On December 1, FMCSA expanded the Crash Preventability Determination Program (CPDP) to now include 21 eligible crash types for review. FMCSA expanded eligibility for current crash types to include indirect strikes and added four new crash types.

Under the CPDP, if you were involved in an eligible crash, you may submit a Request for Data Review (RDR) with the required police accident report and other supporting documents, photos, or videos through the Agency’s DataQs system. FMCSA cannot accept crashes older than five years.

Crashes determined to be Not Preventable through CPDP are removed from the calculation of the Crash Indicator Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) in FMCSA’s Safety Measurement System (SMS), but are still listed. Not Preventable determinations are also noted in FMCSA’s Pre-employment Screening Program. 

For more information and resources, please visit the FMCSA’s CPDP website.

Return-to-Duty for CDL Drivers

As of November 18, 2024, the second Clearinghouse final rule (Clearinghouse II) is in effect. This means that commercial driver’s license (CDL) and commercial learner’s permit (CLP) holders that have a “prohibited” status in FMCSA’s CDL Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse will lose their State-issued commercial driving privileges until the driver completes the return-to-duty process. FMCSA developed a new video that summarizes the steps drivers must take to change their Clearinghouse status from “prohibited” back to “not prohibited.” Watch the “Return-to-Duty Process for CDL Drivers” video. The video is also available near the bottom of the Clearinghouse homepage.

For more information about the return-to-duty process, see FMCSA’s Return-to-Duty Quick Reference Guide; and visit the Clearinghouse Learning Center or frequently asked questions.

FMCSA Updates SMS Website

FMCSA has updated the SMS Website with the November 29, 2024 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

Note: the Prioritization Preview Website continues to be updated monthly alongside the SMS Website. Motor carriers can visit the Preview site and log in to see what their prioritization results would be under the proposed new methodology.

The compliance date for the second Clearinghouse final rule (Clearinghouse-II) is fast approaching. Beginning November 18, 2024, SDLAs will be required to remove the commercial driving privileges of drivers in a “prohibited” status in FMCSA’s CDL Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, which would result in a downgrade of the driver’s commercial driver’s license (CDL) until the driver completes the return-to-duty process. Some States have already begun downgrading CDLs for drivers in a “prohibited” status. The Clearinghouse-II rule supports FMCSA’s goal of ensuring that only qualified drivers are eligible to obtain and retain a CDL. FMCSA has created a Return-to-Duty Quick Reference Guide outlining the return-to-duty process that drivers with a “prohibited” Clearinghouse status must complete so they can get their status back to “not prohibited.” For more information about the return-to-duty process, visit the Clearinghouse Learning Center or frequently asked questions.

FMCSA Updates SMS Website

FMCSA has updated the Safety Measurement System (SMS) Website with the October 25, 2024 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

Note: the Prioritization Preview Website continues to be updated monthly alongside the SMS Website. Motor carriers can visit the Preview site and log in to see what their prioritization results would be under the proposed new methodology.

Register now to attend the Office of Registration’s third Stakeholder Day to discuss changes coming to FMCSA registration, including a new registration system. This public meeting to engage stakeholders, including motor carriers, brokers, freight forwarders, insurance companies, financial institutions, process agents, blanket companies, and transportation service providers, will be held both in-person at the U.S. DOT Headquarters and virtually via webinar.

Take this opportunity to learn more and share your perspective on improving the registration experience with FMCSA. In-person attendees will also be able to test drive the new system and provide feedback to help inform future enhancements. Register no later than October 14, 2024. Learn more and register online here.

The Second Clearinghouse Rule: CDL Downgrades Begin November 18, 2024

The compliance date for the second Clearinghouse final rule (Clearinghouse-II) is fast approaching. Beginning November 18, 2024, SDLAs will be required to remove the commercial driving privileges of drivers in a “prohibited” status in FMCSA’s CDL Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, which would result in a downgrade of the driver’s commercial driver’s license (CDL) until the driver completes the return-to-duty process. Some States have already begun downgrading CDLs for drivers in a “prohibited” status. The Clearinghouse-II rule supports FMCSA’s goal of ensuring that only qualified drivers are eligible to obtain and retain a CDL. FMCSA has created a Return-to-Duty Quick Reference Guide outlining the return-to-duty process that drivers with a “prohibited” Clearinghouse status must complete so they can get their status back to “not prohibited.” For more information about the return-to-duty process, visit the Clearinghouse Learning Center or frequently asked questions.

FMCSA Updates SMS Website

FMCSA has updated the Safety Measurement System (SMS) Website with the September 27, 2024 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

With this update, FMCSA has aligned SMS with the latest changes to violation codes recorded as part of the roadside inspection program. These changes included adding more than 30 violation codes and updating descriptions of some of the existing violation codes in the SMS.

For more details and a complete list of violations, see the SMS Appendix A spreadsheet.

Note: the Prioritization Preview Website continues to be updated monthly alongside the SMS Website and takes into account the added inspection violation codes mentioned above. Motor carriers can visit the Preview site and log in to see what their prioritization results would be under the proposed new methodology.

FMCSA has updated the Safety Measurement System (SMS) Website with the August 30, 2024 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

Note: the Prioritization Preview Website continues to be updated monthly alongside the SMS Website. Motor carriers can visit the Preview site and log in to see what their prioritization results would be under the proposed new methodology.

FMCSA has updated the Safety Measurement System (SMS) Website with the July 26, 2024 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

Note: the Prioritization Preview Website continues to be updated monthly alongside the SMS Website. Motor carriers can visit the Preview site and log in to see what their prioritization results would be under the proposed new methodology.

FMCSA has updated the Safety Measurement System (SMS) Website with the June 28, 2024 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

Note: the Prioritization Preview Website continues to be updated monthly alongside the SMS Website. Motor carriers can visit the Preview site and log in to see what their prioritization results would be under the proposed new methodology.

FMCSA has updated the Safety Measurement System (SMS) Website with the May 31, 2024 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

With this update, FMCSA added violation 392.15 to the Controlled Substances/Alcohol BASIC. This violation addresses “driver[s] prohibited from performing safety sensitive functions per 382.501(a) in the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse.” This change aligns SMS with the latest changes to violations recorded as part of the roadside inspection program and during investigations.

For more details and a complete list of violations, see the SMS Appendix A spreadsheet.

Note: the Prioritization Preview Website continues to be updated monthly alongside the SMS Website. With this update, FMCSA added violation 392.15 to the “Operating While Prohibited” violation group in the Driver Fitness compliance category. Motor carriers can visit the Preview site and log in to see what their prioritization results would be under the proposed new methodology.

FMCSA has updated the Safety Measurement System (SMS) Website with the April 26, 2024 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

Note: the Prioritization Preview Website continues to be updated monthly alongside the SMS Website. Motor carriers can visit the Preview site and log in to see what their prioritization results would be under the proposed new methodology.

FMCSA has updated the Safety Measurement System (SMS) Website with the March 29, 2024 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

Note: the Prioritization Preview Website continues to be updated monthly alongside the SMS Website. Motor carriers can visit the Preview site and log in to see what their prioritization results would be under the proposed new methodology.

FMCSA has updated the Safety Measurement System (SMS) Website with the February 23, 2024 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

With this update, FMCSA has aligned SMS with the latest changes to violations recorded as part of the roadside inspection program and during investigations. These changes included moving 13 Vehicle Maintenance violations from the Lighting violation group to Clearance Identification Lamps/Other violation group.

For more details and a complete list of violations, see the SMS Appendix A spreadsheet.

Note: the Prioritization Preview Website continues to be updated monthly alongside the SMS Website. Motor carriers can visit the Preview site and log in to see what their prioritization results would be under the proposed new methodology.

FMCSA has updated the Safety Measurement System (SMS) Website with the January 26, 2024 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

Note: the Prioritization Preview Website continues to be updated monthly alongside the SMS Website. Motor carriers can visit the Preview site and log in to see what their prioritization results would be under the proposed new methodology.

FMCSA has updated the Safety Measurement System (SMS) Website with the December 29, 2023 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

Note: the Prioritization Preview Website continues to be updated monthly alongside the SMS Website. Motor carriers can visit the Preview site and log in to see what their prioritization results would be under the proposed new methodology.

FMCSA has updated the Safety Measurement System (SMS) Website with the November 24, 2023 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

Note: the Prioritization Preview Website continues to be updated monthly alongside the SMS Website. Motor carriers can visit the Preview site and log in to see what their prioritization results would be under the proposed new methodology.

Motor Carriers: Later this Month You Will Need a Login.gov Account to Access SMS

How you log in to SMS is changing. FMCSA is making access more secure by implementing multifactor authentication—a login method requiring two pieces of information to verify your identity. Later this month, you will no longer be able to use your Portal user ID and password, or your U.S. DOT Number and PIN, to access SMS. Instead, you will access SMS through the FMCSA Portal. For motor carriers, this will require a Login.gov account. For help creating a Login.gov account, visit the FMCSA website. Motor carriers can use the same Login.gov account they use to log in to FMCSA’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse to access the FMCSA Portal. Note that the email address in your Portal profile must match exactly with your Login.gov username (email address) to access the Portal.

Note: DOT users should refer to internal email notifications for specific instructions on creating accounts and logging in via government-issued PIV cards.

FMCSA has updated the Safety Measurement System (SMS) Website with the October 27, 2023 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

With the October 27, 2023 SMS results, FMCSA has updated the SMS methodology to include the latest changes to violations recorded as part of the roadside inspection program and during investigations. For more details and a complete list of violations, see the SMS Appendix A spreadsheet. 

Note: the Prioritization Preview Website continues to be updated monthly alongside the SMS Website. Motor carriers can visit the Preview site and log in to see what their prioritization results would be under the proposed new methodology.

FMCSA has updated the Safety Measurement System (SMS) Website with the September 29, 2023 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

Note: the Prioritization Preview Website continues to be updated monthly alongside the SMS Website. Motor carriers can visit the Preview site and log in to see what their prioritization results would be under the proposed new methodology.

FMCSA Seeks Comments on Proposed DataQs Appeal Process

FMCSA has announced a proposal to develop and implement a Federal appeal process on DataQs.

The proposal would establish a Federal appeal process for Requests for Data Review (RDRs) submitted through FMCSA's DataQs system. This review process will provide users with an opportunity to have their requests reviewed by FMCSA after the request has been reviewed and reconsidered by the original assigned Agency. The outcome of the FMCSA review will be considered final.

The motor carrier industry and industry groups, including the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), have communicated to FMCSA the need for a standardized appeal process to eliminate disparities in handling RDRs and to ensure an impartial review of data-related concerns. The proposed appeal process is intended to create more consistency in how DataQs appeals are addressed across the Nation.

FMCSA is seeking public comments on the proposed DataQs appeal process. The comment period will be open until November 13, 2023. For more information about the proposal, including how to submit comments, visit the Federal Register docket.

FMCSA Further Enhances DataQs Website

On September 11, FMCSA released additional enhancements to the DataQs website.

The DataQs enhancements include:

• Help Center with new topic categories and a search feature to make it easier to find answers to questions.
• My DataQs Page with a new default search function that allows users to save frequently used search terms. This feature is useful for users who submit requests on behalf of multiple drivers or motor carriers.
• Request Summary Page that makes it easier to track RDRs, upload documents, and correspond with the Agency responsible for handling the RDR.
• Mobile Device Compatibility designed with CMV drivers in mind so they can access DataQs at any time.

Accessing the DataQs Website

Motor carriers can log in with their FMCSA Portal username and password, and drivers can log in with a DataQs username and password.

To learn more or submit an RDR, log in to the DataQs website.

FMCSA has updated the Safety Measurement System (SMS) Website with the August 25, 2023 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

Note: the Prioritization Preview Website continues to be updated monthly alongside the SMS Website. Motor carriers can visit the Preview site and log in to see what their prioritization results would be under the proposed new methodology.

FMCSA has updated the Safety Measurement System (SMS) Website with the July 28, 2023 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

Note: the Prioritization Preview Website continues to be updated monthly alongside the SMS Website. Motor carriers can visit the Preview site and log in to see what their prioritization results would be under the proposed new methodology.

FMCSA has updated the Safety Measurement System (SMS) Website with the June 30, 2023 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

FMCSA has updated the Safety Measurement System (SMS) Website with the May 26, 2023 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

Last Call for Comments on Crash Preventability Determination Program

The comment period is ending on June 12, 2023, for the Federal Register Notice regarding proposed changes to the Crash Preventability Determination Program. Your input can help improve the program and prevent future crashes.

New Resource Outlines Clearinghouse Return-to-Duty Process for CDL Drivers

A driver with a drug and alcohol program violation is prohibited from performing safety-sensitive functions, including operating CMVs, for any DOT-regulated employer until the return-to-duty process is complete. Beginning November 18, 2024, as part of new Federal regulations, drivers with a “prohibited” status in FMCSA’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse will lose or be denied their State-issued commercial driving privileges. FMCSA recently added a new resource to the Clearinghouse Learning Center that outlines the return-to-duty process that drivers with a “prohibited” Clearinghouse status must complete so they can get their status back to “not prohibited.” For more information about the return-to-duty process, visit the Clearinghouse Learning Center or frequently asked questions.

FMCSA has updated the Safety Measurement System (SMS) Website with the April 28, 2023 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

Submit Your Feedback on FMCSA’s Proposed Changes to SMS

FMCSA has announced proposed changes to SMS to reduce and prevent crashes. Motor carriers can visit the CSA Prioritization Preview website, log in, and preview how their own data would appear under the proposal. Companies are encouraged to preview their prioritization results and submit their feedback on these proposed changes to FMCSA at regulations.gov. Other users will be able to review sample pages. FMCSA strongly encourages stakeholders to participate in the preview and submit their comments to the public docket. Comments are due by May 16, 2023. Learn more at https://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/prioritizationpreview.

FMCSA Seeks Comments on Proposed Changes to Crash Preventability Determination Program 

Since May 2020, FMCSA has been operating the Crash Preventability Determination Program (CPDP) and reviewing 16 specific crash types. FMCSA proposes changes to the CPDP. Based on the Agency’s experiences with the program, FMCSA proposes modifying existing crash types to broaden eligibility and remove the distinction between direct and indirect strikes. The proposal also differentiates some types for improved reporting and use of the data to identify ways to reduce crashes involving non-motorists, in alignment with the Department of Transportation’s National Roadway Safety Strategy at https://www.transportation.gov/NRSS. FMCSA also proposes that four new crash types be included in the program.

The Agency’s SMS uses safety performance information and recordable crashes involving commercial motor vehicles to prioritize carriers for safety interventions. The Crash Indicator Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) uses crashes from the previous 24 months to calculate percentiles for motor carriers. FMCSA is better positioned to identify unsafe carrier and driver behaviors and prioritize carriers for interventions, by excluding not preventable crashes when calculating a motor carrier’s Crash Indicator BASIC measure and percentile. Not preventable determinations are also noted in FMCSA’s Pre-employment Screening Program.

FMCSA seeks public comments on the proposed changes to the program. The comment period will be open for 60 days. For more information about the proposal, including how to submit comments to the Federal Register docket, click on the following link: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/04/13/2023-07818/crash-preventability-determination-program.

Learn more about FMCSA’s CPDP at https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/crash-preventability-determination-program.

FMCSA has updated the Safety Measurement System (SMS) Website with the March 31, 2023
results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

With the March 31, 2023 SMS results, FMCSA has updated the SMS methodology to include the latest changes to violations recorded as part of the roadside inspection program. FMCSA has released new software used to record violations found during roadside inspections. This software often uses different violation codes from existing software. To account for these new violation codes, SMS has incorporated violations cited under these new codes that were discovered on and after February 1, 2023. Only violations cited on or after February 1 are included in SMS calculations. For more details and a complete list of violations, see the SMS Appendix A spreadsheet.

FMCSA Wants to Hear Your Feedback on the Proposed Changes to SMS

FMCSA has announced proposed changes to SMS to reduce and prevent crashes. Motor carriers can visit the CSA Prioritization Preview website, log in, and preview how their own data would appear under the proposal. Companies are encouraged to preview their prioritization results and submit their feedback on these proposed changes to FMCSA at regulations.gov. Other users will be able to review sample pages.
FMCSA strongly encourages stakeholders to participate in the preview and submit their comments to the public docket. Comments are due by May 16, 2023. Learn more at https://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/prioritizationpreview.

Clearinghouse Query Notifications Update

As of March 8, 2023, an employer is notified via email when a driver they have queried has new information recorded in their Clearinghouse record within 12 months of a pre-employment or annual query. The Query History is also updated to reflect when new information is available. Within 24 hours of receiving a notification, the employer should complete a full follow-on query to determine if the new information results in the driver having a prohibited status; there is no charge for this follow-on query.

For more details, see the new and updated frequently asked questions on employer notifications and annual queries. All frequently asked questions are available on the Clearinghouse website.

FMCSA has updated the Safety Measurement System (SMS) Website with the February 24, 2023 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

Send FMCSA Your Feedback on the Proposed Changes to SMS 

FMCSA has announced proposed changes to SMS to reduce and prevent crashes. A new website, the CSA Prioritization Preview, which is now live, is the first phase of planned updates to the methods used in the Agency’s SMS. During this phase, motor carriers can visit the website, log in, and preview how their own data would appear under the new proposal. Companies are encouraged to preview their prioritization results and submit their feedback on these proposed changes to FMCSA at regulations.gov. Other users will be able to review sample pages.

FMCSA strongly encourages stakeholders to participate in the preview and submit their comments to the public docket. Comments are due by May 16, 2023. You can also register to attend a public Q&A webinars, which are being held March 7, March 14, and March 15. Learn more at https://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/prioritizationpreview

FMCSA has updated the Safety Measurement System (SMS) Website with the January 27, 2023 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

FMCSA Announces Proposed Improvements to SMS to Prevent Crashes

FMCSA has announced proposed changes to SMS to reduce and prevent crashes. A new website, the CSA Prioritization Preview, which is now live, is the first phase of planned updates to the methods used in the Agency’s SMS. During this phase, motor carriers can visit the website, log in, and preview how their own data would appear under the new proposal. Companies are encouraged to preview their prioritization results and submit their feedback on these proposed changes to FMCSA at the Federal Register website. Other users will be able to review sample pages.

FMCSA strongly encourages stakeholders to participate in the preview and submit their comments to the public docket during the 90-day comment period. You can also register to attend a public Q&A webinar. Learn more at https://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/prioritizationpreview.

FMCSA has updated the SMS Website with the December 30, 2022 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

As of December 1, 2022, SMS now includes the following ELD violation in the HOS Compliance BASIC with a severity weight of 3:

• 395.24D: ELD cannot transfer ELD records electronically

Violations cited prior to December 1, 2022 will not be used in the SMS calculations. This update further aligns SMS with the latest changes to violations recorded as part of FMCSA’s roadside inspection program. More details are available in Version 3.14 of the SMS Methodology document and the SMS Appendix A spreadsheet.

Pre-employment Investigations for Drug and Alcohol Program Violations 

As of January 6, 2023, the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse now contains three years of data. This means that a pre-employment Clearinghouse query satisfies the requirement to investigate a prospective driver's previous drug and alcohol program violations, as set forth in 49 CFR 391.23(e)(4) and 382.413(b), as it pertains to FMCSA-regulated employers. Inquiries not conducted under § 382.701(a) will not satisfy these inquiry requirements. For more information, see the updated Clearinghouse frequently asked questions.

FMCSA has updated the SMS Website with the November 25, 2022 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

As of December 1, 2022, SMS now includes the following ELD violation in the HOS Compliance BASIC with a severity weight of 3:

• 395.24D: ELD cannot transfer ELD records electronically

This violation will be reflected in the December 30, 2022 SMS run, which will be released in early January. Violations cited prior to December 1, 2022 will not be used in the SMS calculations. This change will further align SMS with the latest changes to violations recorded as part of FMCSA’s roadside inspection program.

Stand Against Impaired Driving: Query the Clearinghouse

Together with our partners in the industry, FMCSA is working to increase the number of employers of CDL drivers registered for and querying the Clearinghouse, as required by Federal regulations. By helping ensure that your peers, clients, members, and other stakeholders are educated about their Clearinghouse requirements, you are helping to prevent impaired driving of CMVs, and helping to make our Nation’s roads safer for everyone. FMCSA partners can download materials to help educate stakeholders about their requirements under the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse at https://clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov/Resource/Page/Stand-Against-Impaired-Driving.

FMCSA has updated the SMS Website with the October 28, 2022 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

Pre-employment Investigations for Drug and Alcohol Program Violations 

Employers of CDL drivers are currently required to conduct both electronic queries in the Clearinghouse and manual inquiries with previous employers to meet the three-year time frame for pre-employment background investigations established in 49 CFR 391.23(e). Beginning January 6, 2023, when three years of data is stored in the Clearinghouse, prospective employers must conduct a pre-employment query of the Clearinghouse, as set forth in § 382.701(a), to comply with the inquiry requirement in §§ 382.413(b) and 391.23(e)(4), as it pertains to FMCSA-regulated employers. Inquiries not conducted under § 382.701(a) will not satisfy these inquiry requirements.

NOTE: The Clearinghouse contains only information about drivers employed by FMCSA-regulated employers. If a prospective employee was employed by an employer regulated by a Department of Transportation (DOT) agency other than FMCSA (such as the Federal Railroad Administration, Federal Transit Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, etc.) during the three-year time frame, prospective employers will still be required to directly request drug and alcohol violation information from those DOT-regulated employers in accordance with 391.23(e)(4)(ii), since this information is not reported to the Clearinghouse.

FMCSA has updated the SMS Website with the September 30, 2022 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

FMCSA has updated the SMS Website with the August 26, 2022 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

FMCSA has updated the SMS Website with the July 29, 2022 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

Note: The previous monthly What’s New stated that ELD violation 395.24(d) would be added to SMS as of July 1, 2022, and would be reflected in the July 29, 2022 snapshot. This update has been postponed, and no changes have been made to SMS for this snapshot. FMCSA will provide an update at a later date.

FMCSA Enhances DataQs Website

On August 1, 2022, FMCSA released enhancements to the DataQs website in response to user feedback. This release includes an updated homepage and registration process, revamped submission tool, and a new mobile-friendly design. Future releases are planned to enhance the other areas of the website. DataQs is an FMCSA system that allows users to request and track a review of Federal and State data issued by FMCSA believed to be incomplete or incorrect. It enables all users to improve the accuracy of FMCSA's data-driven safety systems that help prevent crashes, injuries, and fatalities related to commercial motor vehicles. Motor carriers log in with your FMCSA Portal username and password, and drivers log in with a DataQs username and password. Visit DataQs at https://dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov to learn more. DataQs is also the system for submitting eligible crashes to the Agency’s Crash Preventability Determination Program.

Reminder: Employers Must Provide List of SAPs to Employees Who Incur Drug and Alcohol Program Violations

A driver with a verified drug and alcohol program violation is prohibited from performing safety-sensitive functions until he or she completes the return-to-duty (RTD) process. The RTD process is initiated by an initial assessment completed by a substance abuse professional (SAP).

Per § 40.287, if an employee (including an applicant or new employee) violates a USDOT drug and alcohol regulation, the employer must provide a list of acceptable SAPs readily available to the employee. The list must include SAP names, addresses, and telephone numbers. Employers cannot charge the employee any fees for compiling or providing this list, and they may provide this list themselves or through a C/TPA or other service agent.

FMCSA has updated the SMS Website with the June 24, 2022 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

Starting on July 1, 2022, SMS will include the following ELD violation in the HOS Compliance BASIC with a severity weight of 3:

• 395.24D: ELD cannot transfer ELD records electronically

Violations cited prior to July 1, 2022 will not be used in the SMS calculations. This change will further align SMS with the latest changes to violations recorded as part of FMCSA’s roadside inspection program and will be reflected in the July 29, 2022 SMS run, which will be released in early August.

Reminder: USDOT CBD Products and Medical Marijuana Use Policy 

Employers and drivers are reminded that 49 CFR Part 40 does not authorize the use of Schedule I drugs, including marijuana, for any reason. A physician recommendation for medical marijuana or use of a CBD product is not a legitimate medical explanation for a laboratory-confirmed marijuana positive result. Positive drug tests account for 82% of the total violations reported in the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse since January 6, 2020. As of the April 2022 Clearinghouse monthly report, marijuana has been detected in almost half of all the drug tests that have been reported in the Clearinghouse (negative test results are not reported). Since the use of CBD products could lead to a positive drug test result, USDOT-regulated CDL drivers should exercise caution when considering whether to use CBD products. For more information, read the USDOT’s “Medical Marijuana Notice” and “CBD Notice”.

FMCSA has updated the SMS Website with the May 27, 2022 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

FMCSA has updated the SMS Website with the March 25, 2022 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

FMCSA has updated the SMS Website with the February 25, 2022 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

Have You Completed Your Annual Clearinghouse Queries?

In addition to conducting pre-employment queries, employers are required to query each CDL driver they employ at least once a year. The annual query is tracked on a rolling 12-month basis. This means if you conducted your last annual queries before March 2021, it is time to conduct your next round of annual queries. Log in to the Clearinghouse and visit your Query History page to see if your annual queries are due. For instructions on conducting annual queries, download the How to Conduct a Limited Query job aid.

FMCSA has updated the SMS Website with the January 28, 2022 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

FMCSA Launches Training Provider Registry

On February 7, 2022, FMCSA launched the Training Provider Registry as part of the implementation of the new Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) regulations. Any entity that provides entry-level driver training, which may include motor carriers, owner-operators, and individuals, must register in the Training Provider Registry and use it to submit certification when a driver completes their entry-level driver training. Drivers who are subject to the ELDT regulations must use the Training Provider Registry to search for a registered training provider. Visit the Training Provider Registry to learn more and, if you provide entry-level driver training, to register.

FMCSA has updated the SMS Website with the December 31, 2021 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

With this update, FMCSA has aligned SMS with the latest changes to violations recorded as part of the roadside inspection program. FMCSA added Other Log/Form & Manner violation 395.22(b)(2)(ii) to the HOS Compliance BASIC. More details are available in Version 3.13 of the SMS Methodology.

Have You Completed Your Annual Clearinghouse Queries?

In addition to conducting pre-employment queries, employers are required to query each CDL driver they employ at least once a year. The annual query is tracked on a rolling 12-month basis. This means if you conducted your last annual queries in January 2021, it is time to conduct your next round of annual queries. Log in to the Clearinghouse and visit your Query History page to see if your annual queries are due. For instructions on conducting annual queries, download the How to Conduct a Limited Query job aid.

FMCSA has updated the SMS Website with the November 26, 2021 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

Clearinghouse Rule II – Employer Requirements Have Not Changed

On November 8, 2021, the second Clearinghouse final rule, Controlled Substances and Alcohol Testing: State Driver’s Licensing Agency Non-Issuance/Downgrade of Commercial Driver’s License; Correction, went into effect. While this rule addresses how States are required to use the information in the Clearinghouse, it does not change any of the requirements for employers to query Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) and commercial learner’s permit holders and report drug and alcohol program violations. All requirements established by the first Clearinghouse rule, remain in place. Download the brochures below to learn more about these requirements. 

• Employer brochure 
• Owner-operator brochure 

Have you completed your annual queries?

In addition to conducting pre-employment queries, employers are required to query each CDL holder they employ at least once a year. The annual query is tracked on a rolling 12-month basis. This means if you conducted your last annual queries in December 2020, it is time to conduct your next round of annual queries. Log in to the Clearinghouse and visit your Query History page to see if your annual queries are due. For instructions on conducting annual queries, download the How to Conduct a Limited Query job aid.

FMCSA has updated the SMS Website with the October 29, 2021 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

Warning Letters Sent Based on Unsafe Driving BASIC Results

FMCSA recently changed which carriers are sent warning letters based on Unsafe Driving BASIC results. Previously, carriers could receive warning letters for this BASIC if they met the prioritization threshold for interventions or further monitoring (50% for passenger carriers, 60% for HM carriers, and 65% for all other carriers). With the September 24, 2021 snapshot, all carriers may receive warning letters for this BASIC if their percentile is at 50% or above. FMCSA is sending warning letters to more carriers based on Unsafe Driving BASIC results, so they have the chance to improve their safety performance and compliance sooner, and without further intervention.

The percentile thresholds for prioritization are not changing. Carriers that have BASICs with an “Alert” symbol (gold triangle with an exclamation point) may be prioritized for interventions or further monitoring. This is simply an update to when carriers are eligible to receive warning letters for the Unsafe Driving BASIC. The prioritization thresholds are still used as the basis for sending out warning letters for the other BASICs.

If you have any additional questions on this change, contact the CSA Outreach InfoLine Team at 1-877-254-5365.

FMCSA has updated the SMS Website with the September 24, 2021 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

FMCSA has updated the SMS Website with the August 27, 2021 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

With this snapshot, FMCSA has aligned SMS with the latest changes to violations recorded as part of the roadside inspection program. Changes include:

• Adding False Log violation 395.8E1PC to the HOS Compliance BASIC
• Removing General Driver Qualification violation 177.816 from the Driver Fitness BASIC

More details on these violation changes are available in version 3.12 of the SMS Methodology.

Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse Registration for Student Drivers

FMCSA has updated the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse registration process to clarify how student drivers with a commercial driver’s license (CDL) or commercial learner’s permit (CLP) will register.

• Student drivers who are employed by a motor carrier must register as a driver (download instructions).
• Student drivers in a training program that is not affiliated with or operated by a motor carrier must register as a student driver (download instructions). This allows these individuals to designate a consortium/third-party administration (C/TPA), which is required to fulfill their drug and alcohol testing requirements.

Employers of CDL holders are also reminded that they are required to register in the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, and to conduct queries on CDL holders they currently employ or are considering hiring. Use the interactive Employer Registration Guide to determine which registration path you will follow, download step-by-step instructions, and register today.

FMCSA has updated the SMS Website with the July 30, 2021 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

FMCSA has updated the SMS Website with the June 25, 2021 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

Updated Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse User Brochures Now Available

FMCSA has posted updated materials to help CDL drivers and their employers register for and get started using the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse.

Why must employers register?

• To conduct queries on all potential new hires, and at least annually on all current employees who perform safety-sensitive functions, such as operate a commercial motor vehicle.
• To report driver violations (positive alcohol tests, test refusals not reported by a medical review officer [MRO], and actual knowledge of violations).

Why should drivers register?

Drivers must be registered in the Clearinghouse when applying for a job with a new employer. Their registration must include a verified CDL number to respond to employer consent requests. Drivers may view their own Clearinghouse record at any time.

How should self-employed CDL drivers register?

CDL drivers who operate under their own authority (often called owner-operators, typically a single-driver operation) must register as an employer and designate a consortium/third-party administrator (C/TPA) in the Clearinghouse. Owner-operators can also add their CDL information to add a driver role, which allows them to respond to query consent requests from their C/TPA.

Download the revised user brochures to learn more:

• Driver Brochure
• Employer Brochure
• Owner-Operator Brochure

For more information, including step-by-step instructions on how to register and more, visit the Clearinghouse Learning Center.

FMCSA has updated the SMS Website with the January 29, 2021 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

FMCSA has updated the SMS Website with the December 18, 2020 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

FMCSA has updated the SMS Website with the October 30, 2020 results.

Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website..

Have You Conducted Your Annual Queries in the Clearinghouse?

Per § 382.701, employers of CDL drivers must conduct a query in the Clearinghouse at least once per year for each CDL driver they employ, and before hiring a prospective driver. The annual query requirement is tracked on a rolling 12-month basis. Download the Queries and Consent Requests Factsheet to learn more.

Employers of CDL drivers must purchase a query plan to meet this regulatory requirement.

Registered employers may purchase query plans only on the FMCSA Clearinghouse website. Consortia/third-party administrators (C/TPAs) may not purchase query plans on behalf of an employer. A separate query plan must be purchased for each individual company.

• Learn about query plans.
• Download instructions on how to purchase a query plan.
• If you are a registered employer, you can purchase your query plan today.
• If you are not registered, you can register now.

FMCSA has updated the SMS Website with the September 25, 2020 results. With this snapshot, FMCSA has aligned the violations used in SMS to reflect the latest changes to violations recorded as part of the roadside inspection program. A summary of the violation changes is available in the SMS Appendix A spreadsheet.

Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS Website.

Three Months Left to Meet Clearinghouse Annual Query Requirement

If an employer has not yet conducted queries in the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse on any CDL drivers they currently employ, time is running out. The deadline to meet the annual query requirement § 382.701, is January 5, 2021.

This annual query requirement is tracked on a rolling 12-month basis. For instance, if an employer conducts a query of a CDL driver on October 9, 2020, the employer will not need to query that driver again until October 9, 2021.

Employers must purchase a query plan to ensure they, and their designated consortia/third-party administrators (C/TPAs), can conduct queries on prospective and current drivers. Learn more about query plans.

Be sure to register for the Clearinghouse and conduct your annual queries today. To learn more, download the queries and consent requests factsheet.

FMCSA has updated the CSA SMS Website with the August 28, 2020 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. To log in, you will be asked to enter your USDOT Number and FMCSA-issued PIN. (Misplaced your PIN? If you are a registered motor carrier you can request your PIN from FMCSA, to be delivered via email or mail.)

Have You Conducted Your Annual Queries in the Clearinghouse Yet?

Per § 382.701, employers of CDL drivers must conduct a query of the Clearinghouse at least once per year for each CDL driver they employ. The annual query requirement is tracked on a rolling 12-month basis. The one-year time frame resets with each query conducted on a driver.

A limited query satisfies the annual query requirement. Employers must obtain a general consent from CDL drivers they employ before conducting limited queries in the Clearinghouse to view these drivers’ information (you can download a sample limited query consent form).

Per § 382.701, employers of CDL drivers must conduct a query of the Clearinghouse at least once per year for each CDL driver they employ. The annual query requirement is tracked on a rolling 12-month basis. The one-year time frame resets with each query conducted on a driver.

A limited query satisfies the annual query requirement. Employers must obtain a general consent from CDL drivers they employ before conducting limited queries in the Clearinghouse to view these drivers’ information (you can download a sample limited query consent form).

You can log in to the Clearinghouse and conduct your annual queries today. To learn more, download the queries and consent requests factsheet.

FMCSA Updates SMS Website

FMCSA has updated the CSA SMS Website with the July 31, 2020 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. If you are a motor carrier and do not have login credentials, please click here for more information on how to obtain your PIN.

Per § 382.701, employers of CDL drivers must conduct a query of the Clearinghouse at least once per year for each CDL driver they employ. The annual query requirement is tracked on a rolling 12-month basis. The one-year time frame resets with each query conducted on a driver.

A limited query satisfies the annual query requirement. Employers must obtain a general consent from CDL drivers they employ before conducting limited queries in the Clearinghouse to view these drivers’ information (you can download a sample limited query consent form).

You can log in to the Clearinghouse and conduct your annual queries today. To learn more, download the queries and consent requests factsheet.

FMCSA Updates SMS Website

FMCSA has updated the CSA SMS Website with the June 26, 2020 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in enforcement users can view all carrier safety data, while logged-in motor carriers can only view their own data. If you are a motor carrier and do not have login credentials, please click here for more information on how to obtain your PIN.

Motor carriers participating in FMCSA's Crash Preventability Determination Program (CPDP) will see their Safety Measurement System (SMS) information change within 60 days after the Agency’s determinations. FMCSA will continue to list all crashes on the SMS Website. However, crashes determined to be Not Preventable through the CPDP will appear in a separate table titled "Reviewed - Not Preventable Crashes." In addition, crashes found to be Not Preventable by the CPDP will not be included in the carrier's Crash Indicator Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) measure and percentile.

Crashes determined to be Preventable and Undecided will be included in the display on SMS with notations that read, "Reviewed - Preventable: FMCSA reviewed this crash and determined that it was Preventable" or "Reviewed - Undecided: FMCSA reviewed this crash and could not make a preventability determination based on the evidence provided". These crashes will be included in the Crash Indicator BASIC measures and percentiles. Crashes reviewed as part of the Agency's previous demonstration program continue to be listed and continue to be included in the Crash Indicator BASIC.

For more information, please visit the Crash Preventability Determination Program page. The website includes a detailed submitter guide explaining how to submit Requests for Data Review in DataQs, an eligibility guide for the 16 crash types, frequently asked questions, and more.

FMCSA Updates SMS Website

FMCSA has updated the CSA SMS Website with the May 29, 2020 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS . Logged-in enforcement users can view all carrier safety data, while logged-in motor carriers can only view their own data. If you are a motor carrier and do not have login credentials, please click here for more information on how to obtain your PIN.

Those subject to the Clearinghouse final rule must now access the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse to fulfill the requirements listed in 382.701.

Learn more about how employers, including owner-operators, are required to use the Clearinghouse:

• Download “how-to” guides in the Clearinghouse Learning Center.
• Search the Clearinghouse FAQs .
• Watch a recording of a Q&A webinar for employers, drivers, and C/TPAs .
• Subscribe to email updates from FMCSA.

If you have not yet done so, register for the Clearinghouse so you can meet your querying and reporting requirements. (If you have an FMCSA Portal account, ensure you have the correct Portal user role in place. If you are experiencing issues creating or accessing your Portal account, contact 1-800-832-5660.)

FMCSA Updates SMS Website

FMCSA has updated the CSA SMS Website with the February 28, 2020 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in enforcement users can view all carrier safety data, while logged-in motor carriers can only view their own data. If you are a motor carrier and do not have login credentials, please click here for more information on how to obtain your PIN.

The FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse was implemented on January 6, 2020. Those subject to the Clearinghouse final rule must now access the Clearinghouse to fulfill the requirements listed in §382.701.

Learn more about how employers, including owner-operators, are required to use the Clearinghouse:

• Watch a recording of a Q&A webinar for employers, drivers, and C/TPAs.
• Visit the enhanced Clearinghouse Learning Center and download resources specifically designed for employers and owner-operators.
• Search the Clearinghouse FAQs to find answers to your Clearinghouse questions.
• Stay up-to-date with news and announcements about the Clearinghouse by subscribing to email updates from FMCSA.

If you have not yet done so, register for the Clearinghouse so you can meet your querying and reporting requirements. (If you have an FMCSA Portal account, ensure you have the correct Portal user role in place.)

FMCSA Updates SMS Website

FMCSA has updated the CSA SMS Website with the January 31, 2020 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in enforcement users can view all carrier safety data, while logged-in motor carriers can only view their own data. If you are a motor carrier and do not have login credentials, please click here for more information on how to obtain your PIN.

FMCSA has updated the CSA SMS Website with the December 27, 2019 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in enforcement users can view all carrier safety data, while logged-in motor carriers can only view their own data. If you are a motor carrier and do not have login credentials, please click here for more information on how to obtain your PIN.

• Conduct queries to access a driver’s Clearinghouse record, after obtaining the driver’s consent. Beginning January 6, you will be required to conduct a full query in the Clearinghouse before hiring any CDL driver.
• Designate a consortium/third-party administrator (C/TPA), if you work with one, which enables your C/TPA to access the Clearinghouse on your behalf. This is a requirement of all owner-operators.
• Purchase a query plan which must be in place before you, or your designated C/TPA, can conduct queries.
• Report violations of FMCSA’s drug and alcohol testing program.

You can prepare for January 6 by registering for the Clearinghouse. (If you have an FMCSA Portal account, ensure you have the correct Portal user role in place.)

FMCSA Updates SMS Website

FMCSA has updated the CSA SMS Website with the November 29, 2019 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in enforcement users can view all carrier safety data, while logged-in motor carriers can only view their own data. If you are a motor carrier and do not have login credentials, please click here for more information on how to obtain your PIN.

Employers of CDL drivers can now purchase a query plan in the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. Purchasing a query plan enables employers, and their designated consortia/third-party administrators (C/TPAs), to conduct queries for all current and potential new employees, as required per § 382.701. This requirement includes owner-operators (drivers who own their own business and employ themselves as CDL drivers).

Query plans may be purchased only on the FMCSA Clearinghouse website by registered employers. Visit https://clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov/query/plan to learn more. Registered employers can purchase a query plan today.

FMCSA Updates SMS Website

FMCSA has updated the CSA SMS Website with the October 25, 2019 results. Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in enforcement users can view all carrier safety data, while logged-in motor carriers can only view their own data. If you are a motor carrier and do not have login credentials, please click here for more information on how to obtain your PIN.

• Employer
• CDL driver (includes CLP drivers)
• Consortium/third-party administrator (C/TPA)
• Medical review officer (MRO)
• Substance abuse professional (SAP)
• Clearinghouse Assistant (learn more about Clearinghouse Assistants)

If you employ yourself as a CDL driver, register as an employer and, when asked, indicate that you are an owner-operator (that is, an employer who employs himself or herself as a CDL driver, typically a single-driver operation).

FMCSA Updates SMS Website

FMCSA has updated the CSA SMS Website with the September 27, 2019 results.

Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in enforcement users can view all carrier safety data, while logged-in motor carriers can only view their own data. If you are a motor carrier and do not have login credentials, please click here for more information on how to obtain your PIN.

FMCSA has updated the CSA SMS Website with the August 30, 2019 results.

Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in enforcement users can view all carrier safety data, while logged-in motor carriers can only view their own data. If you are a motor carrier and do not have login credentials, please click here for more information on how to obtain your PIN.

Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse Query Plan Details Now Available

FMCSA has released query plan options for employers of CDL drivers. Query plan information is available in this factsheet and it is also available for download on the Clearinghouse website. Query plans will be available for purchase fall 2019. Learn more about query plans.

Questions
If you have any questions, please reach out to the Clearinghouse Team at clearinghouse@dot.gov.

FMCSA has released query plan options for employers of CDL drivers. Query plan information is available in this factsheet and it is also available for download on the Clearinghouse website.
Query plans will be available for purchase fall 2019. Learn more about query plans.

Questions?
If you have any questions, please reach out to the Clearinghouse Team at clearinghouse@dot.gov

FMCSA has updated the CSA SMS Website with the July 26, 2019 results.

Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in enforcement users can view all carrier safety data, while logged-in motor carriers can only view their own data. If you are a motor carrier and do not have login credentials, please click here for more information on how to obtain your PIN.

FMCSA has updated the CSA SMS Website with the June 28, 2019 results.

Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in enforcement users can view all carrier safety data, while logged-in motor carriers can only view their own data. If you are a motor carrier and do not have login credentials, please click here for more information on how to obtain your PIN.

FMCSA has updated the CSA SMS Website with the May 31, 2019 results.

Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in enforcement users can view all carrier safety data, while logged-in motor carriers can only view their own data. If you are a motor carrier and do not have login credentials, please click here for more information on how to obtain your PIN.

FMCSA Updates Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse Website

Beginning January 6, 2020, all employers subject to FMCSA’s Drug and Alcohol Program requirements will be required to report and query drug and alcohol violation information in the forthcoming Commercial Driver’s License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse (Clearinghouse). Recently, FMCSA enhanced the Clearinghouse website with news and resources designed to help motor carriers and other users prepare for their role in the Clearinghouse. Updates include a new User Roles card, which summarizes the actions different types of users will take in the Clearinghouse, an interactive timeline, and additional frequently asked questions. Visit https://clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov to learn more and to sign up to receive email notifications when more information is available.

Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in enforcement users can view all carrier safety data, while logged-in motor carriers can only view their own data. If you are a motor carrier and do not have login credentials, please click here for more information on how to obtain your PIN.

FMCSA has updated the CSA SMS Website with the March 29, 2019 results.

With this release, motor carriers logged into SMS will have access to a new online interface to upload investigation documents – the Carrier Dashboard. This interface allows carriers streamlined access to better understand SMS results, learn how to improve, or go straight into their data. Carriers with open investigations can track their investigation progress online, check due dates of requested documents, or securely upload required documents—all in one place.

Motor carriers participating in FMCSA's Crash Preventability Demonstration Program will continue to see the Agency's final determinations on SMS for crashes reviewed as part of the program. Logged-in carriers and enforcement users with crashes determined to be Not Preventable as part of the program can view measures and percentiles calculated with and without those crashes.

FMCSA Launches Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse Website

In March, FMCSA released a website with new resources with information about the Commercial Driver's License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. Visit https://clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov to learn more about how CDL drivers and their employers will be required to use the Clearinghouse beginning January 6, 2020. You can also sign up now to receive email updates.

This week, FMCSA launched a new website with information about the Commercial Driver’s License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. Visit https://clearinghouse.fmcsa.dot.gov to learn more about how CDL drivers and their employers will be required to use the Clearinghouse beginning January 6, 2020. You will be able to sign up for email updates.

FMCSA Updates SMS Website

FMCSA has updated the CSA SMS Website with the February 22, 2019 results.

Motor carriers participating in FMCSA’s Crash Preventability Demonstration Program will continue to see the Agency’s final determinations on SMS for crashes reviewed as part of the program. Logged-in carriers and enforcement users with crashes determined to be Not Preventable as part of the program can view measures and percentiles calculated with and without those crashes.

FMCSA recently launched the Motor Carrier Safety Planner, a new online guide to help large truck and bus companies better understand and comply with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. The safety planner provides plain-language summaries of safety regulations along with sample forms and templates.

Visit the Motor Carrier Safety Planner site to watch video tutorials and learn how to build your personalized planner today.

FMCSA Updates SMS Website

FMCSA has updated the CSA SMS Website with the January 25, 2019 results.

Motor carriers participating in FMCSA’s Crash Preventability Demonstration Program will continue to see the Agency’s final determinations on SMS for crashes reviewed as part of the program. Logged-in carriers and enforcement users with crashes determined to be Not Preventable as part of the program can view measures and percentiles calculated with and without those crashes.

Motor carriers participating in FMCSA’s Crash Preventability Demonstration Program will continue to see the Agency’s final determinations on SMS for crashes reviewed as part of the program. Logged-in carriers and enforcement users with crashes determined to be Not Preventable as part of the program can view measures and percentiles calculated with and without those crashes.

Motor carriers participating in FMCSA’s Crash Preventability Demonstration Program will continue to see the Agency’s final determinations on SMS for crashes reviewed as part of the program. Logged-in carriers and enforcement users with crashes determined to be Not Preventable as part of the program can view measures and percentiles calculated with and without those crashes.

Motor carriers participating in FMCSA’s Crash Preventability Demonstration Program will continue to see the Agency’s final determinations on SMS for crashes reviewed as part of the program. Logged-in carriers and enforcement users with crashes determined to be Not Preventable as part of the program can view measures and percentiles calculated with and without those crashes.

Motor carriers participating in FMCSA’s Crash Preventability Demonstration Program will continue to see the Agency’s final determinations on SMS for crashes reviewed as part of the program. Logged-in carriers and enforcement users with crashes determined to be Not Preventable as part of the program can view measures and percentiles calculated with and without those crashes.

Motor carriers participating in FMCSA’s Crash Preventability Demonstration Program will continue to see the Agency’s final determinations on SMS for crashes reviewed as part of the program. Logged-in carriers and enforcement users with crashes determined to be Not Preventable as part of the program can view measures and percentiles calculated with and without those crashes.

FMCSA has updated the CSA SMS Website with the June 29, 2018 results.

Motor carriers participating in FMCSA’s Crash Preventability Demonstration Program will continue to see the Agency’s final determinations on SMS for crashes reviewed as part of the program. Logged-in carriers and enforcement users with crashes determined to be Not Preventable as part of the program can view measures and percentiles calculated with and without those crashes.

FMCSA Correlation Study Corrective Action Plan Released

FMCSA has delivered its Correlation Study Corrective Action Plan to Congress and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). Building on FMCSA’s commitment to continual improvement, the corrective action plan outlines how the Agency will address the recommendations made in the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report, titled “Improving Motor Carrier Safety Measurement.” Additional information on the corrective action plan is available here.

In support of this effort, FMCSA has removed the public SMS Preview site, which displayed proposed enhancements to the SMS, released prior to the NAS report. FMCSA announced this change in a Federal Register Notice published this week.

FMCSA has updated the CSA SMS Website with the May 25, 2018 results.

Reminder: Motor carriers that received violations related to Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) will see them reflected in their HOS Compliance BASIC in the SMS. ELD violations found during roadside inspections are in effect in the SMS as of April 1, 2018.

Crash Preventability Demonstration Program

Carriers participating in FMCSA’s Crash Preventability Demonstration Program will continue to see the Agency’s final determinations on SMS for crashes reviewed as part of the program. Logged-in carriers and enforcement users with crashes determined to be Not Preventable as part of the program can view measures and percentiles calculated with and without those crashes.

FMCSA has updated the CSA SMS Website with the April 27, 2018 results.

Motor carriers that received violations related to Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs), found during roadside inspections that occurred as of April 1, 2018, will see them reflected in their HOS Compliance BASIC in the SMS.

In addition, FMCSA also made violation changes to the SMS for consistency. More information is available in the SMS Methodology document and the SMS Appendix A spreadsheet.

Crash Preventability Demonstration Program

Carriers participating in FMCSA’s Crash Preventability Demonstration Program will continue to see the Agency’s final determinations on SMS for crashes reviewed as part of the program. Logged-in carriers and enforcement users with crashes determined to be Not Preventable as part of the program can view measures and percentiles calculated with and without those crashes.

FMCSA has updated the CSA SMS Website with the March 30, 2018 results.

Motor carriers participating in FMCSA’s Crash Preventability Demonstration Program will continue to see the Agency’s final determinations on SMS for crashes reviewed as part of the program. Logged-in carriers and enforcement users with crashes determined to be Not Preventable as part of the program can view measures and percentiles calculated with and without those crashes.

ELD Violations in SMS

As of April 1, 2018, violations related to Electronic Logging Device (ELD) regulations found during roadside inspections are being used in the SMS. These violations are not being applied retroactively; violations recorded prior to April 1, 2018 will not be counted in SMS. Motor carriers that have received ELD-related violations will start to see them reflected in their HOS Compliance BASIC in early May 2018 when the next monthly SMS results are released.

A complete list of the ELD violations and their severity weights is available in the SMS Appendix A spreadsheet. The SMS Methodology document will be updated following the May release.

Motor carriers participating in FMCSA’s Crash Preventability Demonstration Program will continue to see the Agency’s final determinations on SMS for crashes reviewed as part of the program. Logged-in carriers and enforcement users with crashes determined to be Not Preventable as part of the program can view measures and percentiles calculated with and without those crashes.

Motor carriers participating in FMCSA’s Crash Preventability Demonstration Program will continue to see the Agency’s final determinations on SMS for crashes reviewed as part of the program. Logged-in carriers and enforcement users with crashes determined to be Not Preventable as part of the program can view measures and percentiles calculated with and without those crashes.

Motor carriers participating in FMCSA’s Crash Preventability Demonstration Program will continue to see the Agency’s final determinations on SMS for crashes reviewed as part of the program. Logged-in carriers and enforcement users with crashes determined to be Not Preventable as part of the program can view measures and percentiles calculated with and without those crashes.

With these new results, motor carriers participating in FMCSA's Crash Preventability Demonstration Program will continue to see the Agency's final determinations on SMS for crashes reviewed as part of the program. Logged-in carriers and enforcement users with crashes determined to be Not Preventable, as part of the program, can view measures and percentiles calculated with and without those crashes.

In addition, carriers can review statistics on Requests for Data Reviews submitted during the first quarter of the program on FMCSA's website. A list of final Not Preventable determinations is also available, which will be updated monthly. If at any time during the program, a party has documentation to refute a determination, please send it to: Crash.Preventability@dot.gov. FMCSA may revise final determinations after consideration of additional information received.

With these new results, motor carriers participating in FMCSA’s Crash Preventability Demonstration Program will see the Agency’s final determinations on SMS for crashes reviewed as part of the program.

Additional SMS results are available to enforcement users and carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in carriers with crashes determined to be Not Preventable, as part of the Crash Preventability Demonstration Program, can view measures and percentiles calculated with and without those crashes.

With these new results, motor carriers participating in FMCSA’s Crash Preventability Demonstration Program will see more of the Agency’s final determinations on SMS for crashes reviewed as part of the program.

FMCSA posts all crashes with preliminary determinations of Not Preventable to DataQs for 30 days to allow any member of the public with documentation or data that refutes the initial determination to submit it to the Crash Preventability Demonstration Program. Once FMCSA completes its review of a submitted crash, the Agency posts the final determination to the SMS within 60 days.

Additional SMS results are available to enforcement users and carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in carriers with crashes determined to be Not Preventable, as part of the Crash Preventability Demonstration Program, can view measures and percentiles calculated with and without those crashes.

For more information, please visit the Crash Preventability Demonstration Program page.

Additional SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in enforcement users can view all carrier safety data, while logged-in carriers can only view their own data.

Currently, the SMS allows carrier login via U.S. DOT Number and U.S. DOT Number PIN; however, FMCSA encourages carriers to log in using the FMCSA Portal. Carriers can register for Portal accounts here.

The meeting will be held at the FMCSA National Training Center, 1310 N. Courthouse Road, Suite 600, Arlington, VA 22201-2508. Those interested in attending this public meeting must register at: https://www.regonline.com/FMCSA_Correlation_Study_Action_PlanPublicMeeting. An agenda is also available at this link. Participants have the option of registering to attend in person or virtually via webinar.

More information on these violations is available in the SMS Methodology document and the SMS Appendix A spreadsheet.

In addition, FMCSA has updated the CSA SMS Website with the July 28, 2017 snapshot. Motor carriers can check their own safety assessments now.

Additional SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in enforcement users can view all carrier safety data, while logged-in carriers can only view their own data.

Currently, the SMS allows carrier login via U.S. DOT Number and U.S. DOT Number PIN; however, FMCSA encourages carriers to log in using the FMCSA Portal. Carriers can register for Portal accounts here.

Starting August 1, 2017, FMCSA will begin accepting Requests for Data Review (RDRs) in its DataQs system for certain crashes occurring on or after June 1, 2017. Information on the specific crash types that are eligible, the steps for submitting RDRs, and the process for making determinations can be found here. Motor carriers or drivers must submit compelling information and documentation to show that the crash was not preventable. Suggested documentation/evidence includes, but is not limited to, police accident reports, insurance documents, videos, and other documents described in the Federal Register notice.

During the Crash Preventability Demonstration Program, FMCSA will continue to list all crashes on the public Safety Measurement System (SMS) website. However, a crash with a final determination will appear with a note that FMCSA reviewed the crash and determined it was either Preventable or Not Preventable – or in some cases, Undecided, if FMCSA could not make a conclusive determination based on the evidence provided. The Crash Indicator BASIC percentiles will remain unavailable on the public view of FMCSA’s SMS website. For enforcement officials or carriers logged in and viewing their own profiles, two Crash Indicator BASIC percentiles will be calculated if there are Not Preventable final determinations – one with the Not Preventable crashes and one without.

Currently, the SMS allows motor carrier login via U.S. DOT Number and U.S. DOT Number PIN; however, FMCSA encourages motor carriers to log in using the FMCSA Portal. If you don’t have a Portal account, register for one today.

Currently, the SMS allows motor carrier login via U.S. DOT Number and U.S. DOT Number PIN; however, FMCSA encourages motor carriers to log in using the FMCSA Portal. If you don’t have a Portal account, register for one today.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released enhancements to the Safety Measurement System (SMS) to help large truck and bus companies have access to a more complete picture of their safety performance. These improvements are part of FMCSA’s commitment to continually align its regulations and IT systems to effectively identify large truck and bus companies with the highest safety risk and prioritize them for interventions.

For more information on SMS methodology updates and how motor carriers can improve their safety performance, visit the CSA Website, the SMS Methodology document, and the SMS Appendix A spreadsheet.

SMS Website Updated

In addition, FMCSA has updated the SMS Website with the April 28, 2017 snapshot. Motor carriers can check their own safety assessments now. Additional SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in enforcement users can view all motor carrier safety data, while logged-in carriers can only view their own data.

Currently, the SMS allows motor carrier login via U.S. DOT Number and U.S. DOT Number PIN; however, FMCSA encourages motor carriers to log in using the FMCSA Portal. If you don’t have a Portal account, register for one today. To register for a Portal account:

1. Visit the Portal’s Account Request page, or click the registration link on the Portal login screen
2. Select Company Employee or an Associate of a Company, and click Next
3. Enter your U.S. DOT Number, and click Lookup
4. Select Company Official from the Available Roles box, and click Add Role
5. Click Next
6. Follow the onscreen prompts to complete your registration

Once you have logged into the Portal, access your complete safety profile on the SMS Website by clicking on the A&I (SMS) link in the Available FMCSA Systems box in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is committed to continually updating the Safety Measurement System (SMS) to align with its regulations and IT systems to effectively identify large truck and bus companies with the highest safety risk and prioritize them for an intervention.

As part of this effort, FMCSA added a brakes out-of-service (OOS) violation, also known as cite 396.3A1BOS, to the SMS. The brakes OOS violation differs from other violations in the SMS. The brakes OOS violation relates directly to underlying brake violations that are already used in the SMS. It signifies an OOS condition based on the underlying violations noted under other cites. When these underlying brake violations indicate that 20% or more of the total brakes are defective, 396.3A1BOS is cited and recorded as an OOS violation. The brakes OOS violation provides carriers and Safety Investigators with a clearer picture of the brake issues that lead to an OOS condition.

The brakes OOS violation took effect in the SMS as of April 1, 2017 and has not been implemented retroactively. Violations cited before April 1 will not be used. Impacted carriers will see this change reflected in their Vehicle Maintenance Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) with the early May release. More information on this change will be available in the SMS Methodology document and in the SMS Appendix A spreadsheet with the May release.

SMS Website Updated

In addition, the CSA SMS Website has been updated with the March 31, 2017 snapshot. Motor carriers can check their own safety assessments now.

Additional SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in enforcement users can view all motor carrier safety data, while logged-in carriers can only view their own data. Currently, the SMS allows motor carrier login via U.S. DOT Number and U.S. DOT Number PIN; however, FMCSA encourages motor carriers to log in using the FMCSA Portal. If you don’t have a Portal account, register for one today.

To register for a Portal account:

1. Visit the Portal’s Account Request page, or click the registration link on the Portal login screen
2. Select Company Employee or an Associate of a Company, and click Next
3. Enter your U.S. DOT Number, and click Lookup
4. Select Company Official from the Available Roles box, and click Add Role
5. Click Next
6. Follow the onscreen prompts to complete your registration

Once you have logged into the Portal, access your complete safety profile on the SMS Website by clicking on the A&I (SMS) link in the Available FMCSA Systems box in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.

Additional SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in enforcement users can view all motor carrier safety data, while logged-in carriers can only view their own data. Currently, the SMS allows motor carrier login via U.S. DOT Number and U.S. DOT Number PIN; however, FMCSA encourages motor carriers to log in using the FMCSA Portal. If you don’t have a Portal account, register for one today.

To register for a Portal account:

1. Visit the Portal’s Account Request page, or click the registration link on the Portal login screen
2. Select Company Employee or an Associate of a Company, and click Next
3. Enter your U.S. DOT Number, and click Lookup
4. Select Company Official from the Available Roles box, and click Add Role
5. Click Next
6. Follow the onscreen prompts to complete your registration

Once you have logged into the Portal, access your complete safety profile on the SMS Website by clicking on the A&I (SMS) link in the Available FMCSA Systems box in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.

The enhanced website introduces carriers to Federal safety regulations and explains how FMCSA and State Partners monitor carrier safety compliance during the New Entrant Program, which they do by conducting a Safety Audit on new carriers. A Safety Audit is a review of a carrier’s safety management controls and a sample of required records to assess safety compliance.

To help carriers understand what to expect during a Safety Audit, FMCSA also launched a robust guidebook to help carriers prepare by gathering documentation that auditors might request to verify compliance with safety regulations. Once a carrier successfully completes the New Entrant Program, they continue to be monitored through roadside inspections and State crash reports under FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) safety compliance and enforcement program.

Through the website, carriers can access FMCSA resources and programs to help them operate safely every day, on every trip.

FMCSA encourages all carriers to visit the New Entrant Program Website to find the tools they need to perform safely on our Nation’s roads.

The redesigned website provides carriers with quick access to resources and plain-language answers to commonly asked questions, such as what to do next after receiving a warning letter. The new site also features an enhanced Help Center and an improved search functionality that gives visitors more ways to browse materials, including by topic, keyword, month, and page.

Visit the redesigned CSA Website today. If you have questions, please contact FMCSA’s CSA InfoLine Team by phone at (877) 254-5365 or by email.

In addition, the CSA Safety Measurement System (SMS) Website has been updated with the December 30, 2016 snapshot. Please note: as FMCSA continues to make system improvements, some State inspection and crash data is in the process of being uploaded and is currently unavailable. FMCSA is working with individual States to complete the data upload process and will provide additional updates as they become available. Motor carriers can check their own safety assessments now.

Additional SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in enforcement users can view all carrier safety data, while logged-in motor carriers can only view their own data. Currently, the SMS allows motor carrier login via U.S. DOT Number and U.S. DOT Number PIN. In the coming months, access by U.S. DOT Number and U.S. DOT Number PIN will be disabled on SMS and motor carriers will need to log in using the FMCSA Portal. To prepare for this transition, register for a Portal account today.

To register for a Portal account:

1. Visit the Portal’s Account Request page, or click the registration link on the Portal login screen
2. Select Company Employee or an Associate of a Company, and click Next
3. Enter your U.S. DOT Number, and click Lookup
4. Select Company Official from the Available Roles box, and click Add Role
5. Click Next
6. Follow the onscreen prompts to complete your registration

Once you have logged into the Portal, access your safety profile on the SMS Website by clicking on the A&I (SMS) link in the Available FMCSA Systems box in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.

• Display of the Safety Measurement System (SMS) Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) is currently disabled within the Portal. To view your SMS data, log into the CSA SMS Website.
• Not all State inspections/crashes are uploaded at this time. FMCSA is working/troubleshooting with some individual States to complete the inspection/crash upload.
• Individual Carrier Safety Profile generation is not working for some carriers. FMCSA is working to restore this functionality to all carriers.

FMCSA will provide further updates as they are available.

With this update, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has added 10 Acute/Critical Violations to the SMS to better align it with our regulations and IT systems. For a complete list of the Acute/Critical Violations, see the SMS Appendix A spreadsheet.

Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in enforcement users can view all carrier safety data, while logged-in motor carriers can only view their own data. Currently, the SMS allows motor carrier login via U.S. DOT Number and U.S. DOT Number PIN. In the coming months, access by U.S. DOT Number and U.S. DOT Number PIN will be disabled on SMS and motor carriers will need to log in using the FMCSA Portal. To prepare for this transition, register for a Portal account today.

To register for a Portal account:

1. Visit the Portal’s Account Request page or click the registration link on the Portal login screen
2. Select Company Employee or an Associate of a Company, and click Next
3. Enter your U.S. DOT Number, and click Lookup
4. Select Company Official from the Available Roles box, and click Add Role
5. Click Next
6. Follow the onscreen prompts to complete your registration

Once you have logged into the Portal, access your complete safety profile on the SMS Website by clicking on the A&I (SMS) link in the Available FMCSA Systems box in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.

System access is anticipated to be available starting on Monday, November 21, 2016 and service will be restored as soon as possible. FMCSA’s safety and enforcement programs and activities will be unaffected during this period.

Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in enforcement users can view all carrier safety data, while logged-in motor carriers can only view their own data. Currently, the SMS allows motor carrier login via U.S. DOT Number and U.S. DOT Number PIN. In the coming months, access by U.S. DOT Number and U.S. DOT Number PIN will be disabled on SMS and motor carriers will need to log in using the FMCSA Portal. To prepare for this transition, register for a Portal account today.

To register for a Portal account:

1. Visit the Portal’s Account Request page or click the registration link on the Portal login screen
2. Select Company Employee or an Associate of a Company, and click Next
3. Enter your U.S. DOT Number, and click Lookup
4. Select Company Official from the Available Roles box, and click Add Role
5. Click Next
6. Follow the onscreen prompts to complete your registration

Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in enforcement users can view all carrier safety data, while logged-in motor carriers can only view their own data. If you are a motor carrier and do not have login credentials, please click here for more information on how to obtain your PIN.

As first outlined in a June 29, 2015, Federal Register notice these proposed enhancements are a continuation of the Agency’s longstanding efforts to provide law enforcement, the motor carrier industry, and motor carriers with more informative safety data.

While today’s Federal Register announcement responds to comments received following the June 29, 2015 notice, no changes will be implemented in the public SMS Website display until after completion of the National Academies of Sciences Correlation Study as required by Section 5221 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act).

Information on FMCSA’s proposed enhancements to the public SMS Website display – including two additional changes not originally proposed – will be provided to the National Academies of Sciences, as will all comments and analysis received following the 60-day public comment period.

FMCSA will hold four public online question and answer (Q&A) sessions, where participants will be able to ask questions about the preview and the proposed changes and receive real-time responses.

A copy of the Federal Register announcement, along with detailed information on the upcoming Q&A sessions, as well as further resources and reference materials are available here.

Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in enforcement users can view all carrier safety data, while logged-in motor carriers can only view their own data. If you are a motor carrier and do not have login credentials, please click here for more information on how to obtain your PIN.

Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in enforcement users can view all carrier safety data, while logged-in motor carriers can only view their own data. If you are a motor carrier and do not have login credentials, please click here for more information on how to obtain your PIN.

Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in enforcement users can view all carrier safety data, while logged-in motor carriers can only view their own data. If you are a motor carrier and do not have login credentials, please click here for more information on how to obtain your PIN.

Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in enforcement users can view all carrier safety data, while logged-in motor carriers can only view their own data. If you are a motor carrier and do not have login credentials, please click here for more information on how to obtain your PIN.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Reply Comments must address only matters raised in initial public submissions and must NOT be used to present new arguments, contentions, or factual material not responsive to the initial public submissions. The deadline for submitting Reply Comments will be June 23, 2016. For complete information, including a copy of the SFD NPRM and instructions on how to submit initial public comments as well as Reply Comments, visit https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sfd.

Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in enforcement users can view all carrier safety data, while logged-in motor carriers can only view their own data. If you are a motor carrier and do not have login credentials, please click here for more information on how to obtain your PIN.

Complete SMS results are available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in enforcement users can view all carrier safety data, while logged-in motor carriers can only view their own data. If you are a motor carrier and do not have login credentials, please click here for more information on how to obtain your PIN.

Section 5223 (c) of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) of 2015 requires the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to keep property carriers' absolute measures available to the public.

These measures are generated directly from safety data and not based on relative comparison to other motor carriers.

The FAST Act prohibits the display of a property carrier's relative percentile, so on December 4, 2015, FMCSA removed the information prohibited from display, and also removed the absolute measures to allow time to modify the SMS Website to be compliant.

At this time, those modifications are complete and the SMS Website is fully compliant with the FAST Act.

All information on passenger carriers continues to remain available.

If you are a motor carrier and do not have login credentials, please click here for more information on how to obtain your PIN.

FMCSA ELD Rule and Implementation Plan
Wednesday, January 27, 2016 from 2:00–3:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ET)

This webinar will provide an overview of the ELD rule and its implementation phases. It will also delve into specific provisions in the rule on harassment, record retention, and supporting documentation.

ELD Phase I: Transition and Awareness
Thursday, February 11, 2016 from 2:00–3:30 p.m. ET

This webinar will focus on the first phase of the ELD rule’s implementation, which starts on February 16, 2016 and ends on December 18, 2017. During the Transition and Awareness phase, motor carriers will be able to use registered ELDs. This webinar will offer guidance to carriers on how the rule will be enforced during this phase at the roadside and during investigations.

Register for one of the webinars today. Space is limited. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. If you are unable to register, recordings of each presentation will be available online following the webinars.

The proposed SFD rule would replace the current three-tier federal rating system of “satisfactory–conditional–unsatisfactory” for federally regulated commercial motor carriers (in place since 1982) with a single determination of “unfit,” which would require the carrier to either improve its operations or cease operations.

Once in place, the SFD rule will permit FMCSA to assess the safety fitness of approximately 75,000 companies a month. By comparison, the agency is only able to investigate 15,000 motor carriers annually – with less than half of those companies receiving a safety rating.

The proposed methodology would determine when a carrier is not fit to operate commercial motor vehicles in or affecting interstate commerce based on:

1. the carrier’s performance in relation to a fixed failure threshold established in the rule for five of the agency’s Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs);
2. investigation results; or
3. a combination of on-road safety data and investigation information.

The proposed rule further incorporates rigorous data sufficiency standards and would require that a significant pattern of non-compliance be documented in order for a carrier to fail a BASIC.

When assessing roadside inspection data results, the proposal uses a minimum of 11 inspections with violations in a single BASIC within a 24-month period before a motor carrier could be eligible to be identified as “unfit.” If a carrier’s individual performance meets or exceeds the failure standards in the rule, it would then fail that BASIC. The failure standard will be fixed by the rule. A carrier’s status in relation to that fixed measure would not be affected by other carriers’ performance.

Failure of a BASIC based on either crash data or compliance with drug and alcohol requirements would only occur following a comprehensive investigation.

FMCSA estimates that under this proposal, less than 300 motor carriers each year would be proposed as “unfit” solely as a result of on-road safety violations. Further, the agency’s analysis has shown that the carriers identified through this on-road safety data have crash rates of almost four times the national average.

FMCSA encourages the public to review the NPRM and to submit comments and evidentiary materials to the docket following its publication in the Federal Register. The public comment period will be open for 60 days. FMCSA will also be providing a reply comment period allowing for an additional 30 days for commenters to respond to the initial comments.

The Agency is requesting specific comments and data in the NPRM including, but not limited to,

• Moving to dynamic safety event groups
• Moving to low, medium, and high severity weightings
• Removing English Language Proficiency violations from the SFD process
• Establishing lower failure standards for Passenger and Hazardous Materials carriers
• Additional critical and acute regulations
• Implementation impacts to States

For more information on FMCSA’s Safety Fitness Determination proposed rule, including a full copy of the NPRM, an instructional webinar, and a Safety Fitness Determination Calculator, visit www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sfd. To comment on the rule once it is published in the Federal Register, please use www.regulations.gov and docket number FMCSA-2015-0001.

Pursuant to the FAST Act of 2015, some of the information previously available on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) Website related to property carrier compliance and safety performance is no longer available for public display. If you are a property carrier, you must log in to view your SMS results. All passenger carrier information that was previously available remains available to the public and complete SMS results can be obtained by logging in. If you are a motor carrier and do not have login credentials, please click here for more information on how to obtain your PIN.

Complete SMS results are only available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS.

As a motor carrier, your Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT) and Power Unit (PU) data from the Motor Carrier Registration form (MCS-150) are used to calculate your Unsafe Driving and Crash Indicator Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category percentiles.

To ensure the most accurate information is used to calculate your percentiles, update your VMT and PU data before January 28th. Visit the FMCSA Registration page to update your MCS-150 information. Under the “Existing Registration Updates” section, choose the first option: “I need to update my USDOT number registration information or file my biennial update.”

PLEASE NOTE: The SMS Website is updated monthly, so your MCS-150 changes will not be reflected on that site until the next monthly update, the week of February 8th. View the schedule of SMS updates for more information.

To verify the current random testing rates of FMCSA and other agencies within the Department of Transportation, please visit the Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance’s website at: https://www.transportation.gov/odapc/random-testing-rates.

The QCMobile app remains unavailable to the public at this time. Complete SMS results are only available to enforcement users and motor carriers that are logged into the SMS. Logged-in enforcement users can view all carrier safety data, while logged-in motor carriers can only view their own data. If you are a motor carrier and do not have login credentials, please click here for more information on how to obtain your PIN.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: There are two ways to access and view all of your safety data. Log into your Portal account (https://portal.fmcsa.dot.gov/login) or log in directly to the SMS website with your FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and follow the instructions on the page.

In this spirit, today FMCSA published a notice in the Federal Register proposing enhancements to the SMS to improve its ability to prioritize and intervene with motor carriers that pose the greatest safety risk. These enhancements to SMS allow us to sharpen our focus on carriers with high crash rates, more effectively identify driver safety problems and Hazardous Materials (HM) carriers with serious safety problems, and more accurately account for carriers that are driving on our roads the most. These enhancements are based on results from the Agency’s SMS Effectiveness Test and input from industry, enforcement, and other safety stakeholders.

The proposed SMS enhancements include:

• Changing some of the SMS Intervention Thresholds to better reflect the Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories’ (BASICs) correlation to crash risk.
• Segmenting the HM Compliance BASIC by cargo tank (CT) and non-CT carriers.
• Reclassifying violations for operating while out-of-service (OOS) as under the Unsafe Driving BASIC, rather than the BASIC of the underlying OOS violation.
• Increasing the maximum Vehicle Miles Travelled used in the Utilization Factor to more accurately reflect operations of high-utilization carriers.

Share Your Input
FMCSA encourages everyone to review and comment on the proposed SMS enhancements in the Federal Register Notice. The 30-day comment period will end on July 29, 2015. You can submit written comments on the proposed changes to the Federal Docket Management System, Docket ID Number FMCSA-2015-0149-0001. After reviewing comments received, FMCSA will announce the preview of the proposed enhancements to SMS in a second Federal Register Notice. Submit your comments on the Federal Register Notice here.

FMCSA is committed to continually improving SMS, in a thoughtful, methodical, and transparent manner, to ensure that it continues to aid in carrying out our critical safety mission. Visit the SMS Website to check out current SMS results, and subscribe to our mailing list to stay updated on the proposed SMS enhancements and the latest CSA news.

For a complete list of all Serious Violations and updated descriptions, see the Serious Violations spreadsheet.

FMCSA uses the SMS to assess carrier safety performance and compliance. When a carrier’s most recent investigation results in the discovery of a Serious Violation, the SMS displays a violation in the carrier's Investigation Results for that Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) for 12 months after completion of the investigation.

Serious Violations are violations where noncompliance is so severe that they require immediate action by a motor carrier regardless of its overall safety posture—or violations that are indicative of breakdowns in a carrier’s safety management controls.

The table below includes descriptions of the new Serious Violations in SMS and the BASICs to which they relate.

At FMCSA, we’re committed to working with our State Partners to make America’s roads as safe as possible. Visit the SMS Website for more information.

The latest SMS Website enhancements improve functionality for users, incorporating feedback received since the SMS display changes were released in August 2014. The updates include:

• Improvements to the mobile version of the website
• Upgraded search and data download functionalities, such as:
  • Potential matches or “hints” that appear as users begin typing a carrier’s U.S. DOT number, Motor Carrier (MC) number, or name
  • The addition of “Service Center” and “County” fields to search results and filter options
  • The limit on the number of carriers returned in the search results has been removed (Note: Downloads for public users are limited to 2,500 results.)
  • Download files now indicate whether or not the inspection was a Hazardous Materials (HM) inspection
• Revised history view that now includes additional information, such as carrier status (active/inactive), carrier operation, number of Power Units, number of drivers, number of inspections, and number of crashes

Visit the SMS Website to view and use the latest enhancements.

Get Road Smart Q&A Series of Factsheets

• What is CSA—and how does it affect me?
• I got a warning letter—what do I do?
• What happens if I don’t improve my safety performance and compliance?
• What are the differences between a BASIC percentile, a safety rating, and a “score”?
• FMCSA data: Just the facts for drivers
• I had a citation associated with a roadside violation dismissed in a judicial proceeding—can I change my safety record?

What Is CSA? Industry Overview Presentations

• Get Road Smart: Drivers and the CSA program
• Get Road Smart: Motor carriers and the CSA program

Find these new educational materials in our Driver Safety Education Center and our Motor Carrier Resource Center. Visit the CSA Website where you will also find CSA Get Road Smart outreach materials, including posters, pocketcards, and brochures. Pocket cards and brochures are also available in Spanish. You can order the posters, pocketcards, and brochures by phone at 877-254-5365 or via the CSA Feedback Form.

Five million truck and bus drivers share the road with more than 250 million motorists. With stakes so high it’s essential that everyone Get Road Smart. Lives—and livelihoods—depend on it. 

Drivers and carriers must submit copies of certified documentation of adjudicated citation results through a Request for Data Review (RDR) in FMCSA's DataQs system to initiate the process. MCMIS has been modified to accept adjudication results showing that a citation was dismissed or resulted in a finding of not guilty; resulted in a conviction of a different charge; or, resulted in conviction of the original charge. The adjudicated citation results will impact the use of roadside inspection violation data in other FMCSA data systems, including the Safety Measurement System and the Pre-Employment Screening Program. These systems will be updated to remove violations that were dismissed or resulted in a finding of not guilty, and will reflect violations that resulted in a different charge.

These changes build upon FMCSA’s efforts to improve the quality and uniformity of roadside inspection violation data with input from the public, States, motor carriers, and drivers.

FMCSA outlines the policy in a Federal Register notice published June 5, 2014.

Visit the SMS Website to check out the new display enhancements. 

To register for one of the upcoming three educational webinars, visit: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/sites/fmcsa.dot.gov/files/docs/SMS_Display_Changes-New_Adjudicated_Citations_Policy_Webinar_2014.pdf.

• Consolidated, user-friendly FMCSA safety information tailored for specific user groups, including a new Motor Carrier Resource Center and an updated Driver Safety Education Center
• Easier access to Get Road Smart materials, featuring an updated CSA Feedback Form, where anyone can order posters and a brochure, with more materials to come
• New, easy-to-read factsheets, based on the most frequently asked questions from drivers and motor carriers, including:
  • What is CSA? – and how does it affect me?
  • I got a warning letter – what do I do?
  • What happens if I don’t improve my safety performance and compliance?

These enhancements to the CSA Website help to advance FMCSA’s safety mission by making it easier for drivers and motor carriers to access and understand important safety information. Visit the CSA Website to check out these enhancements (http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/getroadsmart/).

As part of Roadcheck, roadside inspectors will be handing out materials developed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to help drivers and motor carriers Get Road Smart about the Agency’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program.

For CSA resources and to order Get Road Smart materials, check out the CSA Website at http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/getroadsmart/.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) invites motor carriers, commercial drivers, and other attendees to visit the Agency’s new exhibit at Booth #61217 in the West Wing of the Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS), the largest annual heavy-duty trucking event in the world, on March 27 - 29, 2014 at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center in Louisville, KY. FMCSA specialists will be on-hand to answer individual questions and will have internet stations where visitors can work one-on-one with them to:

• View safety data through the Safety Measurement System
• Request a review of safety data through DataQs
• Order driver records through the Pre-Employment Screening Program
• Find certified medical examiners through the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners

We also invite MATS participants to attend one or more of the FMCSA information sessions listed below:

• Commercial Motor Vehicle Inspection 101 – Thursday, March 27, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. or Friday, March 28, 3:45 - 5:00 p.m.
• FMCSA Hot Topics – Thursday, March 27, 4:45 - 5:45 p.m.
• Current News on Compliance, Safety, Accountability – Friday, March 28, 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.

In addition, FMCSA will conduct two public listening sessions at MATS on Friday, March 28, at 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 - 3:30 p.m., to solicit input concerning sections 32101 and 32916 of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act. These provisions require the assessment of applicants’ knowledge of regulations and industry practices for persons seeking registration authority as motor carriers (property, passenger, and household goods), freight forwarders, and brokers.

Please join us at FMCSA as we build a nationwide commitment to safety. Five million truck and bus drivers share the road with more than 250 million motorists. With stakes so high, it’s imperative that everyone Get Road Smart about safety compliance and performance. Lives depend on it.

Visit us at http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/getroadsmart/.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS website and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS website and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

• Explore the new features on the SMS Preview Website (https://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/SMSPreview/Home.aspx);
• Review the Federal Register Notice outlining the proposed changes (https://federalregister.gov/a/2013-26543); and
• Share your input on the proposed changes via the Federal Docket Management System (http://www.regulations.gov/), Docket ID Number FMCSA-2013-26543.

• Download the industry webinar presentation;
• Visit the SMS Preview Website to experience the proposed new features (https://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/SMSPreview/Home.aspx);
• Review the Federal Register Notice outlining the proposed changes (https://federalregister.gov/a/2013-26543); and
• Share your feedback on the proposed changes via the Federal Docket Management System (http://www.regulations.gov/), Docket ID Number FMCSA-2013-26543.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS website and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

The Agency is proposing that, in early 2014, motor carriers and drivers could request inclusion of adjudication information for citations associated with violations in MCMIS inspection reports by submitting Requests for Data Review (RDRs) through FMCSA’s DataQs system (https://dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov). Motor carriers and drivers would have to upload court outcome documentation in order for the States to review the RDRs and record the court outcomes.

FMCSA’s SMS and PSP would, correspondingly, reflect court outcomes. These systems would retain the violation when it resulted in a conviction; remove the violation when found not guilty or the violation was dismissed; and indicate the violation when the court outcome shows a conviction of a different charge. When the court outcome shows a conviction of a different charge, the SMS severity weight tied to the violation will be reduced to the lowest possible value (1).

The Federal Register Notice provides additional information about FMCSA’s proposed new processes for documenting in its data systems. The 30-day comment period will end on January 2, 2014. We encourage your feedback on the proposed changes. (https://federalregister.gov/a/2013-28795)

These proposed changes aim to:

• Provide easier, more intuitive navigation and user-friendly features
• Provide a “one-stop-shop” for FMCSA safety information for the public, motor carriers, and industry
• Retain and provide easy access to detailed information and new performance monitoring tools

During the preview, law enforcement, motor carriers, and the public are able to view the proposed new features.

• Carriers may preview how their data would appear publicly, if the proposed changes were implemented by logging into the FMCSA Portal and selecting SMS Preview using their U.S. DOT Number and PIN on https://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/SMSPreview/.
• The public may view the proposed changes by looking at sample carrier data available at https://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/SMSPreview/.

The SMS provides motor carriers and other safety stakeholders, with regularly updated safety performance assessments. FMCSA first announced the implementation of the SMS in a Federal Register notice dated April 9, 2010 (75 FR 18256) (Docket No. FMCSA-2004-18898) and announced further improvements to the SMS in Federal Register notices dated March 27, 2012 (77 FR 18298) (Docket No. FMCSA-2012-0074) and August 28, 2012 (77 FR 52110) (Docket No. FMCSA-2004-18898).

Since the launch of the SMS, FMCSA expected to make enhancements as new data and additional analyses became available. As stated in its March 27, 2012 Federal Register notice, FMCSA plans to apply a systematic approach to making improvements to SMS, prioritizing and releasing packages of improvements as needed. Consistent with its prior announcements, the Agency proposes changes to the design of the SMS public Website that are the direct result of feedback from stakeholders regarding the information displayed. The Agency is not proposing changes to the SMS methodology at this time.

Learn more by attending a webinar: Motor carriers and other interested stakeholders are invited to attend a webinar that will explain the proposed SMS display changes and answer frequently asked questions. Webinars will take place on the following dates and times:

• Monday, November 18, 2013, 12-1:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
• Thursday, November 21, 2013, 1:30-3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
• Friday, November 22, 2013, 11:30-1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time

Registration is required to attend one of these sessions and interested parties should register as soon as possible through FMCSA’s National Training Center at https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/ntc/webinarinfo/CSA_Improvements_Webinar-FMCSA.pdf.

Share your input: The 60-day SMS Preview comment period begins on November 5, 2013. A posting of the Federal Register Notice (https://federalregister.gov/a/2013-26543) outlining the changes is available for review. Written comments regarding the changes can be filed to the Federal Docket Management System (http://www.regulations.gov/), Docket ID Number FMCSA-2013-26543. FMCSA will review comments and make any necessary changes prior to implementation.

Questions or concerns: The CSA Outreach Website has technical assistants who can answer motor carrier questions about the SMS Website display as well as the CSA program itself. Questions can be submitted by phone (877-254-5365). Comments to the proposed display changes should be submitted to the Federal Docket management System after the Federal Register Notice is published.

Stay connected: Subscribe to the CSA Website to keep abreast of current program information at http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/subscription.aspx.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS website and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS website and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

The table below includes descriptions of the new violations, the Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) they relate to, and how they are weighted in the SMS.

FMCSA’s new HOS regulation (395.3(a)(3)(ii)) requires drivers to take a 30-minute rest break during the first eight hours of a shift. Based on a court decision, effective August 2, 2013, FMCSA will no longer enforce the 30-minute break provision for drivers that qualify for either of the short haul operations exceptions outlined in 49CFR 395.1(e) or (2). This new regulation and guidance can be found at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/topics/hos/index.htm.

The violation related to the Controlled/Substances Alcohol BASIC was added based on industry and law enforcement feedback and enables roadside inspectors to distinguish between alcohol possession and alcohol use. SMS assigns a lower severity weight to alcohol possession. Motor carriers should discuss these violations with their drivers to make sure they understand them and how to comply with the associated regulations.

FMCSA has updated Appendix A of the SMS Methodology to incorporate these violations and it is now available on the Compliance, Safety, Accountability Website at http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/Documents/SMS_AppendixA_ViolationsList.xlsx.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS website and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS website and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS website and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS website and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS website and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS website and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS website and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

To help familiarize carriers with how to use the SMC and its six Safety Management Processes, FMCSA developed a factsheet that explains how to use these materials to improve safety practices.  FMCSA has also provided a supplemental case study that shows carriers how to use the SMC in the long-term. 

Additionally, FMCSA is releasing eight SMC job aids which were originally created for enforcement personnel.  There is one job aid for each Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC).  The Vehicle Maintenance BASIC has two SMCs: “Inspection-Repair-Maintenance” and “Cargo-Related.”

Check out these new SMC resources on our CSA web site’s Resources page.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS website and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

If your VMT data in FMCSA’s database is from 2010 or older, it will not be used in your calculations when the January SMS snapshot is posted at the beginning of February. Instead, the level of exposure will default to average PUs over the previous 18 months which can impact your percentiles in the Unsafe Driving and Crash Indicator BASICs. View the SMS Methodology for addition details on BASIC percentile calculations.

Update your MCS-150 now with 2011 VMT/PU information or shortly after January 1, 2013 with your 2012 data to ensure that FMCSA is using the most accurate data available to calculate your percentiles. Visit https://li-public.fmcsa.dot.gov/LIVIEW/PKG_REGISTRATION.prc_option to update your MCS-150 information. Under the “Existing Registration Updates” section, choose the first option - “I need to update my USDOT number registration information or file my biennial update.”

PLEASE NOTE: The SMS website is updated monthly, so your MCS-150 changes will not be reflected on that site until the next monthly update. You can find the schedule of SMS updates at http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/sms/InfoCenter/Default.aspx#question30897. MCS-150 updates show up faster on SAFER and the FMCSA Portal websites.

1. Visit the CSA Website (http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/smspreview/) and log in with an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT number and a personal identification number (PIN), or

2. Log in to the FMCSA Portal (https://portal.fmcsa.dot.gov/login) and select the “CSA Outreach” link.

FMCSA encourages motor carriers to view the SMS Preview to see how methodology changes will affect their SMS results.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS or SMS Preview websites and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

1. Visit the CSA Website (http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/smspreview/) and log in with an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT number and a personal identification number (PIN), or

2. Log in to the FMCSA Portal (https://portal.fmcsa.dot.gov/login) and select the “CSA Outreach” link.

FMCSA encourages motor carriers to view the SMS Preview to see how methodology changes will affect their SMS results.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS or SMS Preview websites and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

The public is already seeing improved commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety under CSA. In its first year, 30 million visits were made to the Agency’s SMS Website, and violations per roadside inspection were down 8% and driver violations per inspection were down 10% — the most dramatic drop in safety violations in a decade.

In March 2012, FMCSA announced an opportunity for enforcement personnel and motor carriers to preview proposed changes to CSA’s SMS, and encourage public comment on the proposed changes. The Agency also conducted webinars to guide motor carriers through the preview. After review and consideration of the comments received, the Agency has published its response in the Federal Register. This notice is summarized below.

A Change for Safety

SMS already enables FMCSA and its state enforcement partners to better focus on high risk motor carriers. In fact, motor carriers identified as high risk by SMS have future crash rates more than double the crash rate of all active carriers.

Testing of the enhanced SMS that will be implemented in December 2012 shows that the group of motor carriers with at least one Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) above FMCSA’s safety Intervention Threshold:

• Have a 3.9% higher crash rate than those in today’s SMS; and
• Have a 3.6% higher Hazardous Materials (HM) violation rate than under today’s SMS.

The SMS improvements are outlined in the March 27, 2012 and August 24, 2012 Federal Register Notices, which can be found at https://federalregister.gov/a/2012-7360 and http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety-security/sms/agency-response-to-public-comments-of-sms-changes_signed.pdf, respectively. The SMS improvements include:

1. Strengthening the Vehicle Maintenance BASIC by incorporating cargo/load securement violations from today's Cargo-Related BASIC

   Moving cargo/load securement violations into the Vehicle Maintenance BASIC will provide important benefits. It will identify motor carriers with a higher future crash risk for FMCSA interventions. Also, including the load securement violations in the new Vehicle Maintenance BASIC will remove the bias in the current Cargo-Related BASIC that has resulted in identifying a disproportionately large number of carriers that haul open trailers (e.g., flatbeds) for interventions. The new Vehicle Maintenance BASIC will better identify safety issues across all types of carrier operations.

2. Changing the Cargo-Related BASIC to the HM Compliance BASIC to better identify HM-related safety and compliance problems

   FMCSA will implement the HM Compliance BASIC to address motor carriers that do not comply with Federal safety regulations related to properly packaging, transporting, accurately identifying, and communicating hazardous cargo in the event of a crash or spill. Hazardous Materials Transportation increases the risk to the public in the event of a crash. Unmarked or poorly marked HM cargo can result in less effective emergency response, as well as injuries and fatalities for emergency responders and others.

   • The HM Compliance BASIC will identify carriers with higher HM violation rates (33.8% versus 29.1%) and HM out-of-service rates (5.4% vs. 4.0%) than the current Cargo-Related BASIC.
   • The HM Compliance BASIC will be available only to logged-in motor carriers and enforcement personnel in December 2012. Further examination of this BASIC will take place over the next year before it becomes available to the public.

3. Better aligning the SMS with Intermodal Equipment Provider (IEP) regulations

   SMS will be updated to align with the current regulations to include violations that should be found and addressed during drivers’ pre-trip inspection on intermodal equipment in order to better identify carriers with compliance issues.

4. Aligning violations that are included in the SMS with Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance inspection levels by eliminating vehicle violations derived from driver-only inspections and driver violations from vehicle-only inspections

   To support data uniformity and consistency, motor carriers will not be penalized in the SMS for violations cited outside the scope of an inspection. All violations from roadside inspections will continue to be on a carrier’s inspection report; however, only violations that fall within the scope of the specific inspections performed will be used in the SMS.

5. More accurately identifying carriers that transport significant quantities of HM

   The definition of carriers subject to the lower HM Intervention threshold is being revised in December to better ensure the carriers are hauling placardable quantities of HM on a more regular basis before being subject to the more stringent intervention thresholds.

6. More accurately identifying carriers involved in transporting passengers

   Motor carriers subject to the passenger carrier threshold in the SMS are held to a significantly higher standard than non-passenger carriers. To better ensure the safety of passengers, FMCSA will update the definition of passenger carrier within SMS to enable the Agency to better focus resources on motor carriers involved with passenger transportation.

7. Modifying the SMS display

   FMCSA is responding to feedback from enforcement and industry to change how fatalities and injuries caused by crashes are presented in SMS, and to stakeholder requests for more specific terminology in the BASICs. In the package of enhancements being previewed, the SMS display has been modified to:

   • Change current terminology, “inconclusive” and “insufficient data,” to fact-based descriptions. Fact-based descriptions are easier for stakeholders to understand and interpret and will enable them to take more effective and targeted actions to improve safety.
   • Separate crashes with injuries from crashes with fatalities. This eliminates a potentially misleading interpretation that a carrier has more fatalities than it actually does.

In addition, four additional changes have been identified since the beginning of the preview period that will also be implemented in December. These are described in the August 2012 Federal Register Notice and are outlined below:

1. Removing 1 to 5 mph speeding violations

   • FMCSA has aligned speeding violations to be consistent with current speedometer regulations (49 CFR 393.82) that require speedometers to be accurate within 5 mph.
   • Applies to the prior 24 months of data used by SMS and all SMS data moving forward.

2. Lowering the severity weight for speeding violations that do not designate MPH range above the speed limit.

   • The severity weight will be lowered to 1 for violations.

3. Aligning paper and electronic logbook violations

   • FMCSA will equally weight paper and electronic logbook violations in SMS for consistency purposes.

4. Changing the name of the Fatigued Driving (Hours-of-Service (HOS)) BASIC to the HOS Compliance BASIC

   • This BASIC continues to have a strong association with future crash risk. This action is being taken to reflect that the BASIC includes hours of service recordkeeping requirements that, by themselves, do not necessarily indicate fatigued driving or driving in excess of allowable hours.

FMCSA promotes safety through creating awareness, issuing early and compelling calls to action, for example through the SMS Previews, and providing education and technical outreach through its Division Offices and the CSA Communication and Outreach Team. To submit a question or directly contact a member of our team who can help you, visit http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/CSA_Feedback.aspx.

This action is in response to stakeholder feedback that indicated that some commercial driver violations in SMS are a result of license suspensions for non-safety related reasons, such as failing to pay a parking ticket. Motor carriers often cannot detect these suspensions when doing required background or annual checks of a driver’s driving record.

The refinement to ASPEN will collect more precise data about drivers operating commercial motor vehicles (CMV) while disqualified to improve the Agency’s ability to identify non-compliant and unsafe motor carriers. Specifically, the enhancement will allow roadside inspectors to classify disqualified driver violations into different categories depending on whether the driver’s license is:

1. Suspended by the driver’s license-issuing State or another State; and
2. Suspended for a safety-related (e.g., speeding or false logs violations) or non-safety related (e.g., failure to pay parking tickets) reason.

This additional data will strengthen the effectiveness and accuracy of the Driver Fitness Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) of the SMS. More importantly, it will hold motor carriers accountable for using a driver with a license that has been suspended for safety-related reasons by the driver’s license-issuing State.

The table below shows the definitions and severity weights assigned to the updated violations in ASPEN effective July 20, 2012. In order to ensure uniform implementation, these changes are not applied retroactively.

The CSA program has made significant strides in reaching more motor carriers, reducing violations, and increasing public awareness. Feedback from carriers, safety advocates, law enforcement, industry, and other members of the public remain a valued part of this process.

This MCSAC subcommittee will be another mechanism for the Agency to receive input regarding CSA. This established forum encourages representatives from across the spectrum of safety stakeholders to review and discuss future enhancements to CSA. The FMCSA looks forward to receiving the subcommittee’s feedback and building upon the well-founded principles and rigorous processes used to develop CSA.

Also available is FMCSA’s SMS Preview website.  Carriers can log in to the site to preview the first package of proposed changes to the SMS through two websites:

1. Visit the CSA Website (http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/smspreview/) and log in with an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT number and a personal identification number (PIN), or

2. Log in to the FMCSA Portal (https://portal.fmcsa.dot.gov/login) and select the “CSA Outreach” link.

FMCSA encourages motor carriers to view the SMS Preview to see how methodology changes will affect their SMS results.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS or SMS Preview websites and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

As part of this commitment to safety, FMCSA continually identifies ways to advance the efficiency and effectiveness of its safety programs, including CSA. In this spirit FMCSA is announcing a focused initiative to analyze a process for updating the 100,000 annual State-reported crash records to include a determination of a motor carrier’s role in a crash.

Today, the crash reports submitted by the States do not include a determination of whether the motor carrier is responsible for causing the crash. Analysis shows that the current process of including all crashes a motor carrier is involved in is a good predictor of future crash risk.

That said, the agency recognizes that additional crash data might further sharpen the ability of the SMS to identify carriers that pose the highest risk. Therefore the agency is conducting a comprehensive analysis which includes the below key steps:

• A broad study of PARs across the Nation will attempt to determine whether they provide sufficient, consistent, and reliable information that can be used to determine the carrier’s role in a given crash and what other information, including input from other entities in the outcome of a crash determination, should be used to supplement PARs for maximum reliability.
• FMCSA will conduct analysis to determine if the carrier’s role in a given crash is a better indicator of future crash risk. If so, the analysis will determine the impact of weighting crashes differently in SMS.
• Throughout this analysis, research will also be reviewed from similar programs in other countries (e.g., Canada) to understand their analysis, processes, and applicability to SMS.

The executive summary of FMCSA’s Crash Weighting Research Plan is posted on the CSA website (http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/documents/CrashWeightingResearchPlan_7-2012.pdf).

The results of this study will be available in the summer of 2013. Based on the results, FMCSA will develop the Agency’s plan forward for determining a carrier’s role in a crash and the potential use of this new information in the Agency’s safety programs-- including SMS.

FMCSA is committed to continually improving SMS, in a thoughtful, methodical and transparent manner, to ensure that it continues to aid in carrying out FMCSA’s critical safety mission.

• Independent analysis indicates the CSA Safety Measurement System (SMS) is a significant improvement over prior systems to effectively meet FMCSA’s Congressional mandate to investigate high-risk carriers.
• The CSA SMS is effectively monitoring the motor carrier industry. The 200,000 carriers with sufficient data to be scored in the SMS are involved in 93% of the crashes reported to FMCSA.
• The CSA SMS is not biased against small business. While carriers with 5 or less power units make up over 85% of the industry, 93% of these small carriers do not score poorly in any area of the SMS.
• Analysis of the CSA interventions model demonstrated an overall 35% increase in the number of carriers reached per Safety Investigator. CSA uses Onsite Focused Investigations and warning letters, which are effective in improving compliance and less intrusive and time-consuming for motor carriers.
• From CSA rollout in December 2010 until the end of 2011, violations per roadside inspection declined by 8% and driver violations per inspection declined by 10%. This the most significant improvement in violation rates in the last 10 years.

The Agency is committed to continuous improvement of the CSA program. In fact, five proposed enhancements to SMS are currently being previewed by motor carriers based on specific industry and enforcement personnel feedback since SMS rollout in December 2010. These proposed enhancements are outlined in the Federal Docket Management System and were the topic of a recent public webinar series held by the Agency. Overall, 670 participants listened in, many of whom have expressed positive feedback. The presentation is now available to everyone on the CSA Website.

The CSA program has already shown many safety benefits and FMCSA will continue finding ways to make our roads safer.

Also available is FMCSA’s SMS Preview website.  Carriers can log in to the site to preview the first package of proposed changes to the SMS through two websites:

1. Visit the CSA Website (http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/smspreview/) and log in with an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT number and a personal identification number (PIN), or

2. Log in to the FMCSA Portal (https://portal.fmcsa.dot.gov/login) and select the “CSA Outreach” link.FMCSA encourages motor carriers to view the SMS Preview to see how methodology changes will affect their SMS results.

Written comments regarding the changes can be filed to the Federal Docket Management System, Docket ID Number FMCSA-2012-0074.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS or SMS Preview websites and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

Also available is FMCSA’s SMS Preview website.  Carriers can log in to the site to preview the first package of proposed changes to the SMS through two websites:

1. Visit the CSA Website (http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/smspreview/) and log in with an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT number and a personal identification number (PIN), or

2. Log in to the FMCSA Portal (https://portal.fmcsa.dot.gov/login) and select the “CSA Outreach” link.

FMCSA encourages motor carriers to view the SMS Preview to see how methodology changes will affect their SMS results. Written comments regarding the changes can be filed to the Federal Docket Management System, Docket ID Number FMCSA-2012-0074.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS or SMS Preview websites and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

Call to action: Motor carriers should log in and see where they stand based on the refined methodology. The SMS Preview gives motor carriers time to take the following actions:

• Improve safety compliance by diagnosing issues and taking action to correct organizational problems, train drivers, or take other appropriate measures to improve safety;
• Request corrections to any inaccurate data; in particular, motor carriers should focus on ensuring that information related to placardable Hazardous Materials inspections is correct; and
• Provide feedback to FMCSA about refinements they think should be made before the changes are implemented.

The SMS Preview comment period has been extended to July 30, 2012. FMCSA will review comments and make any necessary changes prior to implementation. Carriers can access the SMS Preview through two FMCSA websites:

• Visit the Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) Website (https://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/SMSPreview/) and log in with an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT number and a personal identification number (PIN), or
• Log in to the FMCSA Portal (https://portal.fmcsa.dot.gov/login) and select the “CSA Outreach” link.

On the CSA Website’s Resources page, visitors can access a foundational document (http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/Documents/SMS_FoundationalDoc_final.pdf) that provides additional information about this first set of SMS changes. A Federal Register Notice (https://federalregister.gov/a/2012-12634) outlining the changes is also available for review. Written comments regarding the changes can be filed to the Federal Docket Management System (http://www.regulations.gov/), Docket ID Number FMCSA-2012-0074.

Attend a webinar to learn more: Motor carriers are invited to attend a webinar that will help explain the SMS improvements and answer frequently asked questions. The webinar will take place on the following three dates:

• Tuesday, June 26, 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
• Wednesday, June 27, 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time
• Thursday, June 28, 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time

Registration is required to attend one of these sessions and interested parties should register as soon as possible through FMCSA’s National Training Center at https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/ntc/webinarinfo/CSA_Improvements_Webinar-FMCSA.pdf.

Questions or concerns: The CSA Outreach Website has technical assistants who can answer motor carrier questions about the SMS Preview as well as the CSA program itself. Questions can be submitted by email or phone (http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/CSA_Feedback.aspx).

Stay connected: Subscribe to the CSA Website to keep abreast of current program information at http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/subscription.aspx.

FMCSA will continue answering questions and feedback about its CSA program. The CSA Website publishes new information regularly, so make sure to visit it to keep up-to-date. Also, stay connected to CSA by subscribing to the RSS feed and signing up for the email subscription service (http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/Stay_Connected.aspx).

Also available is FMCSA’s SMS Preview website.  Carriers can log in to the site to preview the first package of proposed changes to the SMS through two websites:

1. Visit the CSA Website (http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/smspreview/) and log in with an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT number and a personal identification number (PIN), or

2. Log in to the FMCSA Portal (https://portal.fmcsa.dot.gov/login) and select the “CSA Outreach” link.

FMCSA encourages motor carriers to view the SMS Preview to see how methodology changes will affect their SMS results. Written comments regarding the changes can be filed to the Federal Docket Management System, Docket ID Number FMCSA-2012-0074.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS or SMS Preview websites and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

These first enhancements are the agency’s response to findings from its ongoing analyses of data and input from enforcement, industry, and other safety stakeholders. During the SMS Preview, FMCSA is collecting, assessing, and addressing feedback from preview participants, and may further refine the SMS enhancements prior to public implementation in summer 2012.

As of March 27, 2012, carriers can access the SMS Preview through two websites:

1.       Visit the CSA Website (https://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/login.aspx) and log in with an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT number and a personal identification number (PIN), or

2.       Log in to the FMCSA Portal (https://portal.fmcsa.dot.gov/login) and select the “CSA Outreach” link.

FMCSA encourages motor carriers to view the SMS Preview to see how methodology changes will affect their SMS results.

On the CSA Website’s Resources page, motor carriers and other stakeholders can access a foundational document that provides additional information about the first set of SMS changes. A Federal Register notice outlining the changes is also available for review.  Written comments regarding the changes can be filed to the Federal Docket Management System at http://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID Number FMCSA-2012-0074.

Based on the agency’s own analysis and research conducted by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), FMCSA disagrees with the primary finding in the Wells Fargo report. FMCSA analysis shows significant statistical relationships between the Unsafe Driving and Fatigued Driving (Hours-of-Service (HOS)) Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) and crash risk for all carriers, as well as a subset of the largest carriers, while the Wells Fargo finding asserts that there is no statistically meaningful relationship between the Unsafe Driving/Fatigued Driving (HOS) BASICs and crash rates. 
 
Approximately 200,000 motor carriers have sufficient crash or inspection activity to be assessed in at least one BASIC of the SMS. This group of 200,000 carriers includes carriers of all sizes, and they are involved in over 90 percent of all crashes. FMCSA believes that the Wells Fargo assertion that “only 12 percent of carriers have sufficient inspection data to be rated” relates to the 92,000 motor carriers that have sufficient negative information (i.e. violations or crashes) for the Safety Measurement System to assign a percentile to a BASIC.  These carriers are responsible for 83 percent of the crashes.

FMCSA’s review responds in detail to the Wells Fargo report and its primary finding, and includes an appendix with graphs to show FMCSA’s and UMTRI’s results. Visit the CSA Website to read FMCSA’s review of the Wells Fargo report as well as Anne Ferro’s letter in support of CSA.

• The Safety Measurement System (SMS) assesses the relative safety of motor carriers, which allows FMCSA to efficiently and effectively prioritize enforcement resources on motor carrier safety issues.
• SMS is one of three web-based systems where the public can find information about motor carriers. The other two are the Safety and Fitness Electronic Records System (http://www.safersys.org/), which provides registration data and safety ratings, and the Licensing and Insurance Online Website (http://li-public.fmcsa.dot.gov/), which allows users to confirm that a motor carrier has active operating authority and adequate insurance.
• CSA’s SMS has enough data to assess about 200,000 of the 525,000 active interstate motor carriers in at least one Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC); these 200,000 carriers are involved in over 90% of all interstate commercial motor vehicle crashes.
• The Unsafe Driving and Fatigued Driving (Hours-of-Service) BASICs have strong relationships to future crash risk. In fact, an independent evaluation by the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute found that carriers with either one of these two BASICs above FMCSA’s intervention thresholds had crash rates three times greater than those without BASICs exceeding FMCSA’s intervention thresholds.
• CSA is improving safety performance. We see that roadside inspection violations declined by 9 percent in the 12 months after the SMS launch.
• Roadside inspections documenting violations of regulations related to the Unsafe Driving BASIC are triggered by observed driving behaviors and not by a carrier’s percentile rank in the Unsafe Driving BASIC.
• CSA provides motor carriers with opportunities to improve their BASIC percentile ranks by demonstrating that they have improved their roadside performance either through reduced crashes or clean roadside inspections; in fact, over 1 million of 3.5 million roadside inspections conducted annually are inspections with no violations.
• CSA’s SMS identifies about the same number of small carriers that SafeStat did; and, of the carrier population with sufficient data to be assessed, SMS identifies a proportionate number of small, medium, and large carriers for CSA interventions.
• FMCSA does not formally “rate” drivers.
  • The Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP), which is mandated by Congress, provides prospective motor carriers with driver inspection, crash, and violation history upon driver release.
  • SMS has tools that enable enforcement personnel to identify and address driver safety performance problems during a carrier investigation.
• FMCSA and its State Partners have made great strides in improving roadside uniformity and data quality over the past several years.
  • Since 2004, FMCSA and State Partners have logged more than 27 million crash and inspection reports.
    • Less than 0.5% of these have received a Request for Data Review (RDR).
  • FMCSA recently revised its DataQs user guide in conjunction with the States and that guidance is helping to improve DataQs further.
  • FMCSA publishes a monthly evaluation of the completeness, timeliness, accuracy, and consistency of State-reported data.
  • FMCSA works closely with the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) to establish and implement policies for consistent and uniform data collection at the roadside.
  • FMCSA is modifying roadside inspection software to align with CVSA’s recommendations, again, in an effort to make data collection more consistent and uniform.

A copy of the presentation that FMCSA gave at the SBA’s Transportation Safety Roundtable on CSA is posted on the CSA Outreach Website. This website is the official resource for information about CSA. Stakeholders are encouraged to visit the website at http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov and to sign up at http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/stay_connected.aspx to receive regular email updates.

This week the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is focusing on the Crash Indicator BASIC factsheet, which discusses high crash involvement, including frequency and severity, and which may indicate a problem that needs attention. Motor carriers and drivers can refer to this factsheet for additional information regarding the types of documents associated with this BASIC they should keep, such as Police Accident Reports, and for information about how to address crash-related problems including unsafe driving histories.

This week the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is focusing attention on the Cargo-Related BASIC factsheet, which addresses the proper prevention of shifting loads, spilled or dropped cargo, overloading, and unsafe handling of Hazardous Materials (HM), as outlined under the HM Regulations and Parts 392, 393, and 397 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). Motor carriers and drivers can refer to this factsheet for information regarding the types of documents associated with this BASIC they should keep, such as HM incident reports, and for information about how to resolve cargo-related problems.

This week the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is highlighting the Vehicle Maintenance BASIC factsheet, which describes what proper maintenance and compliance look like under Parts 393 and 396 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). Motor carriers and drivers can refer to this factsheet for information regarding the types of documents associated with this BASIC they should keep, such as Driver Vehicle Inspection Reports, and for information about how to proactively address any vehicle malfunction or maintenance problem.

This week FMCSA is drawing attention to the Controlled Substances/Alcohol BASIC factsheet, which covers driver impairment due to alcohol, illegal drugs, and the misuse of prescription or over-the-counter medications, as outlined under Parts 382 and 392 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). Motor carriers and drivers can refer to this factsheet for information regarding the types of documents associated with this BASIC they should keep, such as driver evaluations and referrals, and for information about how to address problems related to controlled substances and alcohol.

 
NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS website and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

The Driver Fitness BASIC factsheet focuses on drivers and their operation of commercial motor vehicles, including their driving, training, and medical qualifications, as outlined under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) Parts 383 and 391. Motor carriers and drivers can refer to this factsheet for additional information regarding what documents associated with this BASIC to keep in the event of a safety investigation, such as annual reviews of driving records, and how to proactively address driver fitness-related problems.

This week FMCSA is putting the spotlight on the Fatigued Driving (HOS) BASIC factsheet, which gives information about driver fatigue management and HOS requirements, as outlined under Parts 392 and 395 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). Motor carriers and drivers can refer to this factsheet for information regarding the types of documents associated with this BASIC they should keep, such as records of duty status (RODS), and for information about how to proactively address HOS and driver fatigue-related problems.

1. The addition of five texting and cell phone use violations in the Unsafe Driving Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) as outlined below. The violations reflect FMCSA’s decision on January 3, 2012 to ban commercial drivers from using mobile telephones while driving, which includes a ban on texting. Motor carriers should discuss the new violations with their drivers to ensure that they are aware of these requirements.

   Added Carrier SMS Unsafe Driving BASIC Violations
   Section	Violation Description Shown on Driver/Vehicle Examination Report Given to Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Driver after Roadside Inspection	Violation Group Description	Violation Severity Weight
   177.804(b)	Failure to comply with 49 CFR 392.80 - Texting while Oper a CMV - Placardable HM	Texting	10
   177.804(c)	Fail to comply with 392.82 - Using Mobile Phone while Oper a CMV - HM	Phone Call	10
   392.80(a)	Driving a commercial motor vehicle while texting	Texting	10
   392.82(a)(1)	Using a hand-held mobile telephone while operating a CMV	Phone Call	10
   392.82(a)(2)	Allowing or requiring driver to use a hand-held mobile tel while operating a CMV	Phone Call	10

2. A breakout of six current Vehicle Maintenance violations into 22 that provide more descriptive and detailed information about compliance with existing brake, wheel, and coupling regulations. This change will ensure that SMS remains aligned with improvements recently made to roadside data collection systems. Those improvements are the results of a joint FMCSA and Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance effort to increase data uniformity through improved processes and tools. This change will help to clarify who the responsible party is for the violations, either the motor carrier or the Intermodal Equipment Provider.

FMCSA is revising Appendix A of the SMS Methodology document to take these changes into account. The agency will re-post the document to the Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) Website at the same time the January SMS snapshot is released. Stay tuned by subscribing to the CSA Outreach Website at http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/stay_connected.aspx.

 Stay connected to CSA by subscribing to the RSS feed and signing up for the email subscription service (http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/Stay_Connected.aspx).

If your VMT data is 2009 or older, it will not be used in your calculations when the January Safety Measurement System (SMS) snapshot is posted at the beginning of February.

Update your MCS-150 now with your 2010 or 2011 VMT/PU data to ensure FMCSA is using the most accurate data available to calculate your percentiles. Visit https://li-public.fmcsa.dot.gov/LIVIEW/PKG_REGISTRATION.prc_option to update your MCS-150 information. Under the “Existing Registration Updates” section, choose the first option - “I need to update my USDOT number registration information or file my biennial update.”

PLEASE NOTE: The SMS website is updated monthly, so your MCS-150 changes will not be reflected on that site until the next monthly update. You can find the schedule of SMS updates at http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/SMS/InfoCenter/#question5. MCS-150 updates show up faster on SAFER and the FMCSA Portal websites.

Below are a few questions and answers that help to explain the situation.
 
 
1)      If the VMT data is not updated and is 2009 or older, what impact will this have when the snapshot is posted in the beginning of February?  SMS uses VMT data if it has been provided within the last 24 months and references one of the two previous years.  So, the January 2012 snapshot (released in early February 2012), will only include data provided within the last 24 months and that has a VMT year of 2010 or later.

2)      What will be affected?  This could potentially impact a motor carrier’s Unsafe Driving and Crash Indicator BASICs results – both which use VMT data in their calculations.

3)      How will motors carrier be affected?  Motor carriers that currently receive a VMT-based adjustment due to high truck utilization (i.e. more VMT per PU than the average) will cease receiving that adjustment if they do not update their MCS-150 form to reflect more recent data (i.e. VMT year of 2010 or 2011).

4)      If they update the information during the month of January will the change be reflected in the January snapshot that is posted in early February? Motor carriers must update their VMT information in the first few weeks of January to avoid this potentially detrimental effect on their Unsafe Drive and Crash Indicator BASIC percentiles.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS website and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

If your VMT data is 2009 or older, it will not be used in your calculations when the January Safety Measurement System (SMS) snapshot is posted at the beginning of February.

Update your MCS-150 now with 2010 VMT/PU information or shortly after January 1, 2012 with your 2011 data to ensure FMCSA is using the most accurate data available to calculate your percentiles. Visit https://li-public.fmcsa.dot.gov/LIVIEW/PKG_REGISTRATION.prc_option to update your MCS-150 information. Under the “Existing Registration Updates” section, choose the first option - “I need to update my USDOT number registration information or file my biennial update.”

PLEASE NOTE: The SMS website is updated monthly, so your MCS-150 changes will not be reflected on that site until the next monthly update. You can find the schedule of SMS updates at http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/SMS/InfoCenter/#question5. MCS-150 updates show up faster on SAFER and the FMCSA Portal websites.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS website and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS website and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS website and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

Also the Safety Measurement System(SMS) Downloads area now contains a file with SMS Summary Results for all active motor carriers registered as Intrastate Non-Hazmat motor carriers.  Previously, SMS Summary results were only available for motor carriers registered as Interstate and Intrastate Hazmat motor carriers.  In addition, the Motor Carrier Census Information download now identifies motor carriers  that are subject to the ‘Placardable Hazardous Materials (HM) Threshold’.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS website and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

• The data kept by a State (i.e. tickets, citations, written warnings, convictions) and the data that is kept in the SMS (i.e. violations from roadside inspection and crash reports) are separate.
• Carriers do not inherit any of a newly hired driver’s past violations. Only those inspections that a driver receives while driving under a carrier’s authority can be applied to a carrier’s Safety Measurement System (SMS) record.
• CSA does not give FMCSA the authority to remove drivers from their jobs and cannot be used to rate drivers or to revoke a commercial driver’s license (CDL).

These are just a few of several facts explained in the CSA Just the Facts flyer. Just the Facts sets the records straight on the most common myths about the CSA program.
 
Know the Facts…Be Prepared

Launched in 2008, the CSA Op-Model Test divided motor carriers from four test states (Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, and New Jersey) between test and control groups. UMTRI evaluated the effectiveness of the new Safety Measurement System (SMS) and CSA interventions, and compared the cost and efficiency of the CSA compliance and enforcement model to the previous model. They found effectiveness and efficiency gains that fully support the ongoing national implementation of CSA, as outlined below. FMCSA added additional states, Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, and Montana, to the test to demonstrate full implementation challenges and to provide a validation dataset for evaluation purposes.

CSA’s SMS better identifies motor carriers for safety interventions than the previous SafeStat system.

• “The results showed that the SMS is a significant improvement over the SafeStat system in identifying unsafe carriers. (p. xiv)”
• Crash rates were higher for motor carriers identified with safety problems in the SMS’s seven Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) than for motor carriers that were not identified with safety problems in the seven BASICs.
• The crash rate for motor carriers that were identified with safety problems by the SMS in the Unsafe Driving BASIC was more than three times greater than the crash rate for motor carriers not identified with any safety problems by SMS.

CSA interventions are effective in improving motor carriers' safety behavior.

• “The effect of the warning letter intervention is likely one of the most significant findings in this evaluation. (p. xviii)” Twelve months after receiving a warning letter, SMS results showed that 83% of test carriers had resolved identified safety problems and only 17% continued to have safety problems.
• The new CSA Onsite Focused Investigations proved to be effective. Almost 20% fewer motor carriers continued to show safety problems 12 months after an on-site focused investigation, as compared with those receiving traditional Compliance Reviews (CRs).

CSA interventions use enforcement resources efficiently.

• More intensive interventions were used on carriers that exhibited higher crash risk confirming that the rules guiding intervention selection are operating to ensure effective and efficient safety interventions.
• Warning letters, which were found to be very effective in improving safety behavior, had only a nominal cost.
• CSA Onsite Focused Investigations cost approximately 53 percent less than CRs and were effective in producing compliance.
• The average cost of CSA interventions was $754 per motor carrier, as compared to $1438 for motor carriers receiving CRs.

CSA reaches more carriers to improve safety compliance.

• CSA interventions contact approximately three times the number of motor carriers contacted using the previous model which relied primarily on CRs.
• Among the CSA test group, the annual percentage of motor carriers contacted was 9.9 percent, compared with the 3.2 percent of motor carriers that received full CRs in 2009.

The evaluator identified some areas that require improvement and FMCSA is firmly committed to a continuous improvement process for this very important program.

SMS’s BASICs are significantly related to underlying motor carrier safety, although the Cargo-Related and Driver Fitness BASICs show a weaker relationship to crash risk.

• The evaluator’s findings are in line with FMCSA’s effectiveness findings; as a result, at the end of the Op-Model Test FMCSA adjusted how it identifies motor carriers for intervention to ensure BASICs with the strongest relationship to future crashes receive the most emphasis. However, FMCSA continues to address motor carriers with patterns of noncompliance in the Cargo-Related and Driver Fitness BASICs, which include carrier requirements for being properly licensed, carrying medical cards to allow verification that a driver meets the medical qualification standards, adequately securing cargo, and properly packaging and handling hazardous materials.
• As part of its ongoing commitment to continually assess and improve the SMS, FMCSA has a study underway that may result in improvements to some BASICs, with particular effect on the Cargo-Related BASIC.

There was lag time in measureable safety performance improvement after CSA investigations, and for carriers with the most serious safety problems, improvement rates were similar to those of the control group.

• FMCSA expects the upcoming Safety Fitness Determination rulemaking to accelerate return to compliance or removal from service for motor carriers with the worst safety problems.
• Based on lessons learned in the Op-Model Test, FMCSA improved the CSA investigative process and training in the Safety Management Cycle for its Federal and State Partner investigators. The enhanced investigative process allows investigators to systematically identify motor carriers’ safety problems and to recommend remedies to help carriers to quickly become safer.

View the full UMTRI Report.

Background

CSA’s SMS assesses 24 months of motor carriers’ safety performance information (inspections and investigations) by seven Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs). The seven BASICs are Unsafe Driving, Fatigued Driving (Hours-of-Service), Driver Fitness, Controlled Substances/Alcohol, Vehicle Maintenance, Cargo-Related, and Crash Indicator. Every month FMCSA updates motor carriers’ percentiles in each BASIC and motor carriers with BASIC percentiles above the FMCSA threshold are prioritized for an FMCSA intervention. Motor carriers that transport placardable quantities of HM are subject to more stringent BASIC thresholds because of the higher safety risk placardable HM pose to the public in the event of a crash or a spill.

What Changed?

Previously, the HM intervention threshold was applied to motor carriers based solely on their registration information indicating they transported any quantity of HM. This resulted in some motor carriers being subjected to the lower HM threshold that in fact were not carrying placardable quantities of HM, and conversely, resulted in some carriers not being subjected to the lower HM threshold that should have been. The HM intervention threshold now applies to motor carriers that transport placardable quantities of HM based on operational evidence. These are motor carriers that meet one of the following criteria:

• Inspection in the last 24 months where the motor carrier was identified as carrying placardable quantity of HM
• Review or safety audit in the last 24 months where the motor carrier was identified as carrying placardable quantity of HM
• Motor carrier has a HM permit

For more detailed information on the HM regulations and how to comply with them, motor carriers should visit FMCSA’s Website at the following link: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety-security/hazmat/complyhmregs.htm#hm

How Can a Motor Carrier Learn about Its Status Regarding this Change?

Motor carriers should:

1. Go to the SMS Website at http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/sms.
2. Enter their U.S. DOT or MC number on the right-hand side of the page.
3. Scroll down to the registration information at the bottom of the page.
4. View the item entitled “Subject to Placardable Hazardous Material Threshold” where they will see either a “Yes” or a “No.”
5. If the answer is “Yes,” motor carriers can click on the link where a table will outline why the motor carrier is assessed using the placardable HM threshold.

Questions and Feedback

Motor carriers can contact their local FMCSA Division Offices or the CSA technical support staff using the contact information on the CSA Outreach Website. To learn more about CSA and to stay up-to-date, subscribe to the CSA RSS feed or email list at http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/stay_connected.aspx.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS website and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

• The “Your Role” pages have been enhanced and a new section specifically for drivers has been added.   Each role page now contains a stakeholder-specific toolkit of CSA materials, links to important FMCSA websites, and a comprehensive list of questions and answers specific to each major stakeholder group.
• A new Resources page, where stakeholders can download a toolkit customized to their role, has replaced the previous news and media page. A new search feature allows visitors to customize their searches using keywords or simple checkboxes. The search results provide the most relevant documents as well as a list of the top five relevant Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
• Functionality on the FAQs page has been improved. In addition to being able to search by keyword, website viewers can now also filter their searches by stakeholder and topic.

Please check out the improved CSA Website and continue to give us your feedback.  Together we can improve safety.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS website and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

FMCSA is committed to providing all stakeholders with factual and timely information on CSA. As part of this commitment, it is important that commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers are aware of how CSA affects them.   

Drivers, we have heard and appreciate your questions on issues ranging from the Driver Safety Measurement System (DSMS) to the Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP). Here are the FACTS:

What is the DSMS?

• The SMS assesses a carrier’s safety performance based on its roadside violations and crashes. The DSMS is a tool within the SMS used by enforcement staff only. Its primary purpose is to help enforcement staff assess driver safety as part of motor carrier investigations. The DSMS does this by identifying which of a motor carrier’s drivers to examine during that carrier’s compliance review.  This enforcement tool uses a subset of violations to evaluate an individual driver’s safety performance across employers. Appendix A in the SMS Methodology Report shows the violations used in the DSMS.

Who can see the DSMS?

• Only enforcement staff have access to the DSMS for use during motor carrier safety investigations. Neither drivers nor employing motor carriers have access to the DSMS. While some third party vendors are developing and marketing CSA driver scorecards, these companies do not have access to full driver violation histories in FMCSA databases. FMCSA has not and will not validate any vendors’ scorecards or data

What is the Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP) and how does it impact CSA?

PSP is a new, voluntary FMCSA program mandated by Congress that is designed to assist the motor carrier industry in assessing individual drivers’ safety performance as part of the hiring process. PSP is a completely separate program from CSA. Additionally, PSP contains 3 years of inspection reports and 5 years of crash reports; however,  it does not provide a rating, score, or formal assessment of any kind. Drivers are encouraged to obtain and review their PSP report before applying for new jobs and request a review of any potentially inaccurate data through FMCSA’s DataQs program. While the PSP is not part of CSA, the safety data accessible through PSP is the same data that the DSMS and enforcement staff use during motor carrier investigations. For more information about PSP, visit FMCSA’s PSP Website at http://www.psp.fmcsa.dot.gov. For more information about DataQs, visit http://dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov.

Will FMCSA use CSA to remove CMV drivers from their jobs?

• NO CSA does not give FMCSA new authority to remove drivers from their jobs and DSMS information is not publicly shared in the way that motor carrier safety data is today. Other important facts related to driver employment are outlined below.
• • Carriers will not inherit any of a newly hired driver’s past violations. Only those inspections and crashes that a driver is involved in while operating under a carrier’s authority can be applied to a carrier’s SMS data.
  • Similar to the previous system, SafeStat, tickets or warnings that drivers receive while operating their personal vehicles do not count in the new SMS.
  • Neither FMCSA nor CSA restricts drivers based on BMI, weight, or neck size.
  • Drivers should review current and potential motor carrier employers’ SMS data which is located at http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/sms. Drivers and carriers with strong safety histories stand to benefit from the new compliance and enforcement program. 

Can FMCSA use CSA to revoke a driver’s commercial driver’s license (CDL)?

• NOCSA does not give FMCSA the authority to revoke a CDL. Only state agencies responsible for issuing CDLs have the authority to suspend or revoke them.
• The CDL Program is completely separate from CSA. FMCSA has developed and issued standards for the testing and licensing of CDL holders. These standards require states to issue CDLs only after the driver has passed knowledge and skills tests related to the type of vehicle the driver expects to operate.
• The data kept by a state (i.e. tickets, citations, written warnings, convictions) and the data that are kept by the Federal government and used in the DSMS (i.e. violations from roadside inspections and crash reports) are separate.  Drivers can review their state data by requesting their Motor Vehicle Record (MVR). Drivers may review the data kept by the Federal government through the PSP program referenced above and may request a review of the Federal data through FMCSA’s DataQs system (https://dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov/login.asp).

How does CSA affect a motor carriers’ employment of CMV drivers?

• Under CSA, FMCSA continues to hold motor carriers responsible for the safety performance of the drivers they employ. This is a longstanding FMCSA position and is not unique to CSA. All inspections and crashes that a driver receives while under the authority of a carrier will remain part of the carrier’s SMS data for two years unless overturned through the DataQs system, even if the carrier terminates the driver.

FMCSA’s CSA website is the official resource for information about this new safety program. We encourage drivers and all stakeholders to visit the CSA Website http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov and sign up to receive regular updates by email at http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/stay_connected.aspx.

Know the facts, be prepared.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS website and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS website and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

FMCSA Reaches Settlement Agreement in National Association of Small Trucking Companies Litigation on the Compliance Safety Accountability Program

Washington, DC – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today announced it has reached a settlement agreement with three trucking associations that will end litigation over information published on the website of FMCSA’s motor carrier enforcement program, Compliance Safety Accountability (CSA).

"CSA is a safety-critical program that helps to reduce commercial motor vehicle-related crashes and save lives,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. “Through this settlement agreement, we addressed the concerns raised by petitioners without compromising the CSA program and its safety benefits.”

The National Association of Small Trucking Companies, Inc. (NASTC), the Expedite Alliance of North America (TEANA) and the Air & Expedited Motor Carriers Association (AEMCA) filed suit on Nov. 29, 2010 challenging FMCSA’s CSA program. Under the agreement, FMCSA will make changes to CSA’s Safety Measurement System (SMS) public website to address concerns regarding the display of information on a commercial motor carriers’ safety performance.

The key changes that FMCSA will make to the SMS public website by March 25, 2011 are as follows:

• Replace any ALERT symbol currently displayed in orange on the SMS website with the following symbol of the exclamation mark inside a gold triangle
• Revise the disclaimer language on the SMS website to read:
  “The data in the Safety Measurement System (SMS) is performance data used by the Agency and enforcement community. A symbol, based on that data, indicates that FMCSA may prioritize a motor carrier for further monitoring. The symbol is not intended to imply any federal safety rating of the carrier pursuant to 49 USC 31144. Readers should not draw conclusions about a carrier’s overall safety condition simply based on the data displayed in this system. Unless a motor carrier in the SMS has received an UNSATISFACTORY safety rating pursuant to 49 CFR Part 385, or has otherwise been ordered to discontinue operations by the FMCSA, it is authorized to operate on the nation’s roadways. Motor carrier safety ratings are available at http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov and motor carrier licensing and insurance status are available at http://li-public.fmcsa.dot.gov.”

On Dec. 13, 2010, FMCSA launched its CSA enforcement program that is used to analyze all safety-based violations from roadside inspections and crashes to measure a commercial motor carrier's on-road safety performance. CSA allows FMCSA to reach more carriers earlier and deploy a range of corrective interventions to address a carrier's specific safety problems before crashes can occur.

To learn more about the CSA settlement agreement, visit the CSA website at http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS website and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

• The A&I Online Website, which is the system that houses SMS, experienced more than 5 million “hits.”
• Nearly 11,000 unique carriers logged in (four times the volume from the previous six weeks) on almost 40,000 occasions (six times the number from the prior six-week period) to view their safety data.
• The CSA “Question and Answer” function, where anyone can directly ask questions by phone or through an online form, experienced a sustained, significant increase in the volume of questions and FMCSA Division Offices across the country reported a similar increase.

Answers to some of the most frequently asked questions over the past few months are provided below.

Q. Why is SMS updated monthly?

A. The monthly SMS update timeframe allows FMCSA to prioritize motor carriers for safety interventions and to schedule FMCSA resources to conduct those interventions.  FMCSA uses this timeframe to carefully validate information and review SMS results before using them and posting them to the A&I Online Website.

Q. Are there plans to update SMS more frequently?

A. At this time, FMCSA does not plan to update the SMS results more often than monthly.

Q. Some third-party vendors provide more frequent “CSA scores.”  Does FMCSA use or validate any analyses provided by third-party vendors?

A. FMCSA does not use, validate, or vouch for any third-party vendor’s information related to SMS results. The monthly results displayed on A&I Online are the only SMS results that FMCSA uses.

To learn more about SMS or to get answers to other FAQs, visit the CSA outreach website at http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov.

 
In addition, a more general factsheet about the warning letter intervention can be found at http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/Documents/CSA2010_WarningLetterFactsheet.pdf.  This factsheet provides a sample warning letter and some frequently asked questions. 
 
Stay connected to CSA by signing up for the email subscription service at http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/subscription.aspx.

 
NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS website and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

NOTE TO CARRIERS: To login into the SMS website and see all of your safety data, you will need an FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN). If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today took a major step toward improving commercial truck and bus safety with the launch of the Compliance Safety Accountability (CSA) program.

The centerpiece of CSA is the Safety Measurement System (SMS), which will analyze all safety-based violations from inspections and crash data to determine a commercial motor carrier’s on-road performance. The new safety program will allow FMCSA to reach more carriers earlier and deploy a range of corrective interventions to address a carrier’s specific safety problems.

 
“The CSA program will help us more easily identify unsafe commercial truck and bus companies,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Better data and targeted enforcement will raise the safety bar for commercial carriers and empower them to take action before safety problems occur.” 

 
The program also advances the Obama Administration’s open government initiative by providing the public with safety data in a more user-friendly format.  This will give consumers a better picture of those carriers that pose a safety risk.  CSA was also tested in nine pilot states before the program was launched.

“We worked closely with our partners in the motor vehicle community to develop this powerful new program,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. “CSA is an important new tool that will help reduce commercial vehicle-related crashes and save lives.”  

The SMS uses seven safety improvement categories called BASICs to examine a carrier’s on-road performance and potential crash risk. The BASICs are Unsafe Driving, Fatigued Driving (Hours-of-Service), Driver Fitness, Controlled Substances/Alcohol, Vehicle Maintenance, Cargo-Related and Crash Indicator. Under FMCSA’s old measurement system, carrier performance was assessed in only four broad categories.

 
By looking at a carrier’s safety violations in each SMS category, FMCSA and state law enforcement will be better equipped to identify carriers with patterns of high-risk behaviors and apply interventions that provide carriers the information necessary to change unsafe practices early on.

Safety interventions include early warning letters, targeted roadside inspections and focused compliance reviews that concentrate enforcement resources on specific issues identified by the SMS.

 
FMCSA will continue to conduct onsite comprehensive compliance reviews for carriers with safety issues across multiple BASICs. And, where a carrier has not taken the appropriate corrective action, FMCSA will invoke strong civil penalties.

 
To learn more about the new CSA program, visit http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/. To see the new SMS, visit http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/sms.   PLEASE NOTE: For parties interested in downloading data for more than one carrier, please visit the SMS Download page at: http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/SMS/Data/Downloads.aspx. 

On August 16, 2010, FMCSA began providing carriers with information about where they stand in each of the new CSA SMS’s Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) based on roadside inspection data and investigation findings.  Based on feedback and analysis from the Data Preview period, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will roll out the new SMS to the nation in December with the following revisions: 

1. Modify the presentation of SMS BASIC results

• Change the term “Deficient” to “Alert” when a motor carrier’s score in one or more BASICs is above the FMCSA threshold for intervention. 
• Change the highlight color from red to orange.
• Improve the language to clarify that BASIC results signify the carrier is prioritized for an FMCSA intervention.

Explanation:  Feedback during the Data Preview indicate that the display of SMS results needs to clarify that BASIC percentiles above the FMCSA threshold signify the carrier is prioritized for an FMCSA intervention and do not signify or otherwise imply a “safety rating” or safety fitness determination. 

2. Modify Cargo-Related BASIC

• Recalibrate the Cargo-Related BASIC by adjusting the cargo securement violation severity weightings based on input from subject matter experts (SMEs).
• Modify the public display to show the SMS Cargo-Related BASIC violations only.  The percentiles and intervention status will not be on public display.

Explanation:  Feedback during the Data Preview period identified a concern that the BASIC was over-representing certain industry segments and potentially creating a misleading safety alert warning.  The Agency conducted additional analysis and concluded that the Cargo-Related BASIC be recalibrated with SMEs providing input on the cargo securement severity weights.  The agency received SME input and will now adjust the severity weights and run the algorithm accordingly. 

Also, the agency is conducting additional analysis to further understand the impact on the different industry segments of a carrier’s exposure in this BASIC.  During this analysis period, the BASIC results will continue to be an effective intervention prioritization tool for enforcement personnel based on sound safety principles.  Accordingly, the percentiles and intervention status will be accessible to the FMCSA enforcement community and motor carriers only.   

To learn more about CSA and to stay updated during the coming months, subscribe to the CSA RSS feed or email list at http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/stay_connected.aspx.

Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 (CSA 2010) and Drivers – Separating Fact from Fiction

 FMCSA is committed to providing all stakeholders with factual and timely information on CSA 2010. As part of this commitment, it is important that commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers are aware of how CSA 2010 will affect them.   

 Drivers, we have heard and appreciate your questions on issues ranging from the Driver Safety Measurement System (DSMS) to the Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP). Here are the FACTS: 

 What is the DSMS?

ü  The Safety Measurement System (SMS) assesses a carrier’s safety performance based on its roadside violations and crashes. The DSMS is a tool within the SMS used by enforcement staff only. Its primary purpose is to help enforcement staff assess driver safety as part of motor carrier investigations.  The DSMS does this by identifying which of a motor carrier’s drivers to examine during that carrier’s compliance review.  This enforcement tool uses a subset of violations to evaluate an individual driver’s safety performance across employers. Appendix A in the SMS Methodology Report shows the violations used in the DSMS.

 Who Can See the DSMS?

ü  Only enforcement staff will have access to the DSMS for use during motor carrier safety investigations. Neither drivers nor employing motor carriers will have access to the DSMS. While some third party vendors are developing and marketing CSA 2010 driver scorecards, these companies do not have access to full driver violation histories in FMCSA databases. FMCSA has not and will not validate any vendors’ scorecards or data.

 What is the Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP) and how does it impact CSA 2010?

ü  PSP is a new, voluntary FMCSA program mandated by Congress that is designed to assist the motor carrier industry in assessing individual drivers’ safety performance as part of the hiring process. PSP is a completely separate program from CSA 2010. Additionally, PSP does not provide a rating, score or formal assessment of any kind. Drivers are encouraged to obtain and review their PSP report before applying for new jobs, and request a review of any potentially inaccurate data through FMCSA’s DataQs program. While the PSP is not part of CSA 2010, the safety data accessible through PSP is the same data that the DSMS and enforcement staff use during motor carrier investigations. For more information about PSP, visit FMCSA’s PSP Website at http://www.psp.fmcsa.dot.gov. For more information about DataQs, visit http://dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov. 

 Will FMCSA use CSA 2010 to remove CMV drivers from their jobs?

ü  NO. CSA 2010 does not give FMCSA new authority to remove drivers from their jobs and cannot be used to publicly rate or assess drivers’ safety performance in the way carriers are rated or assessed today. Other important facts related to driver employment are outlined below.

·         Carriers will not inherit any of a newly hired driver’s past violations. Only those inspections and crashes that a driver is involved in while operating under a carrier’s authority can be applied to a carrier’s SMS.

·         Similar to today’s SafeStat, tickets or warnings that drivers receive while operating their personal vehicles do not count in the new SMS.

·         Neither FMCSA nor CSA 2010 restricts drivers based on body mass BMI, weight or neck size.

·         Drivers should ask current and potential motor carrier employers about their safety performance as measured under CSA 2010. Drivers and carriers with strong safety performance histories stand to benefit from the new compliance and enforcement program.

 Can FMCSA use CSA 2010 to revoke a driver’s CDL?

ü  NO. CSA 2010 does not give FMCSA the authority to revoke a CDL. Only state agencies responsible for issuing CDLs, have the authority to suspend or revoke them.

·         The CDL Program is completely separate from CSA 2010. FMCSA has developed and issued standards for the testing and licensing of CDL holders. These standards require states to issue CDLs only after the driver has passed knowledge and skills tests related to the type of vehicle the driver expects to operate.

·         The data kept by a state (i.e. tickets, citations, written warnings, convictions) and the data that are kept by the Federal government and used in the DSMS (i.e. violations from roadside inspections and crash reports) are separate.  Drivers may review the data kept by the Federal Government through the PSP program referenced above and may request a review of the Federal data through FMCSA’s DataQs system (https://dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov/login.asp).

 How does CSA 2010 affect a motor carriers’ employment of CMV drivers?

ü  Under CSA 2010, FMCSA continues to hold motor carriers responsible for the safety performance of the drivers they employ. This is a longstanding FMCSA position and is not unique to CSA 2010. All inspections and crashes that a driver receives while under the authority of a carrier will remain part of the carrier’s SMS data for two years unless overturned through the DataQs system,even if the carrier terminates the driver.

FMCSA’s CSA 2010 website is the official resource for information about this new safety program. We encourage drivers and all stakeholders to visit the CSA 2010 website at http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov  and sign up to receive regular updates by email at http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/stay_connected.aspx.

Know the facts, be prepared.

PLEASE NOTE: You will need a FMCSA-issued U.S. DOT Number Personal Identification Number (PIN) (NOT a Docket Number PIN) to access the CSA 2010 Data Preview website. If you do not know or have forgotten your PIN, you can request one via http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and select 'Click here to request your Docket Number PIN and/or USDOT Number PIN.' Be sure to request a U.S. DOT Number PIN, NOT a Docket Number PIN.

Did You Know…While some third party vendors are developing and marketing Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 (CSA 2010) driver scorecards, consumers should know that these companies do not have access to the driver violation histories in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) databases despite some claims that they do. FMCSA has not and will not validate any vendors’ scorecards or data.

Check out Just the Facts that addresses other myths about CSA 2010.

Check out Just the Facts that addresses other myths about CSA 2010.

CSA 2010 Data Preview
Commercial motor vehicle carriers may now view their individual safety assessments on the Data Preview Website. This updated Website provides motor carriers with information on where they stand in each Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) based on roadside data and investigation findings. Each motor carrier’s BASIC assessments are visible only to them (and to enforcement staff) until December of 2010. In December, assessments will be made available to the public. Also, enforcement agencies will use these assessments to prioritize the Agency’s enforcement and compliance assistance workload. By providing carriers with this information now, FMCSA’s approach gives carriers the earliest possible opportunity to improve compliance.

FMCSA is providing motor carriers with this early look at the new Safety Measurement System (SMS) so they can see their performance data, can address safety compliance issues right away and can update and verify their data online. Release of this safety performance information underscores FMCSA’s commitment to data integrity and the motor carrier industry’s responsibility for ensuring commercial vehicle safety. This important step is designed to allow motor carriers to identify and address unsafe behaviors that can lead to crashes. What can motor carriers do now to prepare for the new system? Motor carriers should look at their assessment on the Data Preview Website, identify any data mistakes, verify and update their motor carrier census data, in particular power units (PU) and vehicle miles travelled (VMT) on the MCS-150 form, and take the necessary steps to correct unsafe driver and/or company safety practices.

More Information
Complete details on the Data Preview are available through Data Preview Guidance (FAQs), the new SMS Methodology Version 2.0 and SMS Changes Explanation. FMCSA has responded to field test results and stakeholder feedback to improve SMS. To learn more about CSA 2010, and to stay updated during the coming months, subscribe to the CSA 2010 RSS feed or email list at: http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/Stay_Connected.aspx.

The U. S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is pleased to announce the next step in the phased rollout of Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 (CSA 2010).

Motor Carrier Data Preview: In April 2010, FMCSA launched the CSA 2010 Data Preview Website which allowed commercial motor vehicle carriers to view an inventory of their safety performance data by the new Safety Measurement System’s (SMS) Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs). On August 16, 2010, FMCSA will update the Data Preview Website by providing carriers with an assessment of where they stand in each BASIC based on roadside data and investigation findings. The SMS’s seven BASICs are Unsafe Driving, Fatigued Driving (Hours-of-Service), Driver Fitness, Controlled Substances/Alcohol, Vehicle Maintenance, Cargo-Related and Crash Indicator. The BASICs will replace SafeStat’s Safety Evaluation Areas (SEAs) in December 2010, and this early look gives motor carriers an opportunity to understand and address their safety compliance issues right away.

Recent Updates to SMS: The Data Preview assessments will be based on an improved SMS methodology. As a result of input from enforcement personnel, industry representatives, and safety experts, as well as findings from an extensive, 30-month field test, FMCSA is implementing several updates to the SMS that will make it more effective in identifying high risk and other carriers with safety compliance problems. Specifically:

• The measure of exposure will be changed from Power Units (PUs) only to a combination of PUs and Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT) in the Unsafe Driving BASIC and Crash Indicator. In addition, these two BASICs will change from using PUs as a safety event grouping (formerly referred to as peer grouping) to using the number of crashes for the Crash Indicator and the number of inspections with a violation for the Unsafe Driving BASIC.
• The measure of exposure will change from PUs to the number of relevant inspections in the Controlled Substances/Alcohol BASIC;
• Severity weights for some roadside inspection violations will be updated; and
• The Agency will employ a more strategic approach to addressing motor carriers with a history of size and weight violations rather than counting these violations in the Cargo-Related BASIC; the new approach will include alerts to roadside inspectors when carriers have a history of size and weight violations.

These enhancements will allow the Agency to more effectively identify motor carriers with safety performance and compliance problems thereby raising the bar for safety on the Nation’s roads. For additional details about the Data Preview and the improvements to the SMS, visit: http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/Documents/SMSImprovementsFAQs.pdf

Preliminary University of Michigan Transportation Institute (UMTRI) Findings: FMCSA’s 30-month field test of CSA 2010 has drawn keen interest from the trucking industry, including trade publications. Recently one of these publications reported preliminary findings provided by FMCSA’s independent evaluator, UMTRI, that indicate that while the majority of the BASICs have a strong relationship to future crashes, two of the seven – Driver Fitness and Cargo-Related - do not. The question was raised whether these findings would delay implementation.

In the interest of safety, and based on promising field test results, FMCSA’s implementation of CSA 2010 will continue according to its published schedule available at: http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/about/csa_when.aspx. The SMS was designed to: (1) Identify high-risk motor carriers for priority intervention; those that have a greater propensity to be involved in future crashes, and (2) Identify motor carriers with patterns of on-road performance and compliance issues for intervention. SMS does both very well.

With respect to identifying high risk carriers, FMCSA effectiveness testing results demonstrate that those carriers that SMS identifies as “high-risk” have much higher future crash rates than those carriers not designated as high risk. Additionally, the effectiveness testing shows SMS identifies a group of carriers with higher crash risk than the system currently in use known as SafeStat.

SMS clearly identifies motor carriers with compliance issues as well, regardless of whether those compliance issues are linked to future crash risk through effectiveness testing. Congress has been clear that the FMCSA is a compliance and enforcement agency. While the effectiveness testing may not establish a relationship with future crashes in the Driver Fitness and Cargo-Related BASICs, FMCSA, as well as industry, has an obligation to ensure compliance with the regulations that contribute to these two BASICs. These two BASICs include being properly licensed, carrying medical cards to allow verification that a driver meets the medical qualification standards, adequately securing cargo, and properly packaging and handling hazardous materials.

UMTRI’s preliminary findings are in line with FMCSA’s effectiveness findings in terms of future crash risk. In response, FMCSA has adjusted how it identifies carriers for investigation so that the BASICs that have the strongest relationship to future crashes receive the most emphasis. In this way, FMCSA will address those carriers with the highest propensity for future crashes as well as those with the strongest patterns of noncompliance.

To learn more about CSA 2010, and to stay updated during the coming months, subscribe to the CSA 2010 RSS feed or email list at http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov.

On Wednesday, June 23, 2010 FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro spoke before the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, on CSA 2010: Understanding FMCSA’s New System of Motor Carrier Oversight. The Subcommittee received testimony from the Administrator, as well as representatives from the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA). Read her written statement, or view a taping of the hearing in its entirety.  
 
On the Radio this Tuesday: CSA 2010 Myths Dispelled!

• April 12 – November 30, 2010 – Motor carriers can preview their own data by seeing their roadside inspections/violations and crash events organized by Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC).
• Summer 2010
  • June 30th – The Operational Model (Op-Model) Test will end.
  • July – The four “50/50” Op-Model Test states, Colorado, Georgia, Missouri and New Jersey, will join the five 100% Op-Model Test states in implementing the program.  
  • August –  Motor carriers will be able to see an assessment of their violations based on the new Carrier Safety Measurement System (CSMS) which will replace SafeStat later in 2010.
• Fall/Winter 2010
  • SafeStat will be replaced by the CSMS. CSMS will be available to the public, including shippers and insurance companies.
  • FMCSA/States will prioritize enforcement using the CSMS.
  • FMCSA will begin to issue Warning Letters to carriers with deficient BASICs.
  • Roadside inspectors will use the CSMS results to identify carriers for inspection.
• Winter 2010 - Safety Fitness Determination Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) is scheduled to be released.
• 2011 – Enforcement staff will be trained, and new interventions will be implemented State-by-State

• Safety Investigators are conducting 20 percent more investigations per investigator
• Approximately 50 percent of investigations have resulted in a follow-on intervention such as a Cooperative Safety Plan, Notice of Violation or Notice of Claim
• More than 4,000 warning letters have been sent to motor carriers, and about half of those carriers have followed up to learn more about their safety performance.

• U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee
• U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
• U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

The Congressional Briefing is available at: http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/Documents/CongressionalBriefing_10222009.ppt.

The FMCSA will use the upcoming listening session webinars to inform the public on the latest progress of CSA 2010 and answer questions from stakeholders.  The first webinar will be held on Thursday, December 3, 2009 and present CSA 2010 Overview and Operational Model Test Results.  The second webinar will be held on Thursday, December 10, 2009 and present CSA 2010 from a Motor Carrier and Driver Perspective.  

Your participation in these listening session webinars is encouraged.  To register and submit questions for the webinars, please visit http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/listeningSessions/ by November 30, 2009.  Also, written comments regarding CSA 2010 can be filed to the Federal Docket Management System at http://www.regulations.gov, Docket ID Number FMCSA-2004-18898. 

• CSA 2010 Operational Model test representatives participated in a panel discussion at the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s fall conference in Baltimore, Maryland 
• Operational Model Test Division Administrators hosted 3 interactive webinars for their non-test state peers
• CSA 2010 representatives introduced the new approach to organizations such as:
  • National Private Truck Council 
  • North American Transportation Services Association 
  • Several state-level trucking associations 
     

Similar events are planned in October and November.  Stay tuned!

More Webinars to Follow

The first in a series of Webinars on the implementation of CSA 2010 and its impact upon FMCSA’s workforce took place August 18.  Division Administrators from CSA 2010 test states discussed changes and answered questions from their peers including: 

• Are the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) changing? ANSWER: No.  The Safety Fitness Determination (SFD) notice of proposed rulemaking is under development but CSA 2010 implementation is not dependent on SFD.
•  Will Field Staff have to re-apply for new job positions?  ANSWER: No. Job and grades are not changing.
• Will training on the new CSA 2010 safety measurement system and new interventions processes be provided?  ANSWER: Yes. Training for Field Staff and State partners will begin next year.

The Safety Measurement System (SMS) will replace SafeStat as the new tool to measure carriers’ safety performance when CSA 2010 rolls out next year.  SMS uses all safety-based inspection violations and applies time weighting and severity weighting to calculate measures. Each month, SMS measures two years of crash, inspection and violation data to evaluate carrier performance in seven safety behavior categories, called BASICS (Behavioral Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories).  The SMS uses the measures to assign a percentile ranking for all carriers within each BASIC. Today, SMS is working well in the six Operational Model test states.

• General information about the CSA 2010
• Outreach material including fact sheets, brochures, and briefings
• Frequently Asked Questions about CSA 2010

Do you have feedback about the site or can’t find a certain piece of information? Contact us via email to send us your comments or questions.

On Wednesday, August 5th, FMCSA met with members of that group as part of the Agency’s ongoing effort to reach out to industry stakeholders about upcoming CSA 2010 changes.  During the meeting, FMCSA and ATA discussed a range of topics including the timing of roll-out and the weighting of violations in the CSA 2010 Safety Measurement System (SMS).

The Federal-State Working Group (FSWG) has been in place since the beginning of the test. Captain Mark Savage of the Colorado State Patrol reports that: "CSA 2010 was developed from the ground level up with close collaboration between state partners and federal enforcement personnel and from that perspective it is unique and effective." According to Savage, CSA 2010 has "...increased the integrity of my entire program in Colorado because of the increased emphasis, not just on investigations, but also on the data that’s collected on the roadside and thereby focusing more attention and resources towards the most important goal of the program, reducing crashes."

On July 21, 2009, Bryan Price, Senior Transportation Specialist at FMCSA, led a Webinar on CSA 2010 for OTA members. His presentation included an overview of the program as well as an update on the Operational Model Test currently underway.

One area of interest by the OTA membership was the inclusion of time-weighted, on-road safety performance data using all safety-based violations in determining scores through the new Safety Measurement System (SMS). This is a new feature in CSA 2010. Price explained, “FMCSA wants results to be as reflective as possible of a carrier's current safety status, and does not want to overwhelm the system with old data which may disproportionately influence the scores if the carrier has improved over the two year period.

Similar CSA 2010 outreach efforts to stakeholders will continue to take place throughout the year.

Of the 3,000 warning letters sent to date, over 45% of carriers receiving them have logged in to view their safety scores. Daniel Drexler, Minnesota Division Administrator, a test state DA, observed, "As a result of the warning letters sent to Minnesota carriers, we have spoken with many carrier officials who thanked us for notifying them about their safety problems."

According to Drexler, "We found that once carrier officials understand that the new system enables them to identify their problem drivers, a light goes on.  They see CSA 2010 as a tool to reinforce for drivers the importance of roadside inspections, and to hold drivers accountable for on-road safety performance, and therefore improve their companies’ overall safety performance."

In fact SIs' jobs in CSA 2010 will have an even greater impact on safety and will be more interesting and diverse due to the array of interventions available to deal with safety issues!

The SIs also focused on the response from carriers in test states. They reported that carriers appreciated the additional safety guidance the CSA 2010 process offers, and in particular, are open to assistance about how to address problems in order to improve safe travel for commercial vehicle drivers and the motoring public.

"Keep an open mind...CSA 2010 is a change but it’s a very effective change and change can be good. It is an efficient and effective way to contact carriers and make a difference."

-Steff Copeland, State Safety Enforcement Investigator, Missouri DOT

The peer-to-peer sessions will provide field staff with a direct opportunity to hear even more from their OpModel test counterparts about the issues that are most important to them!

Jim Dearing, a Missouri Safety Investigator and new CSA 2010 instructor states, “As an SI in one of the original test states, I was a vocal skeptic early on. However, my experience over the past 18 months has changed my mind. I believe that the new approach to the investigative process and its associated applications are the most dynamic and innovative compilation of tools and resources FMCSA has developed in its history. I am not only enthusiastic but proud to be involved in educating others as the Agency prepares for rollout nationwide.”

FMCSA field staff and state partners will all receive this CSA 2010 training as a key part of implementation next year! The training includes real-world examples focusing on investigations using CSA 2010’s approach, and provides hands-on sessions to introduce the new measurement system and new tools.

Safety Investigators from Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, and New Jersey Division Offices and State Partner organizations recently met in Denver to lend their real-world expertise to the development of software tools that will be used in the field to support CSA 2010 interventions when CSA 2010 rolls out next year.

With participation from FMCSA's IT Development Division, and technical support from North Dakota State University and the Volpe Center, the group reviewed the proposed CSA 2010 intervention process, from pre-investigation through follow-up. Their essential input provided on-the-ground knowledge of how the next generation suite of tools can be developed to support CSA 2010 roll out next year!

Comprehensive Safety Analysis (CSA 2010) is an FMCSA initiative to improve large truck and bus safety and ultimately reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities. At a workshop May 20-21, experts from FMCSA’s IT Development Division and the CSA 2010 Program collaborated on next generation safety applications that will deliver the most up-to-date, comprehensive information available on drivers and carriers to safety investigators nationwide when CSA 2010 rolls out next year.

"Having all of the motor carriers’ data in one central location, including crash data, inspection data, driver information, etc. is a very critical management tool to ensure we’re targeting the right carriers for the most efficient and effective interventions." Dave Yessen, Federal Programs Manager New Jersey Division (CSA 2010 Interventions Manager)