Crash Causal Factors Program: Knowledge of Systems and Processes

Section 23006 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), titled “Study of Commercial Motor Vehicle Crash Causation,” requires the Secretary of Transportation to conduct “a comprehensive study to determine the causes of, and contributing factors to, crashes that involve a commercial motor vehicle.” To meet the requirements of section 23006 of the IIJA, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is establishing a Crash Causal Factors Program. Through this program, FMCSA will execute a multi-phased study of crash causal factors, with Phase 1 focused on fatal crashes involving Class 7/8 large trucks. This Phase 1 effort is referred to as the Large Truck Crash Causal Factors Study. Future phases of the study will focus on different Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) populations (such as medium-duty trucks) or crash severities (e.g., serious injury crashes).

To inform planning and design of the study, FMCSA is conducting an information collection (IC) titled “Crash Causal Factors Program: Knowledge of Systems and Processes.” This IC will collect data from Federal, State, and local highway and motor carrier safety programs. It will focus on identifying and documenting States’ and local jurisdictions’ ability to participate in the study; agreements that the States or jurisdictions will require to participate in the study; existing crash data collection processes, systems, tools, training, and quality control processes; and CMV enforcement funding mechanisms and sources. Information collected will inform various elements of the study plan, including the sample design, data collection plans, participation agreements, resourcing plans, and development of the study database.

This Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) is necessary to provide information regarding the Crash Causal Factors Program study and its collection and use of Personally Identifiable Information (PII).