Risk Factors

New Pre-Employment Screening Program for Commercial Motor Carriers

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) initiated a new Pre - Employeyment Screening Program (PSP) effective May 11, 2010. This program will allow commercial motor carriers to access commercial driver inspection and crash records as part of the driver hiring process.

Announced by Anne S. Ferro, FMCSA Administrator, on May 11, 2010, "Starting today, commercial carriers will have an essential tool for making informed hiring decisions that will lead to safer drivers on our roads.  The Pre - Employment Screening Program raises the safety bar for the motor carrier industry and helps to make our roads safer for everyone. 

The PSP will offer access to five years of driver crash data and three years of inspection data. Drivers will have the opportunity to review the data in their driving history and change any discrepancies.  The driver's records will be updated monthly by FMCSA's Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS). The driver's records will be protected in accordance with federal privacy laws.

For additional information and access to the Pre - Employment Screening Program please refer to the following websites.

www.fmcsa.dot.gov

www.psp.fmcsa.dot.gov

Have you had your Safety Check-up for 2010?

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We all know that having an annual physical check-up is a good idea for our overall health.  What about for your business?  Do you ever wonder if you are adequately controlling your risks and exposures or wonder if there exposures to your business that you are not even aware exist? Is there a way to give your business' safety program an annual physical? 

There are many ways to assess your risks and exposures, such as meeting with your agent or setting up a meeting with your local Risk Control representative.  Or you may also use our Westfield Risk Control Assessment tool.  The Risk Control Assessment tool is a quick 24 question evaluation that will measure and analyze your operation's strengths and weaknesses.  Upon completion, the tool will provide you with a summary of what your doing well and will also provide you with suggested action steps that will help minimize your risks and loss costs.  The Risk Control Assessment tool will evaluate four main areas:

1. Safety Issues

2. Leadership Support

3. Loss Control Planning

4. Loss Control Execution

The tool is available on-line 24/7/365 at http://www.westfieldinsurance.com/risk_quiz/risk_quiz_Intro.jsp.  It is quick and very easy to use.  After reviewing your results, be sure to print or save them so that you can discuss the results with your agent, risk control representative and your employees.  Be sure to ask your insurance agent or representative if you have any specific questions or concerns with the results.We suggest the Risk Control Assessment tool as a good way to give your safety program it's annual check-up. 

Please let us know if you have any questions, comments or concerns.  We would love to hear of any success stories you may have from using the Westfield Risk Control Assessment Tool. 

Don't forget you may also request our bloggers to address specific topics.  Just use our 'Ask the Bloggers' tool found on the left of this page. 

Lisa Mundt is a senior risk control representative for Westfield Insurance. Connect with Lisa on LinkedIn at  http://www.linkedin.com/pub/lisa-mundt/1a/69b/75b or by email at lisamundt@westfieldgrp.com."

CSA 2010 - Updated Rollout Timeline

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has updated the rollout schedule for CSA 201.  The updated time frame was shared again last week by the FMCSA, to all subscribers to the CSA 2010 eNews letter. 

Here is the context of the updates, as shared by FMCSA:

CSA 2010 Rollout: What is Happening When?

After listening carefully to all stakeholders including Operational Model test participants, enforcement staff, and industry safety experts, FMCSA developed a revised schedule for the roll out of CSA 2010 in line with its commitment to launch this program in the most effective way possible. The rollout schedule is designed to methodically step federal and state enforcement staff, as well as the motor carrier industry, into the program one stride at a time – increasing the safety benefits through better understanding and increased accountability for good safety performance.  The rollout timeline is outlined below:

• April 12 – November 30, 2010 – Motor carriers can preview their own data by seeing their roadside inspections/violations and crash events organized by Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC).
• Summer 2010
  • June 30th – The Operational Model (Op-Model) Test will end.
  • July – The four “50/50” Op-Model Test states, Colorado, Georgia, Missouri and New Jersey, will join the five 100% Op-Model Test states in implementing the program.  
  • August –  Motor carriers will be able to see an assessment of their violations based on the new Carrier Safety Measurement System (CSMS) which will replace SafeStat later in 2010.
• Fall/Winter 2010
  • SafeStat will be replaced by the CSMS. CSMS will be available to the public, including shippers and insurance companies.
  • FMCSA/States will prioritize enforcement using the CSMS.
  • FMCSA will begin to issue Warning Letters to carriers with deficient BASICs.
  • Roadside inspectors will use the CSMS results to identify carriers for inspection.
• Winter 2010 - Safety Fitness Determination Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) is scheduled to be released.
• 2011 – Enforcement staff will be trained, and new interventions will be implemented State-by-State 

Additional updates on CSA 2010 can always be found by following this link --> http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/Whats_new.aspx