Volpe Technical Experts
David G. Madsen,
Mr. Madsen is the domain expert in motor carrier safety at the Department of Transportation's Volpe Center. Mr. Madsen received a Master's of Engineering degree and a Bachelor's degree in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering from Cornell University. From 1993 to the present, he has worked on motor carrier safety projects at the Volpe Center in a variety of areas such as program performance measures, program evaluation, motor carrier and driver risk assessment, risk management, and safety program development.
Mr. Madsen is recognized for his significant contributions to the overall Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) goal of reducing large truck crashes and the shared DOT strategic safety goal of saving lives on our nation's highway. Mr. Madsen recently led the design and delivery of an innovative and new FMCSA measurement system, Safety Measurement System (SMS). The SMS is an integral part of FMCSA's top safety effort, the Comprehensive Safety Assessment (CSA) Initiative. The CSA Initiative is a comprehensive effort to update, integrate, and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of all FMCSA motor carrier safety programs. The SMS identifies specific safety problems of individual motor carriers and CMV drivers based on on-road performance. The innovative approach allows FMCSA to surgically address the safety problems more efficiently and effectively through a series of progressive interventions as well as meet the Congressional mandate of preventing "unfit" motor carriers from operating interstate.