Requires contract carriers of passengers by motor vehicle to provide federal SMS results to potential customers

BILL NUMBER:S4427A

Title of bill

An act to amend the transportation law, in relation to requiring safety reports to potential customers of contract carriers of passengers by motor vehicle

Purpose

To require contract carriers of passengers by motor vehicle to provide and explain their most recent federal Safety Status Measurement System (SMS) scores before entering into a contract with a customer.

Summary of specific provisions

Section one of the bill amends Section 140 of the Transportation Law by adding a new subdivision 11 to require that no contract carrier of passengers by motor vehicle shall enter into a contract to provide services to any customer without first providing:

- a written copy of the carrier's three most recent Safety Status Measurement System (SMS) scores, and - an explanation of how the score is calculated and what it means

Section two of the bin provides that this act shall take effect immediately.

Existing law

Currently, contract carriers are not required to provide copies of their safety sataus measurement system scores to potential customers.

Justification

Customers of motor carrier companies must be able to rely on those companies to operate safely, but in many instances customers sign contracts without access to carriers' safety records.

Accidents involving common carriers are not uncommon in New York. On March 12, 2011; fifteen people died from an accident that occurred when a driver reportedly flipped his bus while trying to avoid a swerving tractor-trailer. After further investigation the driver was found to be operating the vehicle under a fraudulent license with a history of multiple license suspensions. The carrier, World Wide Tours, has recently been under investigation for issues involving fatigued drivers. Two days after the accident 36 buses were stopped at police checkpoints. Of the buses stopped, 10 drivers had violations so serious that they were made to stop driving immediately. It is vital that we put safeguards in place, so that no more lives are lost.

By utilizing the Safety Measurement System (SMS), companies will no longer be able to hide from their past transgressions. SMS was developed to track the on-road safety performance of carriers and drivers to identify candidates for interventions, determine the specific safety problems that a carrier or driver exhibits, and to monitor whether safety problems are improving or worsening. The SMS score is determined by analyzing data to quantify performance in the following categories: Unsafe Driving, Fatigued Driving, Driver

Fitness, Controlled Substance/Alcohol Abuse, Vehicle Maintenance, Cargo-Related Issues, and Crash Indicator. Once a company's score is calculated, they are placed in a peer group with other companies who have received similar scores.

Without requiring carriers to provide copies of safety records to customers, there will be no motivation for carriers to take more serious actions against drivers with multiple violations. This legislation would ensure that all potential customers have direct access to critical information about the safety records of motor vehicle carriers, and it would provide additional incentive for carriers to improve their own safety ratings.

Prior legislative history

2013: S.4427 - Referred to Transportation 2011-2: S.5093 - Referred to Transportation

Fiscal implications

None

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately.