If the methodology is proven successful here, the transferability of these findings could be tested through a multi-state cooperative effort. Ultimately, these findings could influence changes to commercial vehicles safety monitoring guidelines defined at the federal level. The most direct area of benefit is related to safety and human factors. Ultimately, an understanding of the carrier, vehicle, driver, cargo and other characteristics that are most likely to result in a crash or a severe crash can assist regulatory and enforcement agencies in addressing safety problems in a preventative manner. An additional benefit of this effort, and certainly of concern to public agencies in predominantly rural states, is the ability to make better use of existing resources.
Resources are typically more limited and geographic expanses greater in rural states.
Having the ability to focus scarce regulatory and enforcement resources on commercial vehicles highest at risk for safety-related problems, public agencies can perform their duties more effectively and efficiently with no additional personnel.