United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2000-07-17 monographic deposited born digital 28 p. GA 1.13:RCED-00-189 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-189 P0b002ee180371475 f:rc00189 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-189 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-189 RCED-00-189 Highway safety Trucking operations Accident prevention Motor carrier operations Traffic accidents Performance measures Strategic planning DOT Safety Action Plan DOT Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks Program DOT Large Truck Crash Causation Project OMCHS Performance and Registration Information Systems Management Program Letter Report RCED Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed efforts being undertaken by the Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to reduce the number of truck-related fatalities, focusing on: (1) the motor carrier administration's overall strategy for reducing fatalities resulting from crashes involving large trucks; (2) specific actions the motor carrier administration is taking to meet this goal; (3) the extent to which the motor carrier administration has considered additional improvements suggested by the safety community, industry, and others; and (4) the bases for the motor carrier administration's estimates for the expected number of lives to be saved as a result of proposed revisions to its hours of service rules.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) the motor carrier administration has developed an overall strategy for improving the safety of commercial motor vehicles (trucks and buses); (2) this strategy, called the Safety Action Plan, covers the years 2000 through 2003 and contains 47 initiatives that are intended to be an initial step in enabling DOT to reach its goal of reducing fatalities due to crashes involving large trucks by 50 percent by 2009; (3) these initiatives fall within several broad categories, including increasing the enforcement of federal safety regulations, increasing safety awareness, improving safety information and technology, and improving performance standards for vehicles, drivers, and motor carriers; (4) however, DOT has not articulated how the individual initiatives, or sets of initiatives, in the plan will contribute to reductions in truck-related fatalities; (5) in response to the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999, criticisms by congressional subcommittees, and recommendations by DOT's Inspector General, GAO, and others, DOT has taken initial steps toward improving motor carrier safety; (6) these steps include establishing a new organizational structure-the motor carrier administration that has accountability for truck safety and that supports a greater emphasis on enforcement and compliance; (7) also, DOT appears to be making progress on some of the individual initiatives in its Safety Action Plan; (8) the motor carrier administration sought comments on a draft of its Safety Action Plan from 49 organizations representing industry and the safety community; (9) it also published proposed revisions to its regulations that limit the number of hours that drivers of commercial motor vehicles are permitted to drive before resting; (10) under the proposed rule, DOT estimates that 115 fatigue-related fatalities would be avoided annually; (11) DOT recognizes the uncertainty of its estimates but emphasized that providing drivers with more time for sleep will lessen fatigue and thereby reduce the number of fatigue-related crashes; and (12) the reasonableness of DOT's assumptions and the resulting estimate of the number of lives that could be saved if the proposed rule is adopted, however, are unknown. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-189/html/GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-189.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-189/pdf/GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-189.pdf GAO/RCED-00-189 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-189 Letter Report GAO/RCED-00-189; Commercial Motor Vehicles: Effectiveness of Actions Being; Highway safety Trucking operations Accident prevention Motor carrier operations Traffic accidents Performance measures Strategic planning DOT Safety Action Plan DOT Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks Program DOT Large Truck Crash Causation Project OMCHS Performance and Registration Information Systems Management Program Public Law 106-159