WASHINGTON - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration officials reportedly are exploring ways for motor carriers to begin getting credit for "good" inspector screenings and violation-free wireless inspections.

The agency is aware of motor carrier concerns that when drivers are screened but not given a formal inspection, neither they nor their carrier receives credit in the Compliance, Safety, Accountability program for no violations, according to Bill Quade, the agencys associate administrator.

The same is true for wireless inspections, Quade adds.

"Because its like an inspection, its a snapshot of key elements of your compliance," Quade said of wireless inspections. "The screening can be seen the same way. Capturing it is a challenge, but its a challenge we should be willing to undertake."

"If I drive by a wireless inspection eight times, 10 times, and theres nothing on the infrared screen that says my brakes are bad, do I deserve a little credit for this? Probably. How much? When? How do we mark that? How do we note it? We are willing to look at those types of issues, and say eventually, yes."

However, Quade cautions that carriers should not expect any formal actions in the next round of CSA changes expected early next year.

Carriers report its a fairly common practice for inspectors to do spot checks of drivers licenses, registrations, medical cards and maybe even browse through log books - and then send drivers on their way without doing any paperwork.

Those who contend that operators should get credit for these checks say it is a legitimate issue and important.

The reason its significant is that CSA scores are comparative, based on measures that are basically a ratio of the number of violations to the number of inspections.

Before the advent of the CSA program in 2010, such brief screenings were not regarded as a significant concern. But, with carriers now closely watching their CSA safety scores, every good inspection can mean the difference between an overall good safety rating and an unwelcome letter or visit from FMCSA auditors.

The issue is especially significant for small bus and truck operators.

Thats because there is no opportunity to have clean inspections in the same proportion as small operators have bad inspections.

Critics of CSA have been trying, for the past two years, to figure a way that carriers could accumulate clean inspections to balance the tickets operators receive.

In response to concerns, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance appointed a working group last year to study "alternative compliance," or ways that carriers and drivers could get extra credit for actions ranging from installing safety technologies on their fleets to voluntarily implementing company hair testing for drugs.

A proposal to have FMCSA give credit for screenings was presented to CVSAs executive committee last year but, after a two-hour discussion, was unanimously rejected.

Gerald Krisa, vice president of safety for R&L Carriers in Wilmington, Ohio, and chairman of CVSAs alternative compliance workgroup, said CVSA needs to be careful to not favor large carriers, which have the resources to deploy costly safety technologies.

"It cant be a program for the rich," Krisa said. "It has to be an opportunity for not only the large motor carriers or motorcoaches, but also the small carriers."