Safety & service
Understanding Accident Preventability for Professional Drivers
Another motorist can violate a traffic rule while a professional driver still has an opportunity to avoid the resulting collision. That is why safety reviews often ask more than who received a citation. Preventability examines whether reasonable actions could have changed the outcome. It is a useful learning question, but it should never be confused with an automatic finding of legal fault or a demand that drivers predict the impossible.
Separate the questions being asked
An employer's safety review, an insurer's investigation, a court's liability decision, and an FMCSA determination have different purposes. FMCSA explicitly states that its Crash Preventability Determination Program does not establish legal liability, fault, or negligence.1 A company's internal classification should likewise be described accurately rather than presented as a court ruling.
Professional driving involves deliberate observation, space management, and anticipation because commercial vehicles operate around people with different skills and expectations. That responsibility supports a careful examination of the driver's available choices. It does not justify assuming that every crash was preventable simply because the driver is a professional.
Preserve facts before forming conclusions
After addressing immediate safety needs and contacting emergency services when appropriate, follow the employer's incident-reporting process. Record the location, time, road condition, traffic controls, and the sequence you actually observed. Identify witnesses and preserve relevant video through the authorized process. Photograph the scene only when doing so is safe and does not interfere with responders.
Separate observation from inference. Saying that a vehicle entered from a side street is an observation; claiming the other driver was using a phone requires evidence. Avoid filling gaps in memory with certainty. A useful record allows reviewers to reconstruct the event without depending entirely on one person's first impression.
Review the choices that existed before impact
A practical review can work backward from the collision. When was the hazard reasonably visible? What was the truck's speed and following interval? Was there a legal, available escape path? Did a parked vehicle obstruct the view? Were equipment condition, route instructions, fatigue, or workload relevant? Each question should be considered using the information available at that moment.
Hindsight makes many decisions appear easier than they were. Reviewers should distinguish a realistic opportunity from an imaginary maneuver that would have created another danger. A driver who brakes firmly to protect a pedestrian should not be criticized solely because the braking was abrupt. The context determines what the action means.
Turn the result into a concrete improvement
FMCSA's program accepts requests for review only for eligible crash types and requires supporting documentation through DataQs.2 An internal review does not automatically change an FMCSA record, and a police report alone does not necessarily settle the program's decision. Carriers should follow the current submission criteria when a qualifying event warrants review.
Regardless of classification, identify an actionable lesson. It might be an earlier speed reduction, a different delivery approach, clearer route notes, or repair of a visibility issue. For a FedEx contractor such as Sigma Continental, documenting that improvement connects the investigation to future operations. Explain what happened, identify what was controllable, and give the driver a usable next step. Set a date to check whether the correction works, particularly when it involves a recurring route or a vehicle condition.
Sources and further reading
Review current guidance and follow the training and procedures provided for your role.
- Original Safety Articles collection
- Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration via Federal Register — Crash Preventability Determination Program Notice
- Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration — Crash Preventability Determination Program
