Overview
The CSA (Compliance, Safety, and Accountability) is the safety, compliance, and enforcement program of the FMCSA. One function of the CSA is to provide a safety score to easily gauge the safety of motor carriers.
As a DOT-regulated employer, your safety data appears in the FMCSA Safety Measurement System (SMS).
FMCSA Safety Measurement System (SMS)
The SMS assesses safety based on seven categories known as BASICs (Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories):
| Category | Description |
| Unsafe Driving | Operating a commercial motor vehicle in a dangerous or careless manner |
| Crash Indicator | Showing a historical pattern of crash involvement, including frequency and severity based on state-reported crashes. Crashes deemed unpreventable are excluded. |
| Hours-of-Service Compliance | Operating a commercial motor vehicle by drivers who are ill, fatigued, or noncompliant with hours of service regulation |
| Vehicle Maintenance | Failing to properly maintain a commercial motor vehicle and prevent shifting loads, spilled or dropped cargo, and overloading |
| Controlled Substances/Alcohol | Operating a commercial motor vehicle by drivers who are impaired due to alcohol, illegal drugs, and misuse of prescription or over-the-counter medications |
| Hazardous Materials Compliance | Handling hazardous materials in an unsafe manner |
| Driver Fitness | Operating a commercial motor vehicle by drivers who are unfit to operate the vehicle due to lack of training, experience, or medical qualifications |
Within each of these categories, the SMS calculates a score and ranks motor carriers assigning a percentile based on their BASIC measure (a higher percentile means a worse safety performance).
Where Does the Data Come From?
The Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) is a computerized system whereby FMCSA maintains a comprehensive record of the safety performance of the motor carriers (truck and bus) and hazardous materials shippers who are subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) or Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR).
The MCMIS data consists of the following carrier level information:
- Census data – All active carriers with a DOT number, contains business identification, cargo classification, equipment and driver info, review date, safety rating etc.
- Carrier crash data –All crash information obtained from states SAFETYNET data from past 2 years, driver data is not included for privacy reasons.
- Carrier inspection data–All inspections performed by Federal and State field enforcement staff in past 2 years, driver data not included for privacy reasons.
- Company safety profile– A specific carrier’s safety performance. Includes history of safety/compliance reviews, safety ratings, history of enforcement, crash and inspection summary (4 years), and individual crash and inspection data (2 years).
For more details, please see: https://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/Documents/SMSMethodology.pdf