WASHINGTON – Fleets can now preview their individual Comprehensive Safety Analysis (CSA) 2010 data through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) website, the agency announced this week.

The updated website (click here for it) provides motor carriers with information on where they currently stand in each Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) based on roadside data and investigation findings.

Using their DOT number, carriers can see their BASIC assessments until December 5, 2010, at which point the new driver and equipment safety enforcement systems goes into effect and assessments will be made available to the public.

The BASICs are: Unsafe Driving, Fatigued Driving (Hours-of-Service), Driver Fitness, Controlled Substances/Alcohol, Vehicle Maintenance, Cargo-Related and Crash Indicator.

Enforcement agencies are using these assessments to prioritize enforcement and compliance assistance workload.

By providing carriers with this information now, FMCSA says have an early opportunity to identify behaviors that lead to crashes and then improve compliance.

And by FMCSA's own account, most carriers need it. According to the agency, the vast majority of carriers are unaware of their status under CSA and could run into problems in December.

According to RAIR, a carrier safety risk management firm in the U.S., about 20 percent of carriers are at risk of a FMCSA "intervention" if CSA 2010 enforcement began today.

The rollout of CSA 2010 had been delayed after carriers voiced concerns that the system treated fleets of various sizes differently.

FMCSA addressed many of those concerns and made changes to the program. However, some outstanding issues – such as the system's inability to note accidents that are not the fault of the truck driver – still remain.