Washington – The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Aug. 24 announced final changes (.pdf file) to its Compliance, Safety, Accountability program’s Safety Measurement System.

The changes come after a four-month comment period. Among the changes are the agency's intentions to:

• Strengthen hazardous materials safety compliance to identify more carriers posing a risk to roadways
• Weigh paper and electronic hours-of-service logbook reporting violations equally
• Include “cargo/load securement” violations in vehicle maintenance compliance scores
• Remove 1- to 5-mph speeding violations to reflect current speedometer regulations
• Document inspection type, such as driver inspection or roadside inspection, in reported violations

According to an FMCSA press release, changes will be implemented in December; however, the hazmat compliance change will be reviewed further before being made public.