Evaluation of Montana’s New Entrant Safety Assurance Program: Phase I

The State of Montana is participating in a pilot program with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in which New Entrant interstate motor carriers are provided third-party training before their initial required safety audits (previously, such training was provided by state personnel). The project detailed in this report outlines an approach to independently evaluate the effectiveness of this pilot program in meeting four safety-related objectives. The objectives of the New Entrant training program and corresponding performance metrics and data sources developed in this report are as follows: 1) Improve actual safety (reduce accident rates and out-of-service rates); 2) Improve New Entrant performance on initial safety audits. Since each new carrier must undergo a safety audit after 18 months of operation, data to evaluate carriers’ performance will be readily available from Montana's Motor Carrier (Safety) Assistance Program (MT MCSAP); 3) Improve MT MCSAP’s efficiency in managing New Entrants. Reasonable metrics include the average time and total cost required to manage each New Entrant. If the new program improves efficiency, MT MCSAP can potentially use the newly freed resources to perform more valuable safety-related tasks. The relevant data will be obtained by interviewing the MCSAP administrator; 4): provide quality safety compliance training to New Entrants. This objective seeks to ensure that the particular services provided by the third-party contractor best help meet the previous objectives. If significant improvements are found in New Entrant safety and compliance performance (Objectives 1 and 2 above) then the objective has possibly been met. In addition, New Entrants will be surveyed after receiving (or declining) training. Note that MT MCSAP personnel have undergone mock training provided by the third-party contractor and have pronounced it acceptable in that it was similar to the previous training program.

• Record URL:
  • http://www.westerntransportationinstitute.org/documents/reports/4W0735_PhaseI_Report.pdf
• 
• Corporate Authors:

  Western Transportation Institute

  Montana State University, Bozeman
  P.O. Box 174250
  Bozeman, MT  United States  59717-4250
• Authors:
  • Cole, Michael
  • Galt, David A
• Publication Date: 2006-8-29

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Appendices; Bibliography; Figures; Tables;
• Pagination: 24p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Motor carriers; Safety; Safety management; Training programs
• Identifier Terms: New Entrant; U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
• Uncontrolled Terms: Efficiency; Program evaluation
• Geographic Terms: Montana
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Highways; Motor Carriers; Safety and Human Factors; I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01115353
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Nov 25 2008 7:32AM