What Is the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)?
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is the leading federal government agency regulating commercial motor vehicles.
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the agency’s mission is “To reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and buses.” This mission statement underscores the FMCSA’s role in enhancing road safety through stringent regulations and oversight of the commercial transportation industry.
The benefits of the FMCSA’s regulations include improved road safety, reduced accident rates involving CMVs, and enhanced driver health and welfare. These regulations also promote fair competition among carriers by ensuring that all operators adhere to the same safety standards.
Examples of the FMCSA’s work include setting hours-of-service (HOS) regulations that limit the number of hours a commercial driver can operate to prevent fatigue-related accidents, conducting compliance reviews and safety audits of motor carriers, and maintaining the Commercial Driver’s License Information System (CDLIS) to ensure that drivers meet federal standards. Understanding the FMCSA’s role and regulations is crucial for commercial drivers and motor carriers to ensure compliance and contribute to safer roadways.
More information about FMCSA
Preliminary Truck Crash Data For 2009 Released
Preliminary statistics on 2009 tractor trailer crashes have just been released. The Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts: Early Release is based on crash data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), as well as preliminary total vehicle miles traveled (VMT) data from the Federal Highway Administration.
Among the highlights:
- Of the 286,000 police-reported crashes involving large trucks in 2009, 2,987 (1 percent) resulted in at least one fatality, and 51,000 (18 percent) resulted in at least one nonfatal injury.
- Single-vehicle crashes made up 20 percent of all fatal crashes, 16 percent of all injury crashes, and 35 percent of all property damage only crashes involving large trucks.
- Almost two-thirds (64 percent) of all fatal crashes involving large trucks occurred on rural roads, and just over one-fourth (26 percent) occurred on rural and urban Interstate highways. […]
