There are a few things about CSA 2010 that you already know about and other things you may not know. When dealing with your insureds or insurance companies, it might help to be able to discuss the following:
1) What you should already know
On August 16, 2010, the FMCSA updated the Data Preview website to allow carriers to view an assessment of where they stand in each BASIC category based on roadside and investigative findings. The seven BASICS are:
-Unsafe Driving
-Fatigued Driving (hours of service)
-Driver Fitness
-Controlled Substances/Alcohol
-Vehicle Maintenance
-Cargo-Related
-Crash Indicator.
SafeStat’s Safety Evaluation Areas (SEAs) will be replaced
by the BASICS in December, 2010. This early assessment indicator will allow motor carriers an opportunity to understand and address their safety concerns right away.
What you probably do not know:
● Carriers will not inherit the past violations of a newly hired driver.
● All crashes and inspections that occur to a commercial driver while under the authority of a carrier will remain part of that carrier’s Safety Management Data for two years, even if the carrier terminates the driver.
● Tickets or warnings received by commercial drivers while operating their personal vehicles do not count in the Safety Measurement System.
● Carriers and commercial drivers do not need to register for the CSA 2010, nor is there a training requirement.
However, it is in their best interest to be aware of this program and its implications.
Truckers are going to be asking you if the insurance company can help with compliance. We will see what insurance companies can or cannot help in the process
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Good Numbers- Truck Related Fatalities & Transportation Activity
In the face of higher average medical costs per claim is the fact that fatalities are now at a record low. What would be interesting and I do not have is to see the actual truck related deaths per mile ( interesting may be the wrong word). My hunch is that not only are fatalities lower but the overall fatalities per mile are down.
It will be interesting to see how truck insurers look at this as you would hear out of every one of them that severity is up. See the attached article below ( courtesy of Transport Topics)
The number of people killed in large-truck crashes dropped 20% in 2009 to the lowest level on record, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday.
Total fatalities fell to 3,380, from 4,245 in 2008, NHTSA said. The total includes truck occupants, occupants of other vehicles and people who were not in vehicles, such as pedestrians.
The figure is the lowest since records began in 1975. Large truck occupants saw the largest decrease in fatalities among all groups tracked by NHTSA, falling 26%.
Fatalities have declined by 2,000 since the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration was created in 1999.
They have dropped by 1,855 since 2004, when the current hours-of-service regulations were put into effect by FMCSA.
Both NHTSA and FMCSA are agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The numbers reported Thursday do not take into account total mileage among trucks, a figure DOT has not yet announced for 2009.
Other good news came from the Federal Reserve. ( Again courtesy of Transport Topics)
The number of people killed in large-truck crashes dropped 20% in 2009 to the lowest level on record, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday.
Total fatalities fell to 3,380, from 4,245 in 2008, NHTSA said. The total includes truck occupants, occupants of other vehicles and people who were not in vehicles, such as pedestrians.
The figure is the lowest since records began in 1975. Large truck occupants saw the largest decrease in fatalities among all groups tracked by NHTSA, falling 26%.
Fatalities have declined by 2,000 since the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration was created in 1999.
They have dropped by 1,855 since 2004, when the current hours-of-service regulations were put into effect by FMCSA.
Both NHTSA and FMCSA are agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The numbers reported Thursday do not take into account total mileage among trucks, a figure DOT has not yet announced for 2009.
It will be interesting to see how truck insurers look at this as you would hear out of every one of them that severity is up. See the attached article below ( courtesy of Transport Topics)
The number of people killed in large-truck crashes dropped 20% in 2009 to the lowest level on record, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday.
Total fatalities fell to 3,380, from 4,245 in 2008, NHTSA said. The total includes truck occupants, occupants of other vehicles and people who were not in vehicles, such as pedestrians.
The figure is the lowest since records began in 1975. Large truck occupants saw the largest decrease in fatalities among all groups tracked by NHTSA, falling 26%.
Fatalities have declined by 2,000 since the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration was created in 1999.
They have dropped by 1,855 since 2004, when the current hours-of-service regulations were put into effect by FMCSA.
Both NHTSA and FMCSA are agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The numbers reported Thursday do not take into account total mileage among trucks, a figure DOT has not yet announced for 2009.
Other good news came from the Federal Reserve. ( Again courtesy of Transport Topics)
The number of people killed in large-truck crashes dropped 20% in 2009 to the lowest level on record, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday.
Total fatalities fell to 3,380, from 4,245 in 2008, NHTSA said. The total includes truck occupants, occupants of other vehicles and people who were not in vehicles, such as pedestrians.
The figure is the lowest since records began in 1975. Large truck occupants saw the largest decrease in fatalities among all groups tracked by NHTSA, falling 26%.
Fatalities have declined by 2,000 since the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration was created in 1999.
They have dropped by 1,855 since 2004, when the current hours-of-service regulations were put into effect by FMCSA.
Both NHTSA and FMCSA are agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The numbers reported Thursday do not take into account total mileage among trucks, a figure DOT has not yet announced for 2009.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Why Commercial ( and Personal) Auto Insurance Is Priced the Way It Is
Do you ever feel funny about how high the premiums are for commercial auto insurance? I would tell you to stop feeling that way based on the article I found in the Insurance Journal. What is interesting to me is that most underwriters are not aware of the medical costs associated with crashes- and obviously that is a factor in both claims and premiums. Certainly the general public is not aware of this and they should be. See the article below.
Motor Vehicle Crash Injuries Costing $99 Billion a Year, or $500 per Driver
August 27, 2010
In a one-year period, the cost of medical care and productivity losses associated with injuries from motor vehicle crashes exceeded $99 billion – with the cost of direct medical care accounting for $17 billion.
A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the total annual cost amounts to nearly $500 for each licensed driver in the U.S.
The study in the journal Traffic Injury Prevention found that the one-year costs of fatal and non-fatal crash-related injuries totaled $70 billion (71 percent of total costs) for people riding in motor vehicles, such as cars and light trucks, $12 billion for motorcyclists, $10 billion for pedestrians, and $5 billion for bicyclists.
CDC researchers said they used 2005 data because, at the study time, it provided the most current source of national fatal and non-fatal injury and cost data from multiple sources.
The data is for injuries only and does not include costs of vehicle or property damage.
"Every 10 seconds, someone in the United States is treated in an emergency department for crash-related injuries, and nearly 40,000 people die from these injuries each year. This study highlights the magnitude of the problem of crash-related injuries from a cost perspective, and the numbers are staggering," said Dr. Grant Baldwin, director of CDC's Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.
The study also found:
Costs related to fatal motor vehicle-related injuries totaled $58 billion. The cost of non-fatal injuries resulting in hospitalization amounted to $28 billion, and the cost of injuries to people treated in emergency departments and released was $14 billion.
More men were killed (70 percent) and injured (52 percent) in motor vehicle crashes than women. Injuries and deaths among men represented 74 percent ($74 billion) of all costs.
Teens and young adults made up 28 percent of all fatal and nonfatal motor vehicle injuries and 31 percent of the costs ($31 billion). These young people represented only 14 percent of the U.S. population.
Motorcyclists made up 6 percent of all fatalities and injuries but 12 percent of the costs, likely due to the severity of their injuries. Pedestrians, who have no protection when they are hit by vehicles and are also often severely injured, made up 5 percent of all injuries but 10 percent of total costs.
CDC's Injury Center supports strategies for prevention such as graduated driver licenses, child safety seats, primary seat belt laws, enhanced seat belt enforcement, motorcycle and bicycle helmet laws and sobriety checkpoints.
Pretty interesting is it not?
Motor Vehicle Crash Injuries Costing $99 Billion a Year, or $500 per Driver
August 27, 2010
In a one-year period, the cost of medical care and productivity losses associated with injuries from motor vehicle crashes exceeded $99 billion – with the cost of direct medical care accounting for $17 billion.
A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the total annual cost amounts to nearly $500 for each licensed driver in the U.S.
The study in the journal Traffic Injury Prevention found that the one-year costs of fatal and non-fatal crash-related injuries totaled $70 billion (71 percent of total costs) for people riding in motor vehicles, such as cars and light trucks, $12 billion for motorcyclists, $10 billion for pedestrians, and $5 billion for bicyclists.
CDC researchers said they used 2005 data because, at the study time, it provided the most current source of national fatal and non-fatal injury and cost data from multiple sources.
The data is for injuries only and does not include costs of vehicle or property damage.
"Every 10 seconds, someone in the United States is treated in an emergency department for crash-related injuries, and nearly 40,000 people die from these injuries each year. This study highlights the magnitude of the problem of crash-related injuries from a cost perspective, and the numbers are staggering," said Dr. Grant Baldwin, director of CDC's Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.
The study also found:
Costs related to fatal motor vehicle-related injuries totaled $58 billion. The cost of non-fatal injuries resulting in hospitalization amounted to $28 billion, and the cost of injuries to people treated in emergency departments and released was $14 billion.
More men were killed (70 percent) and injured (52 percent) in motor vehicle crashes than women. Injuries and deaths among men represented 74 percent ($74 billion) of all costs.
Teens and young adults made up 28 percent of all fatal and nonfatal motor vehicle injuries and 31 percent of the costs ($31 billion). These young people represented only 14 percent of the U.S. population.
Motorcyclists made up 6 percent of all fatalities and injuries but 12 percent of the costs, likely due to the severity of their injuries. Pedestrians, who have no protection when they are hit by vehicles and are also often severely injured, made up 5 percent of all injuries but 10 percent of total costs.
CDC's Injury Center supports strategies for prevention such as graduated driver licenses, child safety seats, primary seat belt laws, enhanced seat belt enforcement, motorcycle and bicycle helmet laws and sobriety checkpoints.
Pretty interesting is it not?
Monday, August 16, 2010
Technologies That Will Help Trucking
I think the Insurance Journal does a very nice job. While the editor, Andrew Simpson, was probably considering private passenger vehicles and consumer interest, I see his article discussing available technologies helping trucking in the future. This may pique your interest. Also think about the in-the-pallet technology already available to prevent cargo theft. The game is changing due to technology...
Technology-- cell phones and texting technologies to be precise--gets a bad rap when it comes to safety while driving. Of course, it’s not the technology that’s unsafe it’s people. Thus a number of states and the federal government have moved to
curtail drivers from dialing or texting while driving. While trying to stamp out unsafe use of technology, it’s important to keep in mind that technology can be used to make driving safer, too. Some of the exciting technologies available include:
Blind Spot and Cross-Traffic Detection: Blind spot detection features identify
people, other vehicles, or objects within vehicles’ blind spots and provide an instant warning. Similarly, cross-traffic detection systems detect vehicles, people or objects in a vehicle’s path while backing out of a parking space and alert the driver.
Driver Recognition System: This allows multiple drivers to program various vehicle
settings including seat positions, mirror positions, and climate control and stereo
settings that can all be activated when the driver enters the vehicle.
Night Vision System: This provides a high-beam image of the road ahead, without
distracting other drivers, using an infrared light beam that is invisible to the human eye. An on-board camera is used to capture images up to 500 feet away that are then presented on a display in the vehicle’s cockpit.
Parking Assist System: Parking assist systems help drivers park backwards or
parallel park using a built-in computer and small sensorslocated at the rear of the vehicle. The parking movements can be done automatically by the vehicle.
As promising and exciting as these technologies are,car makers have to make them available and people have to know about them in order for their safety benefits on the road to be realized. According to a new Harris Interactive survey, not many people know about them. Familiarity with advanced vehicle intelligent sensing features is very low among American drivers, with fewer than one in 10 indicating they are very familiar with the features.
However, despite low familiarity, more and more drivers indicate they are likely
to purchase these features for their next new vehicle, according to the same Harris
Interactive poll. Though only six percent indicate they are extremely or very familiar with blind spot and cross-traffic detection systems, there is obvious interest in these features, with one-quarter (24 percent) of drivers saying they would be extremely or very likely to purchase this for their next vehicle. The same percentage would consider buying a night vision system. Twenty-two percent said they would be interested in buying a driver recognition system.
“Although these technologies are not well known today, expect many of them to
become commonplace over the next few years,” says Dave Pulaski, vice president of
Automotive and Transportation for Harris Interactive. “Once consumers learn about
these features and their benefits, they will clamor
for them.”
All of this suggests that if automakers and suppliers educated consumers more about these technologies, interest may increase. Perhaps some cell phone calls and texting messages from the insurance industry offering discounts would provide
some encouragement for everyone.
Technology-- cell phones and texting technologies to be precise--gets a bad rap when it comes to safety while driving. Of course, it’s not the technology that’s unsafe it’s people. Thus a number of states and the federal government have moved to
curtail drivers from dialing or texting while driving. While trying to stamp out unsafe use of technology, it’s important to keep in mind that technology can be used to make driving safer, too. Some of the exciting technologies available include:
Blind Spot and Cross-Traffic Detection: Blind spot detection features identify
people, other vehicles, or objects within vehicles’ blind spots and provide an instant warning. Similarly, cross-traffic detection systems detect vehicles, people or objects in a vehicle’s path while backing out of a parking space and alert the driver.
Driver Recognition System: This allows multiple drivers to program various vehicle
settings including seat positions, mirror positions, and climate control and stereo
settings that can all be activated when the driver enters the vehicle.
Night Vision System: This provides a high-beam image of the road ahead, without
distracting other drivers, using an infrared light beam that is invisible to the human eye. An on-board camera is used to capture images up to 500 feet away that are then presented on a display in the vehicle’s cockpit.
Parking Assist System: Parking assist systems help drivers park backwards or
parallel park using a built-in computer and small sensorslocated at the rear of the vehicle. The parking movements can be done automatically by the vehicle.
As promising and exciting as these technologies are,car makers have to make them available and people have to know about them in order for their safety benefits on the road to be realized. According to a new Harris Interactive survey, not many people know about them. Familiarity with advanced vehicle intelligent sensing features is very low among American drivers, with fewer than one in 10 indicating they are very familiar with the features.
However, despite low familiarity, more and more drivers indicate they are likely
to purchase these features for their next new vehicle, according to the same Harris
Interactive poll. Though only six percent indicate they are extremely or very familiar with blind spot and cross-traffic detection systems, there is obvious interest in these features, with one-quarter (24 percent) of drivers saying they would be extremely or very likely to purchase this for their next vehicle. The same percentage would consider buying a night vision system. Twenty-two percent said they would be interested in buying a driver recognition system.
“Although these technologies are not well known today, expect many of them to
become commonplace over the next few years,” says Dave Pulaski, vice president of
Automotive and Transportation for Harris Interactive. “Once consumers learn about
these features and their benefits, they will clamor
for them.”
All of this suggests that if automakers and suppliers educated consumers more about these technologies, interest may increase. Perhaps some cell phone calls and texting messages from the insurance industry offering discounts would provide
some encouragement for everyone.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Changes in the FMCSA Safety Management System ( SMS)
( from an article in the TIA Logistics Weekly that shows what is changing due to CSA 2010- everyone working with the trucking industry needs to be clued in)
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has announced recent updates to the Safety Measurement System.
The Data Preview assessments will be based on an improved SMS methodology. As a result of input from enforcement personnel, industry representatives, and safety experts, as well as findings from an extensive, 30-month field test, FMCSA is implementing several updates to the SMS that will make it more effective in identifying high risk and other carriers with safety compliance problems. Specifically:
The measure of exposure will be changed from Power Units (PUs) only to a combination of PUs and Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) in the Unsafe Driving as part of Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASIC) and Crash Indicator. In addition, these two BASICs will change from using PUs as a safety event grouping (formerly referred to as peer grouping) to using the number of crashes for the Crash Indicator and the number of inspections with a violation for the Unsafe Driving BASIC.
The measure of exposure will change from PUs to the number of relevant inspections in the Controlled Substances/Alcohol BASIC; Severity weights for some roadside inspection violations will be updated; and FMCSA will employ a more strategic approach to addressing motor carriers with a history of size and weight violations rather than counting these violations in the Cargo-Related BASIC; the new approach will include alerts to roadside inspectors when carriers have a history of size and weight violations.
These enhancements will allow the Agency to more effectively identify motor carriers with safety performance and compliance problems.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has announced recent updates to the Safety Measurement System.
The Data Preview assessments will be based on an improved SMS methodology. As a result of input from enforcement personnel, industry representatives, and safety experts, as well as findings from an extensive, 30-month field test, FMCSA is implementing several updates to the SMS that will make it more effective in identifying high risk and other carriers with safety compliance problems. Specifically:
The measure of exposure will be changed from Power Units (PUs) only to a combination of PUs and Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) in the Unsafe Driving as part of Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASIC) and Crash Indicator. In addition, these two BASICs will change from using PUs as a safety event grouping (formerly referred to as peer grouping) to using the number of crashes for the Crash Indicator and the number of inspections with a violation for the Unsafe Driving BASIC.
The measure of exposure will change from PUs to the number of relevant inspections in the Controlled Substances/Alcohol BASIC; Severity weights for some roadside inspection violations will be updated; and FMCSA will employ a more strategic approach to addressing motor carriers with a history of size and weight violations rather than counting these violations in the Cargo-Related BASIC; the new approach will include alerts to roadside inspectors when carriers have a history of size and weight violations.
These enhancements will allow the Agency to more effectively identify motor carriers with safety performance and compliance problems.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Out of Service Data- Summer 2010- Only 4.4% of drivers OOS/ Vehicles 20% OOS
From Transport Topics comes some interesting data. The bottom line is that truckers are getting more in touch with the regulation that surrounds them and getting more compliant.
Only 4.4% of drivers stopped for inspections in this year’s Roadcheck event held last month were placed out service — the same percentage as last year when driver compliance hit an all-time high for the annual safety inspection event held across North America.
Results from the June 8-10 event sponsored by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance show that the commercial motor vehicle industry hovering close to the record low out-of-service rates set during 2009.
Figures show the overall vehicle compliance rate at 80%, down slightly from 80.4% last year, with an overall driver compliance rate of 95.6%, which is unchanged from last year, according to American Trucking Associations.
“This year’s Roadcheck results provide further evidence of the trucking industry’s steadfast commitment to safety,” said American Trucking Associations President Bill Graves.
In the hazmat driver category, 2.5% of the drivers stopped were placed out of service, down from 3% in 2009. Because of inspector layoffs due to the poor economy, the number of inspections conducted this year, 65,327, was down 10% from last year.
The results showed that despite the recession’s impact on both trucking and commercial vehicle safety inspectors at the local government level, safety benchmarks are holding, said Stephen Keppler, CVSA’s interim executive director.
Other Roadcheck sponsors were the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Transport Canada, the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators and Mexico’s Secretariat of Communications and Transportation.
Only 4.4% of drivers stopped for inspections in this year’s Roadcheck event held last month were placed out service — the same percentage as last year when driver compliance hit an all-time high for the annual safety inspection event held across North America.
Results from the June 8-10 event sponsored by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance show that the commercial motor vehicle industry hovering close to the record low out-of-service rates set during 2009.
Figures show the overall vehicle compliance rate at 80%, down slightly from 80.4% last year, with an overall driver compliance rate of 95.6%, which is unchanged from last year, according to American Trucking Associations.
“This year’s Roadcheck results provide further evidence of the trucking industry’s steadfast commitment to safety,” said American Trucking Associations President Bill Graves.
In the hazmat driver category, 2.5% of the drivers stopped were placed out of service, down from 3% in 2009. Because of inspector layoffs due to the poor economy, the number of inspections conducted this year, 65,327, was down 10% from last year.
The results showed that despite the recession’s impact on both trucking and commercial vehicle safety inspectors at the local government level, safety benchmarks are holding, said Stephen Keppler, CVSA’s interim executive director.
Other Roadcheck sponsors were the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Transport Canada, the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators and Mexico’s Secretariat of Communications and Transportation.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
FMCSA News- BMC-32 and Broker Bonds
Some recent news peaked my interest that will affect the transportation insurance industry and change some things. (Courtesy of our friends at CAB).
DEMISE OF THE BMC-32 ENDORSEMENT - To the surprise of many in the insurance and transportation industry the FMCSA has decided to do away with mandatory financial responsibility for cargo insurance for many carriers - the BMC-32 endorsement is going away. The FMCSA has issued its final rule, effective March, 2011, that certain motor carriers operating in interstate commerce will no longer be required to have an endorsement in place in order to operate. The shipping industry was directed by the FMCSA to protect itself by insuring that the carriers with whom they did business are adequately insured. Household goods carriers and household good freight forwarders will continue to be subject to the filing requirement. It is currently unknown what effect the existing filings will have, and whether insurers will be required to cancel all filings and remove the endorsement from existing policies.
BROKER LEGISLATION - This month the Motor Carrier Protection Act was introduced in the Senate. The Act is designed to change the requirements for brokers operating in interstate commerce. The proposed legislation will increase the broker bond from $10,000 to $100,000, impose stricter requirements for entities seeking broker or forwarder authority and increase penalties for violations of broker regulations
This author's take is that there will be more insurance capacity attacking motor truck cargo coverage and that financial underwriting will be looser- due to the lack of repercussions that the insurance filing had. Also, the barrier for entry and continuation as a truck broker has been raised so that smaller operations will have a much tougher time getting bonded and maintaining compliance.
What type of situations occur where a broker bond would come in play? A bond for the truck broker provides confirmation that an insured has the financial reserves to meet its payment obligations and handle unexpected financial demands from a risk incident such as a significant shipper non-payment, liability for an error and omission by an employee, liability for actions by a carrier.
DEMISE OF THE BMC-32 ENDORSEMENT - To the surprise of many in the insurance and transportation industry the FMCSA has decided to do away with mandatory financial responsibility for cargo insurance for many carriers - the BMC-32 endorsement is going away. The FMCSA has issued its final rule, effective March, 2011, that certain motor carriers operating in interstate commerce will no longer be required to have an endorsement in place in order to operate. The shipping industry was directed by the FMCSA to protect itself by insuring that the carriers with whom they did business are adequately insured. Household goods carriers and household good freight forwarders will continue to be subject to the filing requirement. It is currently unknown what effect the existing filings will have, and whether insurers will be required to cancel all filings and remove the endorsement from existing policies.
BROKER LEGISLATION - This month the Motor Carrier Protection Act was introduced in the Senate. The Act is designed to change the requirements for brokers operating in interstate commerce. The proposed legislation will increase the broker bond from $10,000 to $100,000, impose stricter requirements for entities seeking broker or forwarder authority and increase penalties for violations of broker regulations
This author's take is that there will be more insurance capacity attacking motor truck cargo coverage and that financial underwriting will be looser- due to the lack of repercussions that the insurance filing had. Also, the barrier for entry and continuation as a truck broker has been raised so that smaller operations will have a much tougher time getting bonded and maintaining compliance.
What type of situations occur where a broker bond would come in play? A bond for the truck broker provides confirmation that an insured has the financial reserves to meet its payment obligations and handle unexpected financial demands from a risk incident such as a significant shipper non-payment, liability for an error and omission by an employee, liability for actions by a carrier.
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