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A House transportation subcommittee has asked the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General to do an in-depth audit of the government’s safety program, including a look at the relationship between motor carrier safety scores and crash risk.

LAS VEGAS — The trucking industry continued its public push to get federal regulators to make significant changes to the government’s new safety program, as fleet officials praised the program’s intentions and blasted some of its provisions here.

PORTLAND, Maine — Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration officials are exploring ways for motor carriers to begin getting credit for “good” inspector screenings and violation-free wireless inspections, a top agency official said.

The government’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability program needs changes in order to be better able to achieve its stated goals, a trucking industry official representing American Trucking Associations told a congressional panel Thursday.

It appears that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is listening to trucking, at least somewhat.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced it is moving ahead with changes to its safety ratings program in December, including stepping up hazardous materials compliance and eliminating a perceived enforcement bias against flatbed carriers.

We’re glad to see that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is moving to improve some portions of its Compliance, Safety, Accountability program that are seriously flawed.

Motor carriers who haul relatively small quantities of hazardous materials have cited concerns that a proposed newly-created hazardous materials safety measurement category would unfairly worsen their hazmat scores.