Have you had your trucks involved in an accident that was not their fault, but the crash type was not accepted as part of a DATA Q challenge?

As of December 5, 2024, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has added these four new crash types to their preventability program, bringing the total of crash of types to 21:

  1. Commercial motor vehicle (CMV) struck on the side by another vehicle operating in the same direction.
  2. CMV struck because another vehicle entered the roadway from a private driveway or parking lot.
  3. CMV struck because another vehicle lost control, with a specific mention of the loss of control coming from the Police Accident Report.
  4. Any other type of crash involving a CMV where a video proves the sequence of events that led to the crash.

The CMV struck on the side by another vehicle operating in the same direction, will be of great benefit, as the Police Accident Reports (PAR) diagrams are often not accurate, and the request is denied because the rear or side at the rear was not struck by another motorist.  This particular crash type will help you have more successful challenges and crashes increasing the amount of non-preventable accidents being on your compliance, safety, accountability (CSA) score.  Examples of being struck on the side are shown below:

The other more prominent new crash type is the CMV struck because another vehicle lost control.  This is quite a common crash type and up until now has always been refused in a challenge, especially combining the area of the CMV that was struck.  Examples below:

Along with the other two new crash types, this now enhances your ability to be more successful in challenging your crashes and having a healthier looking CSA score. This will also positively affect your insurance rates and inspection selection system (ISS) scores.

Unfortunately, you will only be able to challenge crashes using the new crash type criteria for accidents that have occurred on or after December 1, 2024.  If you have challenges for past crashes pending waiting for these new proposals, they will not be grandfathered in.

For further assistance with the crash preventability program, or DATA Q challenges and CSA scores, contact your MMA safety advisor.

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