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Sep 18, 2008 2:29 PM

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued an enforcement policy notice that the agency may not issue a hazardous materials safety permit to a motor carrier that has a crash rate, driver, vehicle, or hazardous material out-of-service rate in the top 30 percent of the national average, according to information published in the Federal Register September 15.

FMCSA policy will consider preventability when a motor carrier contests the denial of a safety permit based upon a crash rate in the top 30 percent of the national average and presents compelling evidence that one or more of the crashes listed in the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) was not preventable and thus not reflective of the motor carrier's suitability to transport the type and quantity of hazardous materials that require a safety permit, according to the information.

According to FMCSA, preventability is determined if a driver who exercises normal judgment and foresight could have foreseen the possibility of the accident that in fact occurred, and avoided it by taking steps within his/her control which would not have risked causing another kind of mishap. FMCSA currently uses this standard in evaluating accident factors under its safety rating process.

The effective date for the enforcement policy is September 16, 2008.

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