Resources Government Related Articles FMCSA Program Only Implemented in Half of States
FMCSA Program Only Implemented in Half of States PDF Print E-mail
Written by Janna Smeltzer   
Thursday, 21 May 2009 00:00
While the $5 million a year Performance and Registration Information Systems Management grant program, known as PRISM, is worth the effort of states that voluntarily participate, it remains unknown the true safety impact of removing commercial vehicles from the road that fail certifications.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office published a report this month that 25 states have implemented PRISM and removed 972 vehicles from service, or 15 percent of motor carriers placed out of service last year that had registrations denied, suspended or revoked. The design of PRISM is to help states establish information systems that connect vehicle registration data and operator information from Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration databases. If state legislation is passed, participating states can deny any vehicle registration of a motor carrier found to be in violation of safety regulations.

While an FMCSA-sponsored evaluation of the program in 2007 concluded that participating states showed improved motor carrier safety over time compared with other states, FMCSA has yet to implement measures recommended by the evaluation to assess effectiveness. According to GAO, such measures “while ultimately useful, may be premature since PRISM’s success is
undercut by the 25 states — including states with the greatest numbers of registered commercial motor vehicles — and the District of Columbia that do not yet have the ability to deny, suspend, or revoke vehicle registrations of out-of-service carriers.”

And with only half of the states participating, it could be years before the rest catch up. FMCSA said that it took states on average of 10 months to more than seven years to even implement PRISM and another three years and four months before they could deny, suspend or revoke vehicle registrations.

Meanwhile, GAO reported that officials in some states and representatives from safety organizations said Congress should require PRISM implementation to ensure that no state becomes a refuge for out-of-service motor carrier companies.
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