The Impact of Vehicle Maintenance on Safety

Project Goal:

The goals of this study are to: (1) understand the impact of maintenance on safety-based crashes; (2) develop an operational definition of systematic maintenance; (3) evaluate the effect of current regulations on preventative maintenance intervals, preventative inspections by trained mechanics, and inspection facilities; (4) determine the maintenance standards of best performers; and (5) determine the range and role of annual State inspection programs.

 Background:

Vehicle maintenance (e.g., brakes, lights, other mechanical defects, and load securement) is one of the seven Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) for motor carrier safety measurement. In January 2014, FMCSA published the Carrier Safety Measurement System (CSMS) Effectiveness Test by BASICs Study. This published study showed that motor carriers targeted for interventions due to vehicle maintenance have a 65 percent greater future crash rate than the national average.

 Summary:

The goal of the survey is to gather information from the best truck and bus carriers to identify the maintenance practices that are being used in the industry.

 Contractor:

Virginia Tech Transportation Institute