At least three industry organizations are planning to file a lawsuit within the next few weeks seeking to block or delay disclosure of certain data that could misrepresent carriers’ safety record.

The groups oppose public disclosure of data from the Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 initiative until the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration considers disclosure as part of a planned CSA-related rulemaking next year, says attorney Henry Seaton. He  represents the National Association of Small Trucking Companies, The Expedite Alliance of North America and the Air & Expedited Motor Carriers Association.

FMCSA plans to release by early December the data from the new Safety Measurement System (SMS), which will replace the current SafeStat methodology.

The groups argue that disclosure of the percentile rankings within the Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) and use of terms characterizing those rankings amount to a public branding of carriers as less than safe. SMS data in its current form is unsuitable for use by the public in making decisions about a carrier’s safety, and that’s FMCSA’s job anyway, they argue.

In September, NASTC, TEANA and AEMCA filed a motion to postpone release of CSA data with percentile rankings or labels characterizing carriers as “deficient” or “marginal” in a BASIC if they exceeded intervention thresholds. After meeting with FMCSA officials, the groups in October offered to withdraw the motion in exchange for removal of any pejorative labels on carriers’ safety performance and a specific disclaimer on the use of the data. The groups do not object to FMCSA’s use of the SMS as an internal tool for targeting enforcement.

FMCSA has not responded to either the motion or the conditional offer to withdraw it, and the agency’s CSA changes announced Nov. 18 are insufficient, Seaton says.