Bill intends to reform CSA program

A new bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives would create a national hiring standard to help the trucking industry identify and employ drivers based on updated data.

Rep. Bob Gibbs, R-Ohio, submitted on Oct. 2 the CSA (Compliance, Safety and Accountability) Reform Act, which aims to ensure “safe carriers are treated fairly by creating a pilot program for carriers to request regular safety audits rather than at the subjective whim of the FMCSA.”

HR8513 sets out to “establish a standard for the reasonableness of motor carriers for the shipment of goods or household goods.”

“Truck drivers are a vital component of our nation’s logistic network,” Gibbs said in a news release. “Safe drivers ensure safe roads and the efficient delivery of goods, and the CSA program should work to enhance that safety at a regular predictable schedule. The safety scores carriers rely on should be up-to-date and accurate. The CSA Reform Act will help shippers, brokers and intermediaries have access to that data.”

The bill would also require the FMCSA to implement a process to revoke the operating authority of a carrier found to have an unfit rating.

The full text of the CSA Reform Act bill can be found here.

As part of the pilot program, it would be required to:

• Use the same standards that would otherwise be applicable to commercial motor carriers.
• Apply the procedures … of the code of federal regulations, including the safety fitness rating methodology prior to assigning a safety rating under such pilot program.
• Assign safety ratings regardless of whether and on-site review of activities has taken place.
• Leverage all available technology to access information and records.

The CSA Reform Act was previously included in the Republicans’ surface transportation bill, the STARTER Act.

As of Monday, Oct. 5, the bill didn’t have any co-sponsors. LL