A federal software program consisting of several modules, SAFETYNET is used both nationally and internationally. The Inspection module contains all the commercial driver/vehicle inspections. The Crash module contains a condensed form of commercial vehicle crash data. And the Compliance Review module contains the commercial safety audit data. The other modules in the system are used for data management. Every state uploads their data to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration main computer (MCMIS). There the information can be assessed on a national level, state and by commercial carrier. The technology is constantly evolving and states are making advancements to provide “real time” data to assist with truck safety and crash reduction.

In Idaho, SAFETYNET is administered by the Idaho State Police Commercial Vehicle Safety section. 16 Idaho State Police officers are trained in the CVSA approved North American Standard of conducting commercial vehicle inspections. Inspections are complied by written form or by laptops using the federal based program ASPEN. The information is then transmitted or entered into the SAFETYNET system. Crash information is completed by all state, county and city officers. The forms are sent to Idaho Transportation Department and entered in to their system. An extract of the commercial crash data is retrieved and transferred into SAFETYNET Crash module. All information is upload to MCMIS.

Obtaining a Profile
Interstate carriers can obtain a carrier profile (a report of all inspections, crashes and audits) conducted on their company by contacting the SAFER website.

Upgrades
The Idaho State Police Commercial Vehicle Safety Section is working in conjunction with other state and federal agencies to use new technology that is available to provide more accurate and timely information. With the upgrade to the new Safetynet system in 2001, Idaho commercial vehicle inspectors can begin using real time inspection information on carriers that are inspected as they travel through the state.