By Sam Meadows
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”) recently unveiled its permanent Crash Preventability Determination Program (“CPDP”). This will expand upon a pilot program that evaluated the effects of not counting a crash in which a commercial motor carrier was not at fault when calculating the carrier’s safety measurement profile. Altogether, there are ten (10) eligible crash types including scenarios where the underlying accident was not the fault of the commercial motor vehicle (i.e., struck in the rear) or scenarios where the underlying accident could not have been avoided (i.e. disabled after striking an animal in the roadway).
Under the CPDP, if carriers have an eligible crash that occurred on or after August 1, 2019, they may submit a Request for Date Review (“RDR”) including the required police accident report and other supporting documents, photos, or videos to the FMCSA’s DataQs website.
After FMCSA’s review, crashes determined non-preventable will no longer be used to calculate a motor carrier’s safety measurement score. All crashes will still be listed on the FMCSA website, but they will include a notation indicating that the crash was reviewed and the result of the review. Significantly, crashes deemed not-preventable will be noted on a driver’s pre-employment screening record. As well, carriers are permitted to request a review of all crashes that occurred on or after August 1, 2019.
Please see our website for a full list of our Trucking and Commercial Transportation attorneys to determine crash eligibility and/or for assistance submitting a request to the FMCSA’s DataQs Website.
