FMCSA CSA Carrier Most Frequently Asked Questions!

This a compilation of questions that were developed to assist the public with basic questions about CSA 2010. As questions come in through the website, they, along with their answers, are added to the database. If you don’t see your question or topic addressed, please contact us by submitting a feedback. We will respond to you directly and consider your question for inclusion in FAQs.

CSA Compliance
Establish an ongoing process in safety training.

1. How often are SMS results updated? Answer

2. Describe the serious driver violations that are sometimes called Red Flag Violations. Answer

3. What is the Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP), who can access it, and how? Answer

4. How does a driver's violation history impact a carrier's Safety Measurement System (SMS) evaluation? Answer

5. Where can I find the FMCSA regulations?Answer

6. How does the Safety Measurement System (SMS) handle warning tickets for speeding? Answer

7. Will all motor carriers with safety alerts receive a warning letter before they hear anything else from FMCSA? Answer

8. Who sends and receives warning letters, and what are the expectations for a motor carrier's response? Answer

9. How can a carrier allow multiple employees to see its non-public data without giving them the password to change the company's MCS-150 data? Answer

10. How does an investigation work? Answer

11. What are CSA's new interventions? Answer

12. How can commercial motor vehicle (CMV) carriers successfully navigate CSA? Answer

13. How can users access Safety Measurement System (SMS) data? Answer

14. Are drivers notified if they are identified with safety problems via the Driver Safety Measurement System (DSMS)? Answer

15. What determines “Unfit” in terms of process and score for motor carriers? Answer

16. In the proposed new methodology, how can an Unfit carrier return to service? Answer

17. Do inspections that find no violations count in the Safety Measurement System (SMS)? Answer

18. What information is available to help me achieve compliance? Answer

19. How long does a carrier remain in the CSA intervention process? Answer

20. How will drivers, carriers, and the public be notified about driver Notice of Violations (NOVs) and Notice of Claims (NOCs)? Answer

21. What is the difference between compliance reviews and CSA interventions? Answer

22. What regulation changes does CSA bring? Answer

23. How do I determine if a violation will count against a carrier, a driver, or both in the Safety Measurement System (SMS)?. Answer

24. What's the difference between SafeStat and the new Safety Measurement System (SMS)? Answer

25. How can motor carriers, drivers, and other stakeholders correct erroneous data in the Safety Measurement System (SMS)? Answer

26. If the citation I acquired while in my commercial motor vehicle is thrown out in court, can I get the roadside inspection violation that resulted from the same behavior from the same incident removed from my Safety Measurement System (SMS) record? If so, how? Answer

27. Does Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) assign safety ratings to individual commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers? Answer

28. How will the proposed Safety Fitness Determination (SFD) handle reportable crashes? Answer

29. Do tickets or warnings received by drivers while operating personal vehicles impact their motor carrier's Safety Measurement System (SMS) data or their Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP) record? Answer

30. Why is there no driver rating? Why aren't drivers more accountable? Answer

31. How long do I have to get into compliance? Answer

32. What triggers an intervention? Answer

33. Can you explain the research behind the Safety Measurement System (SMS) violation severity weightings? Answer

34. What is the timeline for the implementation of Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA)? Answer

35. What is the CSA Operational Model? Answer

36. Where can I find CSA training? Answer

37. Can you explain how safety event groups work in the new Safety Measurement System (SMS)? Answer

38. The Safety Measurement System (SMS) Methodology document states that a carrier can receive no more than 30 severity points in a single inspection. If a carrier has more than 30 severity points, which points are carried over to SMS? Answer

39. What are the Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs)? Which violations correspond to which BASIC? Answer

40. Do citations play a role in the Safety Measurement System (SMS), or carrier Inspection Selection System (ISS) algorithm? For example, if a driver has a violation for a torn strap and receives a citation, does the citation add anything to the carrier's SMS percentile ranks or ISS values? Answer

41. What is a "clean inspection"? Answer

42. How will the proposed Safety Fitness Determination (SFD) handle reportable crashes? Answer

43. What is the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) doing in the short-term about crash accountability? Answer

44. How can one of my BASICs move into alert status? Answer

45. Why does the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) new Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program emphasize driver safety enforcement? Answer

46. How will drivers, motor carriers, and the public be notified about driver Notice of Violations (NOVs) and Notice of Claims (NOCs)? Answer

47. What is the Driver Safety Measurement System (DSMS) and how is it used? Answer

48. Which violations from crashes are used in the Safety Measurement System (SMS)? Answer

49. How have roadside inspections been improved, including getting States to upload their inspections faster? Answer

50. How does CSA address accurate and timely reporting of recordable crashes? Answer

51. I'm having problems signing in to see my data. What should I do? Answer

52. What are the Intervention Thresholds for drivers? Answer

53. If my Safety Measurement System Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) percentile ranks go up, what will happen? Answer

54. Will motor carriers and drivers with minor problems be subject to interventions? Answer

55. Preliminary University of Michigan Transportation Institute (UMTRI) findings from the Operational Model Test (Op-Model Test) indicated that two of the seven Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) do not have a strong relationship to future crashes. Should these findings delay implementation of CSA? Answer

56. What are the results of the Operational Model Test (Op-Model Test)? Answer

57. Can someone from FMCSA speak on CSA at our organization? Answer

58. Why is CSA being implemented? Answer

59. What is CSA? Answer

60. How is FMCSA addressing motor carriers with a history of size and weight violations? Answer

61. What modifications are being made to the measure of exposure for the Unsafe Driving BASIC and Crash Indicator? Answer

62. What refinements were made to the SMS Methodology after the Operational Model Test in August 2010? Answer

63. Why has FMCSA decided to update the SMS test methodology? Answer

64. Will FMCSA place carriers into different peer groups or weight carriers' violations and crashes differently in different geographical areas? Answer

65. Which carriers are included in the Safety Measurement System (SMS)? Answer

66. How do I change my MCS-150 data, such as Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) or Power Units (PUs)? Answer

67. The carrier I work for is behaving illegally. How should I handle this? Answer

68. What if a motor carrier has an inactive USDOT Number? Answer

69. Who can help me answer non-CSA FMCSA questions? Answer

70. How do I sign up for the Portal? Answer

71. When will CSA start using the driver component of the new Safety Measurement System (SMS)? Answer

72. Are there new regulations regarding a driver's body mass index (BMI), body fat ratio, weight, neck size and sleep apnea? Answer

73. What is the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) doing in the long-term about crash accountability? Answer

74. How do I improve my percentile ranks in the SMS BASICs? Answer

75. What is CSA at the highest level? Answer

76. Can a motor carrier or driver appeal a DataQs ruling? Answer

77. Will the Safety Measurement System (SMS) Website add a web services feature? Answer

78. How does compliance help motor carriers' business? Answer

79. Do you have a safety consultant that you can recommend? Answer

80. Is it possible a carrier will receive an enforcement case? Answer

81. Can you mail out information to help educate carriers and drivers about CSA? Answer

82. What registration forms do carriers and drivers need to fill out for CSA? Answer

83. What kind of updates were made to the severity weights of roadside violations? Answer

84. When will the Safety Measurement System (SMS) stop flagging a motor carrier? Answer

85. Will motor carriers be notified of drivers with poor safety records? Answer

86. How are the Safety Measurement System (SMS) percentile ranks calculated? Answer

87. Why does the Safety Measurement System (SMS) hold carriers responsible for drivers' errors, such as speeding? Answer

88. What is the proposed approach for Safety Fitness Determination (SFD) and why was it not part of the Operational Model Test (Op-Model Test)? Answer

89. What kinds of driver safety performance data is CSA 2010 looking at? Answer

90. Does CSA make Electronic On-Board Recorders (EOBRs) mandatory? Answer

91. How do I know if a crash will be used in my Safety Measurement System (SMS) data? Answer

92. How have roadside inspections been improved for CSA in terms of uniformity? Answer

93. Where can roadside inspection data be viewed? Answer

94. What are the inspection levels? Answer

95. How do I find my Inspection Selection System (ISS) value? Answer

96. Does CSA Impact Me? Answer

97. Are carriers from Canada and Mexico impacted by CSA? Answer

98. Will FMCSA have an XML and/or flat file of all of the data in the Safety Measurement System (SMS)? Answer