Federal App Will Allow Safety Data on Trucking and Bus Companies to be Released

In an effort to make safety information on trucking companies more easily accessible, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has developed a new smartphone app that accesses online safety performance information for interstate truck and bus companies.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx recently announced the app. “By making currently available safety information on interstate truck and bus companies more easily accessible for both law enforcement personnel and the general public, we are providing greater transparency while making our roadways safer for everyone,” he said.

“Safety is our highest priority, so we are committed to using every resource available at our fingertips to ensure the safety of travelers.”

The service is called Query Central or “QCMobile” for short. The government says it expects the app will be used by law enforcement officers as well as brokers, insurers, freight forwarders, and other parties who are interested in reviewing information about trucking or bus companies.

FMSCA acting director Scott Darling said this app will allow aggressive safety enforcement, research, technology development and deployment to make buses and trucks safer.

It’s available for the iPhone via the Apple App Store and Android via Google Play.

The American Trucking Associations, however, was critical about the app. The ATA claimed the available CSA data was not reliable and urged the public “not to use this app given the serious flaws that have been identified by the General Accounting Office and others.” The ATA did not criticize the app itself – just the data it accesses.

Sean McNally, a spokesman for the ATA described the FMCSA announcement as “recklessness cloaking itself as transparency.”

“Given the serious problems with the validity of CSA scores, it is wholly inappropriate for FMCSA to encourage and facilitate public access and use,” he said.

As a Virginia trucking accident attorney who sees many safety problems with trucking companies and bus carriers, I welcome any effort to make the system more transparent, while agreeing on the need for accurate and up-to-date information.

If you have been injured in a trucking or a bus accident or if you have lost a loved one, you may have grounds to make a claim against a trucking or bus company.