Our seven-week coverage of the CSA 2010 BASICs wraps up today with Crash Indicator, which the FMCSA defines as: “Histories or patterns of high crash involvement, including frequency and severity, based on information from state-reported crash reports.”

Like the other BASICs, Crash Indicator is weighted for severity and time, but differs from the other six violations in one very important — and potentially controversial — way. Whereas BASICs such as Fatigued Driving and Cargo Related are judged and scored based on behaviors that are discovered during inspections, Crash Indicator relies on state-reported data when assigning negative points.

At first glance, the Crash Indicator distinction may not seem problematic; however, from state to state, crashes tend to be reported to the FMCSA with incredible inconsistency. According to Vice President, Safety Policy for the American Trucking Association (ATA) Ron Abbott, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri and New Jersey report 80 to 90 percent of crashes to the FMCSA, while Florida and New Mexico report fewer than 30 percent. Despite this discrepancy, the new Safety Measurement System is subjecting carriers to a national scoring rubric regardless of where they are trucking freight.

Crash Indicator scores are determined by calculating the severity and time weight of relevant state-reported crashes. The carrier size is then factored into the calculation, so individual carriers’ Crash Indicator scores can be compared to their peers.

Because accidents are reported up to THREE TIMES more frequently in some states than others, a carrier involved in fewer crashes trucking freight through New Jersey could conceivably have an inferior SMS score than a company working primarily in Florida.

And, CSA 2010 does not currently account for fault in accidents, which means carriers can be penalized if drivers are involved in a crash caused by someone else’s mistake.

The ATA contacted FMCSA to make them aware of these issues, and changes to the BASIC formulas may be forthcoming. As always, we will keep you abreast of CSA 2010 clarifications and updates, but in the meantime, make sure you are aware of how crashes will count come November 30.