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PORTLAND, Maine — Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration officials are exploring ways for motor carriers to begin getting credit for “good” inspector screenings and violation-free wireless inspections, a top agency official said.

The government’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability program needs changes in order to be better able to achieve its stated goals, a trucking industry official representing American Trucking Associations told a congressional panel Thursday.

It appears that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is listening to trucking, at least somewhat.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced it is moving ahead with changes to its safety ratings program in December, including stepping up hazardous materials compliance and eliminating a perceived enforcement bias against flatbed carriers.

We’re glad to see that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is moving to improve some portions of its Compliance, Safety, Accountability program that are seriously flawed.

Motor carriers who haul relatively small quantities of hazardous materials have cited concerns that a proposed newly-created hazardous materials safety measurement category would unfairly worsen their hazmat scores.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will research how it could assign blame for truck crashes based on a carrier’s fault, and publish the results of its study in summer 2013, the agency said Monday.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association said Monday it has filed suit against the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regarding FMCSA’s pre-employment screening program and appeal process.

In connection with recent requests by American Trucking Associations and others to release the detailed study information used to develop the Compliance, Safety, Accountability scoring system for carriers, I have come across an that should be interesting for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration — creator of the CSA program — to explain.