Look up a carrier and review the violation counts entered below by BASIC. Open the official SMS record for available measures and percentiles.
Step 1: find the carrier
Step 2: enter your roadside violations
Enter how many of each violation you have picked up in the last 24 months. The calculator groups your entries by BASIC and totals the number of violations.
How the Safety Measurement System actually works
Unsafe Driving, Hours of Service Compliance, Driver Fitness, Controlled Substances and Alcohol, Vehicle Maintenance, Hazardous Materials Compliance and the Crash Indicator.
FMCSA applies the published severity weight for each violation code. An extra OOS weight applies in relevant BASICs, but not in Unsafe Driving or Controlled Substances/Alcohol. Severity totals are capped at 30 per inspection per BASIC before time weighting.
Recent behavior counts most. Violations in the last 6 months are multiplied by 3, from 6 to 12 months by 2, and from 12 to 24 months by 1. After 24 months they drop out entirely.
FMCSA converts the measure into a percentile from 0 to 100 by comparing you against a peer group of carriers with similar exposure. That comparison needs FMCSA peer data, so the percentile itself comes from the official SMS site.
Intervention thresholds
Unsafe Driving, Hours of Service Compliance and the Crash Indicator for general freight carriers. Passenger carriers sit at 50 percent and hazmat carriers at 60 percent.
Vehicle Maintenance, Controlled Substances/Alcohol and Driver Fitness have an 80 percent general-carrier threshold, 65 percent for passenger carriers and 75 percent for HM carriers. HM Compliance is 80 percent for all three carrier types.
FMCSA prioritises the carrier for intervention, which can run from a warning letter through an investigation to an on-site comprehensive review.
If a violation on your record is wrong, challenge it through DataQs. An accepted review can correct or remove a record, depending on the finding.
CSA score questions
What is a good CSA score?
CSA BASIC percentiles run from 0 to 100 where a lower number is better, because the percentile shows how a carrier compares with a peer group of similar carriers. Staying well below the intervention threshold for each BASIC is the practical goal; a percentile at or above the threshold puts a carrier in line for FMCSA intervention.
What are the CSA intervention thresholds?
For general freight carriers the thresholds are 65 percent for Unsafe Driving, Hours of Service Compliance and the Crash Indicator, and 80 percent for Vehicle Maintenance, Controlled Substances and Alcohol, Driver Fitness and Hazardous Materials Compliance. Passenger and HM carriers have lower thresholds in those BASICs except HM Compliance, which is 80 percent for all three carrier types.
How long do violations stay on a CSA score?
Roadside inspection and violation data stays in the Safety Measurement System for 24 months. Its weight decreases with age: violations in the most recent 6 months carry a time weight of 3, those from 6 to 12 months old carry 2, and those from 12 to 24 months old carry 1.
How do I check my CSA score?
Carriers can access their BASIC measures and percentiles through the official FMCSA Safety Measurement System. This calculator totals the violations entered by BASIC.
How can I improve my CSA score?
Reduce new violations in the worst BASIC first, since recent violations carry triple weight, challenge inaccurate roadside data through DataQs, and review the relevant inspection records for each BASIC. Time also helps: violations lose weight as they age past 6 and 12 months.
Official sources
- FMCSA Safety Measurement System
- FMCSA SMS methodology and severity weights
- FMCSA CSA program
- DataQs: challenge a roadside record
Rules and agency systems can change. Check the linked source before making a filing or compliance decision.
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