Recent data from CarrierOK shows nearly 88,000 trucking companies have closed their doors in 2023, a steep increase compared to recent years. This is one of the many reasons why considerations for how to control and reduce costs are more pressing than ever. One area of consideration is a fleet’s roadside inspection results.
According to the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), there are 2.5 million to 3.5 million inspections of commercial motor vehicles each year in North America. Avoiding inspection violations can help your fleet maintain a good Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) score that customers, insurance carriers, enforcement, and potential drivers consider when evaluating your company. Inspection fines can range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars, depending on factors including the severity of the violation, and whether it is a repeat offense.
[Related: Beating Roadcheck with preventive maintenance and driver buy-in]
Throughout my 35-year career as a driver and trucking business owner, I’ve been part of many roadside inspections and audits reviewing thousands of safety measurement scores during that time. Now as the trucking business segment consultant at Acuity Insurance, I help trucking businesses navigate the challenges of today’s trucking industry and how they can potentially obtain the highest return on investment (ROI) for their operation. When asked how these inspections affect their businesses, items such as insurance, customers, brokers, and driver recruitment and retention don’t always make a fleet’s list, but they are all heavily impacted. Putting it simply, safety should be one of the core elements of your trucking operation, not just one of your priorities. Anything less and you may be leaving profitability on the table and not realizing your full ROI.
To potentially improve your CSA results, it’s important to understand how CSA scores are determined. This knowledge can help you prevent violations before they happen.
Compliance, Safety, Accountability is the safety compliance and enforcement program of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the organization that holds motor carriers and drivers accountable for their roles in safety.
With data collected through roadside inspections, crashes and investigations occurring within the past 24 months, CSA identifies large motor carriers to single driver owner-operators with safety problems and prioritizes them for interventions. These interventions usually take the form of warning letters or more-thorough investigations.
