CSA and YOUR RIG
Now more than ever, you’re responsible for what you drive, including company trailers. Take control of maintenance with robust inspection procedures and self-education to avoid inspection hassles.
“I go over my truck with a fine-tooth comb every day,” says owner-operator Bob Grantham, based in San Antonio, Texas.
That routine is arguably the single biggest thing owner-operators can do to effectively deal with much of the increased maintenance scrutiny under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability program.
Last month, Part 1 of Overdrive’s guide to dealing with CSA addressed what owner-operators can do to manage the driver-related data that contributes to their own and their leasing carriers’ safety scores. The other side of the coin is what might be the most well-developed of CSA’s Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs): Vehicle Maintenance.
“The vehicle itself is where all the compliance officers have been trained,” says Jay Thompson, president of consulting firm Transportation Business Associates.
From a maintenance perspective, CSA markedly raises the stakes for owner-operators – not just because of the program’s intensity, but because of the level of responsbility it places on drivers. Both the public Carrier Safety Measurement System (SMS) and the private Driver Safety Measurement System (DSMS) reflect accountability for equipment violations, regardless of vehicle ownership.
