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DOT OIG initiates audit of FMCSA's review of high-risk carriers
WASHINGTON — The Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation has initiated an audit of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's efforts to intervene in cases where a motor carrier is identified as high risk for an accident.
Those interventions include targeted roadside inspections and compliance reviews.
"High profile crashes have raised concerns about the timeliness and effectiveness of FMSCA's reviews of these carriers," the OIG's office said in announcing the audit. "In 2013, the National Transportation Safety Board investigated four carriers involved in crashes that collectively resulted in 25 fatalities and 83 injuries. These investigations revealed that FMCSA conducted safety reviews of the carriers prior to their crashes — one only 5 days before — but did not uncover certain pre-existing safety deficiencies or act on others until after the crashes.
The OIG cited a particular case in 2014 where a motor carrier known to FMCSA as high-risk was involved in a fatal crash in Illinois, after which a lawmaker called for an audit.
Despite the carrier's risk status, FMSCA did not conduct an investigation, the OIG's office said.
"Following this crash, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., requested that we audit FMCSA's investigative practices for high-risk motor carriers," the OIG's office said. "The 2015 appropriations legislation also directed us to review FMCSA's compliance review process. Accordingly, we are initiating this audit. Our audit objective is to assess FMCSA's processes for ensuring that reviews of motor carriers flagged for investigation are timely and adequate."
The OIG's office said its audit objective is to assess FMCSA's processes for ensuring that reviews of motor carriers flagged for investigation are timely and adequate.
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