• Motor carriers may request that certain types of crashes be deemed non-preventable.

Separate from the carrier’s internal accident reviews, FMCSA accepts requests to review certain types of vehicle crashes to determine if they were preventable. If the FMCSA agrees that a crash could not be prevented, the crash will be shown as “not preventable” in the agency’s Safety Measurement System (SMS) and Pre-employment Screening Program (PSP) and removed from the Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) scoring process for the Crash Indicator Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC).

To be eligible for review, a crash must have occurred on or after August 1, 2019.

A crash is only eligible if the commercial motor vehicle (CMV):

1. Was struck by a motorist driving under the influence (or a related offense);
2. Was struck by a motorist driving the wrong direction and fully across the center line or median;
3. Was struck in the rear;
4. Was struck while legally stopped or parked, including when the vehicle was unattended;
5. Struck an individual committing or attempting to commit suicide by stepping or driving in front of the CMV;
6. Sustained disabling damage after striking an animal in the roadway;
7. Crashed due to an infrastructure failure, falling trees, rocks, or other debris, or was struck by cargo or equipment from another vehicle;
8. Was struck on the side in the rear, e.g., at the 5:00 or 7:00 point of impact;
9. Was struck by a vehicle that did not stop or slow in traffic;
10. Was struck by a vehicle that failed to stop at a traffic control device;
11. Was struck by a vehicle that was making a U-turn or illegal turn;
12. Was struck by a driver who experienced a medical issue which caused the crash;
13. Was struck by a driver who admitted falling asleep or admitted to distracted driving;
14. Was struck by a vehicle that was, in turn, struck by a motorist driving under the influence (or related offense); or
15. Was struck by a vehicle that was, in turn, struck by a driver operating in the wrong direction.
16. Was involved in a crash type that seldom occurs and does not meet another eligible crash type (e.g., being struck by an airplane or skydiver or being struck by a deceased driver).

Requests for crash reviews must be submitted through the national data correction system known as DataQs, available at dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov and is separate from the review of non-preventable accidents that may occur during a compliance review.