The GAO 2016 report on Motor Carriers was an extensive project that yielded an array
of valuable insights. GAO found that the FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration)
had failed to establish the performance measures meant to monitor its progress towards the
achievement of its intended efficiency outcomes (MOTOR CARRIERS Better Information
Needed to Assess Effectiveness and Efficiency of Safety Interventions, 2016). This failure limits
the FMCSA’s ability to track the performance of program interventions and balance the
priorities of delivering on effectiveness and efficiency. The report also found that the FMSCA’s
dependence om the BASIC percentiles obtained from insufficient safety data affects its ability to
effectively determine and prioritize the carriers with the highest risk for intervention. The issue
on the frequency of warning letters was also investigated. The report established that issuing
letters to all carriers with BASIC percentiles that are above the intervention threshold and
reducing the time allocated for the improvement of the safety performance would increase the
number of warning letters issued by 30% (MOTOR CARRIERS Better Information Needed to
Assess Effectiveness and Efficiency of Safety Interventions, 2016).
The report also found numerous limitations in the information used by the FMSCA to
determine the efficiency and effectiveness of the interventions. For instance, there are limitations
on the design and methodology of the effectiveness evaluations resulting in incomplete and
inaccurate data in the individual interventions. The UMTRI cost estimates evaluations used are
outdated as their foundational time and resources do not provide an accurate and updated
representative costs. It becomes futile to attempt to understand the most efficient methods due to
inaccuracy of cost estimates (MOTOR CARRIERS Better Information Needed to Assess
Effectiveness and Efficiency of Safety Interventions, 2016). The report also found that there were
long-standing delays in the creation of the SENTRI software. These delays have then affected
the
of valuable insights. GAO found that the FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration)
had failed to establish the performance measures meant to monitor its progress towards the
achievement of its intended efficiency outcomes (MOTOR CARRIERS Better Information
Needed to Assess Effectiveness and Efficiency of Safety Interventions, 2016). This failure limits
the FMCSA’s ability to track the performance of program interventions and balance the
priorities of delivering on effectiveness and efficiency. The report also found that the FMSCA’s
dependence om the BASIC percentiles obtained from insufficient safety data affects its ability to
effectively determine and prioritize the carriers with the highest risk for intervention. The issue
on the frequency of warning letters was also investigated. The report established that issuing
letters to all carriers with BASIC percentiles that are above the intervention threshold and
reducing the time allocated for the improvement of the safety performance would increase the
number of warning letters issued by 30% (MOTOR CARRIERS Better Information Needed to
Assess Effectiveness and Efficiency of Safety Interventions, 2016).
The report also found numerous limitations in the information used by the FMSCA to
determine the efficiency and effectiveness of the interventions. For instance, there are limitations
on the design and methodology of the effectiveness evaluations resulting in incomplete and
inaccurate data in the individual interventions. The UMTRI cost estimates evaluations used are
outdated as their foundational time and resources do not provide an accurate and updated
representative costs. It becomes futile to attempt to understand the most efficient methods due to
inaccuracy of cost estimates (MOTOR CARRIERS Better Information Needed to Assess
Effectiveness and Efficiency of Safety Interventions, 2016). The report also found that there were
long-standing delays in the creation of the SENTRI software. These delays have then affected
the
