Magellan
What an FMCSA Not Preventable determination changes
Check CPDP dates and eligibility, build a supported request, and understand the determination’s SMS and PSP effects without promising record deletion.
A carrier hears that a crash may qualify for FMCSA's Crash Preventability Determination Program and immediately asks how to remove it. That wording can create the wrong expectation before anyone has reviewed the evidence.
Begin with the crash date, relevant program category and evidence. Establish what the program can change before telling the owner or driver what a request may achieve.
FMCSA's current CPDP page identifies 21 eligible crash types and distinguishes criteria for crashes occurring before December 1, 2024 from those on or after that date. FMCSA cannot review crashes older than five years. Check the event date and applicable category before collecting the submission packet. Eligible requests go through DataQs with the required police accident report and supporting material. FMCSA Crash Preventability Determination Program (https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/crash-preventability-determination-program)
For a Not Preventable determination, FMCSA excludes the crash from the SMS Crash Indicator BASIC calculation while keeping it listed. FMCSA also notes the determination in the driver's Pre-employment Screening Program (PSP) record. That notation does not erase the event. These program effects do not settle civil liability, state-law fault, insurance or a customer's requirements. FMCSA's explanation of CPDP effects (https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/crash-preventability-determination-program)
Read the current official eligibility guide for the event's date. Identify which category may fit and what evidence is needed to establish that fit. Do not choose the closest-looking label and hope the reviewer will reconstruct the rest.
Write a short eligibility note for your own file. It should state the proposed category, the facts supporting it and any uncertainty. If the available documents contradict the proposed category, address the contradiction before submission.
Keep the eligibility note with the packet so a later reviewer can see why that category was chosen and where its supporting facts are documented.
List the sequence of events with the source of each important fact. The official report, camera material, photographs and driver account may each contribute something different. Identify what is directly shown and what is inferred.
For video, preserve the relevant original and surrounding context. A clip that begins after the critical movement may illustrate damage without establishing how the crash occurred. A written explanation should not claim the recording shows a fact outside the camera's view.
For documents, match the carrier, driver, equipment, location and date. If the report contains an apparent error, explain it accurately and identify the supporting evidence. Do not silently correct a government document in a working copy and present it as the original. The reviewer needs a reliable record, including the issues within it.
Consider an illustrative crash on October 5, 2026: a CMV is legally stopped at a traffic signal and another motorist strikes it in the rear. For crashes on or after December 1, 2024, FMCSA lists being struck in the rear by a motorist as an eligible crash type. Match the actual facts to the current CPDP eligibility list (https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/crash-preventability-determination-program); the scenario identifies a possible category, not a predetermined outcome.
The office retains the required police accident report and relevant original camera recording. Its eligibility note identifies the event date, proposed rear-impact category, report reference and footage showing the truck’s position and sequence. It also records anything the camera does not show.
A rear-damage photograph supports the observed damage; it cannot establish the whole sequence alone. If another source conflicts with the proposed account, preserve and address that conflict. The evidence must support the category and requested determination. It should not be selected merely to resemble a previous successful case.
Tell the company owner and driver which category was submitted, where the review stands and what happens next. Include the case reference so a later question can be traced to the same request. If FMCSA requests additional evidence, identify the request and who is obtaining it. The status remains pending until the determination arrives.
For a customer update, describe the actual stage without circulating sensitive evidence. The company's requested outcome and FMCSA's completed determination should have separate labels in the case record.
Save each substantive update with the case so the next employee can see what the company owner, driver or customer was told.
A CPDP request does not replace the company's incident response, insurance notifications, applicable testing evaluation or safety follow-up. Those processes have their own owners, purposes and time-sensitive decisions.
Keep the work connected through a common incident identifier while preserving appropriate access controls. A safety manager may need to know whether a submission exists; a dispatcher may only need the current driver and equipment availability. Neither needs every claim document simply to perform their operational role.
Topics
- DataQs
- CPDP
- Crash preventability
- Crash records