By Bill Hebron, NBIS Specialized Transportation Program Manager
A little over a year ago, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) launched its Crash Preventability Determination Program (CPDP), an initiative that modified the Safety Measurement System to exclude crashes with ‘not preventable’ determinations from the prioritization algorithm as well as allowed ‘not preventable’ determinations to be noted in the Pre-Employment Screening Program.
Under this program, if you have an eligible crash that occurred on or after August 1, 2019, you may submit a Request for Data Review (RDR) with the required police accident report and other supporting documents, photos, or videos through the Agency’s DataQs website.
We wrote previously that it was a great step in the right direction when it was first launched, noting that allowing carriers and commercial drivers the opportunity to challenge crashes that occurred through no fault of their own would level the playing field in an arena where, despite the majority of crashes being caused by passenger vehicles and other factors, the commercial driver is typically assumed to be at fault.
Since the CPDP was launched, we’ve heard from a number of companies that knowing which accidents on your CSA profile can be challenged/removed can be difficult.
According to the FMCSA, the Crash Preventability Determination Program will only accept 16 different crash types that occurred on or after August 1, 2019. FMCSA uses eligibility standards to ensure that crashes can be reviewed and analyzed consistently. They’ve published a helpful Crash Type Eligibility Guide that outlines the requirements of each crash type and offers some examples to help you determine if your crash is eligible for submission to the CPDP. Note that it is not exhaustive and does not include all crash scenarios that may be eligible, and also that if your crash is not eligible under one crash type, it may be eligible under another.
Something else to be aware of: if you submit a Request for Data Review (RDR) in DataQs for a crash that does not qualify for any of the eligible crash types, the RDR will not be reviewed by the FMCSA for preventability and the RDR will be closed.
The eligible crash types outlined in the guide are:
The full Crash Type Eligibility Guide can be located here. You can also access the FMCSA’s FAQs page for answers to common questions related to the CPDP.