The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration says it's planning to restrict access to some data in its SafeStat system in response to a DOT Inspector General report in February that found "material weaknesses in the SafeStat data."
SafeStat is an automated, data-driven analysis system designed by the FMCSA. It collects data from carriers with active U.S. DOT numbers, and combines current and historical carrier-based safety performance information to measure the relative safety fitness of interstate commercial motor carriers and intrastate commercial motor carriers that transport hazardous materials.
This information includes federal and state data on collisions, roadside inspections, on-site compliance review results and enforcement history.
According to press accounts, FMCSA Administrator Annette Sandberg indicated the agency would also make changes in the way it collected and analyzed safety data. She said that later this year, the agency would temporarily remove the accident Safety Evaluation Area and the overall SafeStat scores from the Web site.
She added that the delayed receipt of crash report data could skew the overall carrier scoring.
The FMCSA felt it necessary to remove the score data from the site, since third parties such as shippers, insurance underwriters and investors use the information to determine a carrier's reliability and assess its risk level.
New system -- DataQs
The agency also has instituted a new system called DataQs, which gives carriers an online mechanism for filing their concerns about their data. Much of the data that goes into a carrier’s ranking comes from states, and carriers have found that if that data is incorrect, they often have a hard time getting it fixed. DataQs is supposed to correct that.
Anyone can enter a data challenge into the system, including motor carriers, the general public, state agencies and FMCSA offices.
Motor carriers and general public users must register on the Web site. Motor carriers should include their FMCSA-assigned PIN number. Carriers that do not know their PIN number can request notification by mail from the DataQs registration page.
Why use DataQs?
Among DataQs’ functions:
- Uses initial registration information to identify the requestor for all data challenges;
- Records the specific type of data being challenged and the details of each event;
- Allows documentation to be faxed or transferred into the system for viewing by all involved in the challenge;
- Retains data challenges and supporting information for future reference;
- Automatically notifies the appropriate FMCSA or state agency when a data quality challenge is entered in the system;
- Allows FMCSA/state agencies to forward requests to other registered agencies;
- Posts FMCSA/state agency responses to data challenges;
- Automatically notifies the user when the status of a request changes; and
- Provides the capability to generate reports.
To file a challenge to the data FMCSA releases to the public, you can access the DataQs system at http://dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov, or contact Patricia Savage, FMCSA data quality official (202) 366-0077 or patricia.savage@fmcsa.dot.gov.
