Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission approved an average increase of 5.3 cents per mile for trucks, effective Aug. 1, 2004. The new rate brings the average rate for trucks to 17.7 cents per mile. Commissioners approved an average of 1.8 cents per mile more for automobiles for an average of 5.9 cents per mile. The toll is expected to help the state double capital spending on road improvements through 2014.

AmeriQuest Transportation and Logistics Resources Corp. signed a letter of intent to acquire the assets and management talent of Complete Fleet Management, Inc. The deal will provide AmeriQuest with company-wide asset services, customer finance and national used truck, tractor and trailer remarketing capabilities.

Swift Transportation said last month that its board of directors had authorized the company to repurchase up to $100 million of its common stock, subject to criteria established by the board.

Wabash National Corp. said net orders in December 2003 exceeded 8,000 units or about 26 percent of total orders received by the trailer industry according to data reported by A.C.T. Research. Wabash is increasing its production rates early this year and is adding about 300 workers.

Bandag has acquired an 87.5 percent stake in Speedco from its founders and Shell Oil Products. Bandag, which supplies truck retread tires and tire management services, plans to operate Speedco as an independent business unit. Speedco will continue to feature Shell lubricants.

DOT Inspector General:
SafeStat should not be public unless fixed

The Motor Carrier Safety Status Measurement System, or SafeStat, is sufficient for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s internal use but “its continued public dissemination and external use require prompt and complete action,” the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General concluded. FMCSA needs to improve both the SafeStat model and, especially, the quality of data that drives that model, the OIG said in an audit report issued last month.

FMCSA uses SafeStat to identify high-risk motor carriers so the agency can better focus its resources in compliance reviews and enforcement action. But SafeStat data is available on the Web and often is used by third parties, such as shippers and insurers, to determine carriers’ safety performance. “Because carrier safety data and the model’s rankings are publicly disclosed, a higher standard of quality must be met to ensure fairness to motor carriers who may lose business or be placed at a competitive disadvantage by inaccurate SafeStat results,” the OIG said. “FMCSA will need to demonstrate timely improvements if it is to continue to publicly disclose carrier results across all SafeStat categories.”

SafeStat generally calculated scores consistent with its design, the OIG concluded. Although a 1998 study supported the model’s validity, the model needs to be revalidated, it said, because changes have occurred since the earlier study. Those changes include the addition of serious moving traffic violations to the calculations, revisions in how fatal accidents are weighted and revised methods for calculating the number of vehicles used by carriers. In addition, more sophisticated analysis would optimize the model’s effectiveness, the OIG said. While improvements in the SafeStat model are important, getting better data is essential, the OIG general concluded.

FMCSA had reviewed a draft of the report and told the OIG that a number of improvements already implemented or ongoing address the audit report’s recommendations. These improvements include:

• Hiring a contractor to conduct a new study to revalidate the SafeStat model;
• Implementing an improved system for tracking public challenges to the accuracy of SafeStat data. The DataQs system was expected to be in place by the end of February;
• Providing SafeStat users with comprehensive information on data limitations. In January, FMCSA began using a new website disclaimer. (See, “Read the fine print,” CCJ, February 2004, page 6.);
• Assigning staff to review monthly state reports that address state data quality issues and to work with the states to resolve them;
• Establishing goals for completeness, accuracy, and timeliness of data; and
• Making state grant funding contingent on participation in certain data quality programs. FMCSA has notified states that they will receive a high priority for certain grants only if they participate in the DataQs system.

FMCSA did not agree with all the audit report’s assertions regarding data quality problems. For example, FMCSA said OIG had overstated the problem of out-of-date census data – the power unit and driver information reported on MCS-150 – in SafeStat. OIG stood by its conclusion, however, saying that 42 percent of the 643,309 active carriers had not met the requirement to update census data every two years. In fact, nearly 24,000 carriers had not updated their census since coming on file in 1974.