The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is seeking comment on the recently released Crash Preventability Demonstration Program.
The FMCSA has reached out to the public to discuss the proposal to decide the usefulness of a program that conducts preventability determinations on certain types of crashes.
The proposal was made public so that FMCSA could “get something for everyone to comment on because the input is useful to the agency,” said Joe DeLorenzo, director of the FMCSA office of enforcement and compliance of the July 7 release.
According to DeLorenzo, FMCSA intends to accept requests for data reviews (RDRs) that seek to establish the non-preventability of certain crashes through its national data correction system known as DataQs.
The agency would accept an RDR when documentation established that the crash was not preventable by the motor carrier or commercial driver. The suggested time period for the crash preventability demonstration program would be 24 months.
The American Bus Association has applauded the FMCSA for this program, predicting it should help improve the safety measurement data for the industry by granting motorcoach companies the ability to request data reviews of accidents.
“This program will help keep our members from wrongfully having blights on their safe driving records when accidents are not their fault,” said Peter Pantuso, president and CEO of the ABA.
DeLorenzo reported that the proposal would be published on the Federal Registry by the end of the week. The comment period is open for the next 60 days.
As for implementation, DeLorenzo was vague on specifics. “A lot depends on what comments we get, as they really drive the timetable,” he said.
