The Department of Transportation’s Office of the Inspector General has issued its report on the scope and methodology used in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s April 2006 review of Canadian/Mexican compliance with Federal Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). DOT-OIT says the objective of the audit was to provide its observations of the scope and methodology FMCSA used in its review.
DOT-OIT says its audit found that while the review provided evidence that most vehicles sampled complied with FMVSS, the estimates subsequently formulated based on the sample were not statistically valid because of how the sample was selected and projected; additionally, the quantitative impacts of key assumptions are not clearly presented for report users to effectively evaluate the estimates made.
According to FMCSA, the concerns raised may be valid, but it does not expect that the reported findings are significantly affected by them. Additionally, FMCSA agreed to the two recommendations that focus on actions it needs to take to ensure that any future FMVSS compliance reviews include appropriate review by a FMCSA statistical expert and that results are clearly presented.
The DOT-OIG audit was required in Section 4139(b) of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU).
