The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has amended its policy for issuing a hazardous materials safety permit. A motor carrier must not have a crash rate, or driver, vehicle or hazardous materials out-of-service rate in the top 30 percentile of the national average.
The current method for determining the qualifying crash and OOS rates under this rule, in effect since the inception of the HMSP program, uses two years of inspection data from FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Management Information System to calculate the OOS rates representing the top or worst-performing 30 percent of the national average.
FMCSA has been recalculating the threshold crash and OOS rates every two years, using MCMIS data from the preceding two years. The agency now will begin using eight years of data from MCMIS, starting with data from 2003-2010, to recalculate the rates, which will remain static rather than change every two years.
FMCSA said crash and OOS rates, which remain static over a longer period of time, will improve safety by providing a clearly identifiable standard for industry compliance and minimize the burden on motor carriers and the HM industry by allowing more appropriate measures that ensure eligibility for the HMSP.
The calculations of crash and OOS rates in this notice of amendment will be implemented immediately and remain in effect until further notice.
