Recordable accident rate

The question of the effectiveness of motivational campaigns is not easy to answer. The obvious method would be to look at accident rates. However, recorded accident rates vary widely according to the propensity to report or not report events. 

Accident Factor — In addition to the five regulatory rating factors, a sixth factor is included in the process to address the accident history of the motor carrier. This factor is the recordable accident rate which the carrier has experienced during the past 12 months. 

The recordable accident rate will be used only when a motor carrier incurs two or more recordable accidents within the 12 months prior to the compliance review. 

An urban carrier (a carrier operating entirely within a radius of 100 air miles) with a recordable accident rate greater than 1.7 will receive an unsatisfactory rating for the accident factor. 

Vehicle accidents — expressed as both a recordable accident rate (see 390.5 for definition 390.15 for in formation on the required accident register), and as a frequency of all vehicle related incidents involving damage regardless of severity. 

Factor 6, accidents, is scored as either satisfactory or unsatisfactory based solely on recordable accident rate of the carrier. 

If you are not an urban carrier, you will receive an unsatisfactory factor rating if your recordable accident rate is greater than 1.5. 

Factor 6—Accident Recordable Accident Rate per Million Miles. 

For paragraph IV (k)(1)(vi) of this appendix, if the recordable accident rate is greater than 1.7 recordable accidents per million miles for an urban carrier (1.5 for all other carriers), the carrier is determined to have inadequate basic safety management controls. 

As an example of the importance of knowledge of variation, let us consider two similar chemical plants, each with 50 employees working 2,000 hours each during the year. In 1994, the Riverton plant had two recordable accidents, for a recordable accident rate of 4. The Hillton plant had four recordables, for a rate of 8. Obviously, the Riverton plant has a better safety process, does it not The answer is that it may, but the evidence just provided is very weak. 

The recordable accident rate is the number of recordable accidents per 200,000 hours worked. This approximates the total hours that would be worked by 100 employees in a year. When hours of work are not available, the rate is computed as the number of recordable accidents per 100 employees. 

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