Seven-week coverage of the CSA 2010 Behavior Analysis Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) begins today with Unsafe Driving, which the FMCSA defines as “Operation of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) by drivers in a dangerous or careless manner.”

For the Unsafe Driving BASIC, violations are broken into five groups, with each error weighted based on its relationship to crash risk (1 – 10, low to high). The five groups with sample violations and their corresponding scores are listed below:

HM Related
Unnecessary delay in HM transportation to destination: 1
Smoking within 25 feet of HM vehicle: 1

Dangerous Driving
Following too close: 5
Failed to use caution for hazardous condition: 5

Reckless Driving
Reckless driving: 10

Speeding Related
Using or equipping a CMV with radar detector: 5
Scheduling run to necessitate speeding: 5

Other Driver Violations
Failing to use seat belt while operating CMV: 1
Driving of vehicle — migrant workers: 1

With each violation, the score will also be weighted based on the time since its occurrence:

Within the past 12 months: 3

12 – 24 months ago: 2

24 – 36 months ago: 1

The severity and time weightings are multiplied together to get the final point total.

For example, Reckless driving (10) that happened this year (3) will carry a total weight of 30 points, whereas smoking within 25 feet of a Hazmat vehicle (1) 20 months ago (2) will carry two points.

Unlike SafeStat, which only judged out-of-service and moving violations, all safety-based inspection violations will be collected through CSA 2010. Although negative points and rating will be tied to carriers, drivers should heed caution and protect their driving records, as industry experts expect stricter hiring practices as a result of these new regulations.

Will you change your driving habits once CSA 2010 is fully implemented?
Do you think it is fair to assign points to carriers rather than drivers?
How do you think CSA 2010 will change the transportation industry?