A view from the inside: New member of FDRsafety team will explain DOT programs and policies

I am pleased to be a part of this professional team because of FDRsafety’s passion and demonstrated commitment to safety. Having spent 38 years working at the U.S. Department of Transportation, focusing on all aspects of highway and road safety, it is important to me to continue that work, joining forces with seasoned professionals who share the same zeal in helping companies find competent solutions to the challenges American businesses face every day while not compromising their employees’ safety.

I was a regulator and program manager and I generally understand the aims of government and the pressures it faces in safeguarding the traveling public. I am hoping that I will be able to come full circle from having been responsible for developing good public policies to better understanding the impact those policies have on businesses and their employees.

For several years, I was the senior executive responsible for seeing the new Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 (CSA 2010) project to implementation. CSA 2010 (now simply called CSA) is the DOT’s new measurement and enforcement scheme for commercial motor carriers that was implemented four months ago after seven years of design and two years of testing and adjustments.

While there are still critical pieces remaining to come into effect, especially the safety rating regime, the new CSA system has replaced the previous SAFESTAT data base. I will dedicate future posts to the importance of this game-changing way the federal and state governments assess a company’s safety and will offer some insights about how wise companies can earn scores that don’t trigger an enforcement intervention.

And while my most recent government service dealt with commercial vehicles, I also was responsible for the government’s driver behavior programs across the board. Issues like drunk and drugged driving, use of safety belts, older and teen driving challenges, pedestrian, and motorcycle and bicycle safety all fell within my responsibility. I will write also about how attention to these issues by workers and their families is important to promoting positive employee productivity.

Recently, the preliminary highway fatalities for 2010 were released by DOT. Amazingly, despite an increase of 21 billion miles driven in 2010 over 2009, roadway deaths fell 3% to their lowest levels in 62 years. While not released with as much fanfare, deaths involving large trucks fell a whopping 20% from 2009 levels.

The economic downturn surely accounts for some of the reduction in truck-involved road deaths, but it also suggests that safer vehicles, increased use of occupant restraints, more vigorous enforcement of traffic laws and the contributions of thousands of responsible, safety-focused companies are resulting in fewer tragedies. Everyone should celebrate this good news.

I look forward to sharing with you recent transportation safety developments and the emerging issues affecting your industries and the bottom line. Remembering the old adage “safety doesn’t cost, it saves,” I am pleased to be a part of the FDRsafety team and in helping you pursue your own successful safety strategies.