Truck Safety: Improvements Needed In FHWA's Motor Carrier Safety Program

摘要

FHWA had rated the safety fitness of about 84,300 (40 percent) of the 213,000interstate motor carriers in business, as of May 15, 1990. While the agency has accomplished a great deal, about 129,000 carriers must be rated before the agency's established deadline of September 30, 1992, for rating all carriers. FHWA is unlikely to meet this deadline because (1) the universe of carriers is constantly changing (in fiscal year 1989, for example, about 21,000 new carriers entered the marketplace and about 16,000 went out of business or merged with another carrier) and (2) FHWA has assigned a limited number of safety investigators to this task. Although 70 percent of the motor carriers assessed under the safety review program received a less than satisfactory (conditional or unsatisfactory) rating, FHWA has not adequately implemented its two follow-up procedures for reasonably ensuring that carriers correct deficiencies in safety management controls-certification letters from carriers and compliance reviews.