CSA / SMS Scoring — FMCSA Compliance Safety Accountability

The seven BASICs (Behavior Analysis & Safety Improvement Categories)

Each BASIC is scored separately. Violations from roadside inspections + crashes accumulate over a 24-month rolling window.

BASIC	What it covers	Inspection types	Normalization
Unsafe Driving	Speeding, reckless driving, lane changes, following too closely, texting, seatbelt	Driver inspections	Per driver inspection
Hours of Service Compliance	HOS violations: log book, ELD, fatigue	Driver inspections	Per driver inspection
Driver Fitness	CDL, medical cert, ELDT, training	Driver inspections	Per driver inspection
Controlled Substances / Alcohol	D&A violations	Driver inspections	Per driver inspection
Vehicle Maintenance	Brakes, tires, lights, leaks, body, frame	Vehicle inspections	Per vehicle inspection
Hazardous Materials Compliance	Hazmat placarding, labeling, packaging, training	Vehicle inspections (hazmat)	Per hazmat inspection
Crash Indicator	DOT-recordable crashes; NOT public-facing	Crashes	Per power-unit-mile (hybrid)

How violations score

Each violation has a severity weight (1-10) assigned by FMCSA based on its causal relationship to safety. Examples:

• Following too closely: 10
• Speeding 15+ mph over: 7
• No medical cert: 5
• Logbook violation (form/manner): 4
• Tire tread depth: 3
• Headlamp out: 1

Violations age out: full weight for first 6 months, then weight decreases as the violation passes the 12 and 18 month marks.

BSI calculation per BASIC

Raw BSI = Σ (severity × time_weight × OOS_modifier × VIOL_TYPE_modifier)
                     /  exposure_factor

Where:

• OOS modifier = +2 if the violation was an OOS (Out of Service) violation
• Time weight = 3 for violations 0-6 months old; 2 for 6-12 months; 1 for 12-24 months
• Exposure factor = denominator that normalizes for fleet size

Exposure factors (denominators)

BASIC	Denominator
Unsafe Driving	Driver inspections
HOS Compliance	Driver inspections
Driver Fitness	Driver inspections
Controlled Substances	Driver inspections
Vehicle Maintenance	Vehicle inspections
HM Compliance	HM inspections
Crash Indicator	Power units × VMT (vehicle miles traveled) × utilization factor

This means: a carrier with very few inspections may have a HIGH BSI even with only one or two violations (small denominator), while a high-inspection carrier with many small violations may have a LOW BSI.

Peer percentile (the actual public score)

FMCSA groups carriers into peer-similarity buckets:

• Safety Event Group (SEG) — for non-crash BASICs, groups based on # of inspections
• Carrier Size — for Crash Indicator, groups based on power-unit count + VMT

Within each peer group, your BSI is compared to peers. Your score is your peer percentile (0-100). Higher = worse.

Intervention thresholds

BASIC	Hazmat/PAX threshold	General threshold
Unsafe Driving	65%	65%
HOS Compliance	65%	65%
Driver Fitness	80%	80%
Controlled Substances	80%	80%
Vehicle Maintenance	75%	80%
HM Compliance	80%	80%
Crash Indicator	65%	65%

If a carrier exceeds a threshold in any BASIC = "Alert" status = increased likelihood of FMCSA intervention (warning letters, on-site investigations, compliance reviews).

Inspection Selection System (ISS)

ISS is the roadside priority score (0-100) that determines whether a CMV is selected for inspection at a weigh station or random roadside check. Computed from BSIs across all BASICs:

• 0-49 = "Pass" — minimal inspection priority
• 50-74 = "Optional" — inspector's discretion
• 75-100 = "Inspect" — high priority for inspection

So a carrier with even one BASIC near alert threshold will have an elevated ISS — meaning drivers get pulled in more often, more violations accumulate, scores climb further. Vicious cycle.

How to reduce BSI

1. Fix the underlying behavior. Bad brake checks? Fix preventive maintenance. HOS issues? Audit ELD usage. Speeding tickets? Coach + telematics.
2. Increase clean inspections. Each clean inspection adds to the denominator. Encourage drivers to participate in voluntary inspections.
3. Dispute incorrect violations via DataQ. If a violation was wrongly issued (e.g., driver wasn't your employee, vehicle wasn't yours, violation cited the wrong CFR), file a DataQ dispute. Successful DataQ disputes remove the violation from your BASIC.
4. Wait for old violations to age out. After 24 months, the violation drops off the SMS window entirely.

DataQ dispute process

Go to dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov:

1. Identify the violation report.
2. Submit a Request for Data Review (RDR).
3. FMCSA assigns to a state Disposition Office.
4. State investigates (typically 30-60 days).
5. Outcome: violation amended, removed, or upheld.

Common successful DataQ outcomes:

• Driver wasn't on duty (PC time misclassified as on duty)
• Vehicle wasn't yours (leased, sold, returned)
• Violation cited wrong CFR
• Inspector error (wrong measurement, wrong weight)
• Carrier wasn't the responsible party

Where the SMS Methodology document lives

https://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/Documents/SMSMethodology.pdf — currently v3.20 (Sept 2025 rev). FMCSA updates approximately every 12-18 months. The document has the full severity weight tables (Appendix A) and the acute/critical violations list (Appendix B).

The "BSI Crash" — Crash Indicator BASIC

Crash Indicator is calculated differently:

• Only DOT-recordable crashes count (49 CFR 390.5: fatality OR injury away from scene OR disabling damage)
• Crashes count regardless of fault (preventability is captured in a separate program, but not for SMS scoring as of 2024)
• Exposure factor is power units × VMT × utilization (hybrid)
• Not publicly visible (private to the carrier + FMCSA)

Where this fits in X3

X3's csa-scores.html page surfaces all 7 BASICs with peer percentile + trend. agent-csa-monitor runs monthly and pulls fresh BSI from FMCSA. The X3 Risk Index (proprietary) blends SMS BSI with our own internal signals (driver retention, training completion, internal inspection outcomes). The SMS methodology constants are encoded in _shared/sms_methodology.ts.

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