 and recently have been blackballed by two major steamship lines. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration states we are unrated and has not fined us or subjected us to a compliance review. What can be done?
A This question shows the extent of paranoia that is rampant among the shipping and leasing community. Under federal regulation, FMCSA – and only FMCSA – is charged with determining what carriers are fit, willing and able to provide service. You are licensed, authorized and insured, and no shipper or equipment provider should have to second-guess the agency’s determination.
Unfortunately to date, FMCSA has been intransigent in publishing for all to see the SafeStat scores of motor carriers, which are not intended to be used to determine who is fit to operate. On the website https://www.ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/, FMCSA warns viewers not to use the data for unintended purposes, but it posts the data anyway.
