How are the Safety Measurement System (SMS) scores calculated?   How often will it be updated and how far back do violations count?

When SMS is implemented in the beginning of December 2010, SMS will replace the Safety Status (SafeStat) measurement system as FMCSA’s tool to identify high-risk motor carriers requiring interventions in order to improve safety on the Nation’s roads. SMS will evaluate the safety of individual motor carriers by considering all safety-based roadside inspection violations, not just out-of service violations, as well as State-reported crashes, using 24 months of performance data. SMS will assess each carrier’s safety performance in each of the Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs): Unsafe Driving, Fatigued Driving (Hours-of-Service), Driver Fitness, Controlled Substances/Alcohol, Vehicle Maintenance, Cargo-Related, and Crash Indicator. SMS calculates a measure for each BASIC by combining the time and severity weighted violations/crashes (more recent violations are weighted more heavily) normalized by exposure (e.g. hybrid of number of power units/vehicle miles traveled or number of relevant inspections). Applying a similar approach to that used in SafeStat, SMS converts each carrier’s BASIC measures into percentiles based on rank relative to carriers with similar safety event groupings (i.e. number of relevant inspections or crashes). SMS will be updated monthly. To understand more about the BASICS, check out the SMS Factsheet and briefings on the CSA 2010 Website at http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/. For even more detail, review the SMS Methodology document located here: http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/documents/SMSMethodology.pdf. The document details which values are assigned for each violation and how they are weighted in Appendix A, starting with A-4 located here: http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/Documents/SMSMethodology.pdf#nameddest=T1.

The BASICs represent behaviors that can lead to crashes.  The categories were developed based on information from a number of studies that quantify the associations between violations and crash risk, as well as statistical analysis and input from enforcement subject matter experts. The Safety Measurement System (SMS) assesses carriers in each of seven BASICs.  Below are the seven BASICS and their corresponding Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) parts:

 - Unsafe Driving (CFR Parts 392 & 397)
- Fatigued Driving (Hours-of-Service (HOS)) (CFR Parts 392 & 395)
- Driver Fitness (CFR Parts 383 & 391)
- Controlled Substances/Alcohol (CFR Parts 382 & 392)
- Vehicle Maintenance (CFR Parts 393 & 396)
- Cargo-Related (CFR Parts 392, 393, 397 & Hazardous Materials)
- Crash Indicator (Reportable Crashes)

 For more detailed descriptions on the BASICs; visit this website: http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/about/basics.aspx.   The details on which violations correspond to each BASIC can be found in the SMS Methodology document in Appendix A, starting with A-3: http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/documents/SMSMethodology.pdf.

Why is CSA 2010 being implemented?

FMCSA’s mission is to improve safety by reducing crashes. Over the past few years, the rate of crash reduction  has slowed, prompting FMCSA to take a fresh look at how the agency evaluates the safety of motor carriers and drivers and to explore ways to improve its safety monitoring, evaluation and intervention processes. CSA 2010 is the result of this comprehensive examination. CSA 2010 will enable FMCSA and its state partners to assess the safety performance of a greater segment of the industry and to intervene with more carriers to change unsafe behavior early.

What is the Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP) and when does it start?

PSP is a new FMCSA program mandated by Congress that is designed to assist the motor carrier industry in assessing individual operators' crash and serious safety violation history as a pre-employment condition. The program is voluntary. It is not part of CSA 2010.  Motor carriers can now enroll in PSP at http://www.psp.fmcsa.dot.gov/Pages/Enroll.aspx.  Visit FMCSA's PSP website at http://www.psp.fmcsa.dot.gov for additional information.

How does the Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP) process work and who can use PSP?

Motor carriers may request, through NIC Technologies, driver information for the purpose of pre-employment screening. The driver must provide written consent. Individual drivers may request their own driver information record at any time. The information will be retrieved from the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS). MCMIS electronic profiles will contain five years of crash data and three years of inspection data, however, MCMIS will not include conviction data. There will be a fee for this service. The system is currently under development, but people can enroll now at http://www.psp.fmcsa.dot.gov/Pages/Enroll.aspx. More information about the PSP program is forthcoming. People who have additional questions about PSP can go to the PSP website and review the PSP FAQs (http://www.psp.fmcsa.dot.gov/Pages/FAQ.aspx), and/or visit the PSP 'Contact Us' page at.http://www.psp.fmcsa.dot.gov/Pages/ContactUs.aspx.

Will CSA 2010 assign safety ratings to individual CMV drivers? I heard that CSA 2010 is designed to rate CMV drivers and to put many of them out of work this summer.

No. Under CSA 2010, individual CMV drivers will not be assigned safety ratings or Safety Fitness Determinations (SFDs). Consistent with the current safety rating regulations (49 CFR part 385), individual drivers who operate independently as a “motor carrier” (i.e. have their own USDOT number, operating authority, and insurance) will continue to be rated as a motor carrier, as they are today, following an onsite investigation at their place of business.  CSA 2010 will also provide enhanced tools for Safety Investigators (SIs) to identify drivers with safety performance problems during motor carrier investigations. As a result, motor carriers and drivers will have the opportunity to correct the specific safety performance problems.  CSA 2010 is designed to meet one overriding objective: to increase safety on the Nation’s roads. Therefore, it is, by design, a positive program for drivers and carriers with strong safety performance records Also, it will send a strong message that drivers and carriers with poor safety performance histories need to improve.

What is the CSA 2010 Operational Model?

The CSA 2010 Operational Model is the new way FMCSA and its state partners will carry out the compliance and enforcement programs. The CSA 2010 Operational Model is characterized by (1) a more comprehensive measurement system, (2) a proposed safety fitness determination methodology that is based on performance data, and (3) a comprehensive intervention process designed to more efficiently and effectively correct safety deficiencies.

How does a driver’s violation history impact a carrier’s Safety Measurement System (SMS) evaluation?

Carriers are only evaluated on inspections and crashes associated with their own DOT number, so only violations that a driver receives while working for a carrier apply to that carrier’s SMS evaluation.  Therefore, the driver’s violation history before the driver is hired and after the driver’s employment is terminated will not impact a carrier’s SMS results.  However, even if a carrier terminates a driver, all of the driver’s crashes and inspection results that s/he received while operating for that carrier still apply to the carrier’s SMS evaluation for 24 months from the date of occurrence. Because the data is time-weighted, the effect of those occurrences on the carrier’s score will diminish over the course of the 24 months.

Will the Safety Measurement System (SMS) data be available to the public? How will Analysis & Information (A&I) Online change under CSA 2010?

SMS will 2010 rollout in early December 2010 and FMCSA envisions that public users, including shippers and insurers, will have access to SMS results very similar to the way they do today with SafeStat.  Public access is expected to have similar limitations to those that are in place today for the public display of SafeStat results. For example:

• The driver name and other privacy related material from individual inspection results will be removed; and

• The “assessment/score” related to the Crash Indicator BASIC will likely not be displayed because the data includes all crashes, including those where the carrier was not at fault.

The SMS uses all safety-based violations recorded during roadside inspections to evaluate safety. A list of these violations can be found in the Appendix A of the SMS Methodology document (http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/documents/SMSMethodology.pdf.) All of the violations in Appendix A count against the motor carrier.  A subset of these violations is applied to evaluate driver safety in cases where the commercial motor vehicle driver is also responsible in part for the occurrence. This subset of violations is noted in the “Driver Responsible” column in Appendix A of the SMS Methodology document.  The driver safety assessment tool in the SMS, at present, is only used by enforcement personnel who are conducting carrier investigations.  The new tool enables safety investigators to focus on drivers with poor safety performance histories when they are investigating a carrier.

How does an investigation work?

The main purpose of every investigation is to ensure motor carriers and drivers are complying with the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). There are three types of investigations. Offsite investigations are conducted over the phone and through e-mail, fax and the mail. Onsite focused and onsite comprehensive investigations are conducted at a carrier's place of business.

The investigation process is similar regardless of whether it is offsite, onsite focused, or onsite comprehensive. A Federal or State Safety Investigator (SI) reviews a carrier's SMS data, the specific violations that compose the SMS, and the carrier's intervention history. Next, the SI interviews representatives from the carrier over the phone and/or in person and also reviews selected documents. The SI engages in these activities to examine the carrier's operations for compliance with FMCSRs and to determine, with the carrier's participation, the organizational process breakdowns that are triggering the carrier's safety violations. The SI will determine the appropriate follow-on intervention(s) (Notice of Claim/Notice of Violation and/or Cooperative Safety Plan). In addition, the SI will discuss with the carrier how they might improve their operations so that their deficient SMS scores will improve.

What are the intervention thresholds for drivers?

FMCSA does not address drivers the same way it addresses carriers today, nor will it under CSA 2010. While carriers are prioritized for intervention based on the Safety Measurement System (SMS), drivers are only investigated during a carrier investigation. Therefore, no Intervention Thresholds are in place for drivers.

How does the process of investigating drivers work?

In the Operational Model Test (Op-Model Test), Safety Investigators (SIs) looked at driver history when investigating a carrier; specifically, they were looking for egregious violations of FMCSA’s safety regulations by drivers. These violations were sometimes referred to as Red Flag Violations.

Where can I find more specific information about measurements for specific BASICs?

For a detailed look at the safety measurement system methodology including in-depth information on how data would be categorized and scored for the BASICs, Please read the Safety Measurement System (SMS) Methodology.

Describe the serious driver violations that sometimes are called “Red Flag Violations”.

These are driver violations that are, by design, always investigated as part of a carrier investigation. The Safety Investigator (SI) looks to see if the violation has been corrected. At present, there are 11 such violations, though this list may be updated periodically. These are outlined in the table below, along with the Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) to which they correspond.

Any driver violations identified and addressed during carrier investigations that are not corrected may result in a driver Notice of Violation (NOV) or Notice of Claim (NOC). These are the only driver interventions at this time.

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

Carriers and the public are not informed about driver NOVs or NOCs. Drivers will be notified by mail and may be contacted by a FMCSA investigator.

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

Interventions are selected by weighing the following factors:  SMS percentile ranks including number of BASICs over the threshold, intervention history, and time since last intervention.  Higher percentile ranks could cause a motor carrier to enter, or remain in the pool of carriers with deficient BASICs if the percentile ranks pass the intervention thresholds.  Increased percentiles may make a carrier subject to more severe interventions.

How will the Safety Measurement System (SMS) handle crashes when motor carriers are not at fault?

The structure of the new SMS is such that crash accountability is not automatically determined or considered. In fact, recordable crash reports submitted to the FMCSA by the States do not include an accountability determination. Consequently, motor carriers are identified for possible intervention based on recordable crashes without consideration of accountability. This approach is taken because data analysis has historically shown that motor carriers that are involved in crashes are likely to be involved in more future crashes than the carriers that are not. Put simply, past crashes are a good predictor of future crashes.

The DataQs program (https://dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov) allows carriers and drivers to request review of information that resides in FMCSA databases. This information includes Federal and State-reported data such as crash and inspection reports, compliance review and/or intervention results, and enforcement actions. A carrier, driver, or other stakeholder can register for DataQs via the FMCSA Portal or through the DataQs system directly. Requests for data review require simple forms to be filled in with information from the relevant report, such as the report number, date and time of event, state, and an explanation for why the data should be changed. Documentation to support the request for review may also be submitted to the system. All information is routed to the organization responsible for the data. Electronic correspondence is used to communicate with the requestor when additional information is needed. DataQs is open to the public and the website provides an online help function to walk users through the process.

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

The process of a carrier getting back into service once they are determined Unfit is expected to remain the same as today. The biggest change is that roadside data might be a factor in determining the Safety Fitness Determination (SFD). If a carrier were to receive a proposed Unfit, they would have 45 days (Hazardous Material/Passenger carriers) or 60 days (all other carriers) to improve their SFD. Generally, this would be accomplished in one of three ways:

• Another investigation/compliance review

• A 385.15 appeal to the Chief Safety Officer if there are material errors with the information from either roadside data or interventions

• A 385.17 appeal to the Division Office if the carrier files evidence of corrective action
  
  

The new Safety Measurement System (SMS) includes a driver assessment tool, also known as DSMS. At present, this driver assessment is used strictly as an internal investigative tool for law enforcement and is not available to carriers, drivers, or the public. Law enforcement officials use this tool to examine the safety performance of individual commercial motor vehicle drivers when conducting CSA 2010 carrier investigations, but do not use the DSMS results to identify or to intervene with individual drivers outside of a carrier investigation. The raw data that will be available to carriers and drivers in the Driver Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP) is the same data that is used in DSMS but it does not provide a score or assessment from FMCSA. PSP allows carriers to review a driver’s safety record during the hiring process with driver permission.

What determines Unfit in terms of process and score for carriers?

FMCSA  uses the safety rating methodology as outlined in 49 CFR Part 385 and will continue to use this methodology until the rulemaking process is completed.  Accordingly, just like today a motor carrier will receive an Unsatisfactory safety rating following an on-site review if FMCSA determines that the carrier’s safety management controls fail to meet the safety fitness standard outlined in 49 CFR Part 385. There are four important differences between FMCSA’s current safety rating methodology and the proposed CSA 2010 Safety Fitness Determination (SFD):

In the short term, our proposed rule on SFD will propose that a carrier’s formal safety rating (i.e. the replacement for the traditional Unsatisfactory, Conditional, or Satisfactory rating process) would only be adversely affected by crashes where the carrier is at least partly at fault. These are known as preventable accidents. A Safety Investigator (SI) would determine which crashes are preventable.

Where do clean inspections come into play in the CSA 2010 Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASIC) measurement? Are they included in the “number of time weighted relevant inspections” formula?  If so, are all clean inspection rated the same, or do different levels deserve a higher positive BASIC assessment.  For example, are Level I clean inspections rated more positive than Level III?

The Fatigued Driving (HOS), Driver Fitness, Vehicle Maintenance, Cargo-Related, and Controlled Substance/Alcohol BASICs all use “relevant inspections” as a denominator for assessment of carrier performance.  For example, any time a driver is examined in an inspection, there is an opportunity for a violation that would impact the Driver Fitness BASIC.  Since there is an opportunity for a violation, it is considered a “relevant inspection” for that BASIC.  An inspection in which a driver was looked at with no Driver Fitness violations recorded (i.e. a “clean inspection”) would have a positive impact on the Driver Fitness BASIC. 

Put simply, “clean inspections” help prevent the Fatigued Driving (HOS), Driver Fitness, Vehicle Maintenance, Cargo-Related, and Controlled Substance/Alcohol BASICs from becoming deficient, or help to improve those BASICs if they are already deficient. 

To account for the differences among carriers, the SMS places carriers in safety event groups with similar exposure. Through the use of statistics, safety event grouping allows SMS to deal with the widely diverse motor carrier population, while ensuring that similarly situated carriers are treated with the same standards. The tables below outline the safety event groups for each of the Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) and can be found in the SMS Methodology document (http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/documents/SMSMethodology.pdf.) Safety event groups do not compare carriers by the commodities they haul or their industry segment. FMCSA’s foremost concern is safety and it accomplishes this by addressing the carriers that pose the greatest crash risk, irrespective of their industry segment.

For Fatigue Driving (Hours-of-Service), Driver Fitness, Vehicle Maintenance, and Cargo-Related BASICs

*A relevant inspection is one where the roadside inspector reviewed a particular area for evidence of violations (not all inspection types/levels look at all areas).

For Controlled Substance/Alcohol BASIC

What is the Driver Safety Measurement System (DSMS)?

DSMS is a component of the overall Safety Measurement System (SMS). At present, DSMS is simply a tool that enables enforcement personnel to assess individual drivers in the Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) using 36 months of roadside performance data, across employers. Generally, it is used by enforcement personnel to focus on individual drivers as part of investigations of employing motor carriers. At this time, FMCSA will NOT use this system to assign formal safety ratings or Safety Fitness Determinations (SFDs) to individual drivers. Doing so would require new regulations at the very least and possibly specific direction from Congress.

Appendix A in the SMS Methodology lists all violations and the corresponding “violation points”. Does the column showing “driver responsibility” mean both driver and carrier will be assessed points or just the driver?

The violations count against the carrier whether the “driver responsible” answer is yes or no.   The SMS contains a tool, called Driver Safety Measurement System, that enables enforcement personnel to identify drivers with safety performance across employers and to address those drivers during a carrier investigation . The “driver responsible” column in the violation tables indicates whether a violation would be attributed to the driver, as well as the carrier, in this new tool.

If I am a carrier currently in one of the nine States (CO, DE, GA, KS, MD, MN, MO, MT, NJ) where CSA 2010 was tested in the Operational Model Test, how can I see my Safety Measurement System (SMS) data?

If you are carrier in one of the nine States (CO, DE, GA, KS, MD, MN, MO, MT, NJ) where CSA 2010 was tested in the Operational Model Test, you can view your company’s record at the following website: http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/csi. Follow the directions for motor carrier users located in the middle of the webpage. You will need your DOT # and PIN to log into the system. Note there is also a Docket Number PIN; this number will not enable you to see your CSA 2010 data. 
If you received a warning letter, this information is included at the top of the letter. If you cannot locate your PIN or were never assigned one, please go to the link below and then follow the instructions to request a new one:  https://li-public.fmcsa.dot.gov/LIVIEW/pkg_registration.prc_option_decision.  Once you complete the PIN registration process, a notification letter with your PIN will be generated and mailed to the address that was submitted on your most recent Form MCS-150. You should receive this letter within two weeks. Assistance with PIN issues can be obtained by calling FMCSA technical support at (703) 280-4001 during normal business hours.

In 2010, is the system going to merge the old Safety Evaluation Area (SEA) values and the new BASICs or is the system going to use Safety Measurement System (SMS) methodology for the past 24 months —how is that going to work?

Safety Evaluation Area (SEA) values derived from the existing/old Safety Status (SafeStat) measurement system will not be merged or used in any way in the CSA 2010 Carrier Safety Measurement System (CSMS). When the new Carrier SMS is implemented in the beginning of December 2010, it will evaluate the previous 24 months of roadside inspection and crash data.

If I’m not in one of the nine States (CO, DE, GA, KS, MD, MN, MO, MT, & NJ) where the Operational Model Test took place, how can I see my Safety Measurement System (SMS) data?

The public will be able to see the SMS data in early December 2010 when SMS 2010 rolls out.  All carriers can view their current SafeStat scores and all violations incurred in the past 30 months on the SafeStat website: https://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/SafeStat/SafeStatMain.asp.  Additionally all carriers can view their SMS data on the CSA 2010 website.

Will the severity weightings in the Safety Measurement System be subject to formal public comment during the Safety Fitness Determination rulemaking.

Yes

What’s the difference between SafeStat and the new Safety Measurement System?

There are six important differences between the new Safety Measurement System (SMS) and the Agency’s current measurement system, SafeStat:

• SMS is organized by seven specific behaviors (BASICs) while SafeStat is organized into four broad Safety Evaluation Areas (SEAs).
• SMS identifies safety performance deficiencies to determine the intervention level while SafeStat identifies carriers for a compliance review.
• SMS emphasizes on-road performance using all safety-based inspection violations while SafeStat uses only out-of-service and selected moving violations.
• SMS uses risk-based violation weightings while SafeStat does not.
• SMS will eventually be used to propose adverse safety fitness determination based on a carrier’s own data while SafeStat has no impact on an entity’s safety fitness rating.
• SMS provides a tool that allows investigators to identify drivers with safety problems during carrier investigations.

Describe the process of how an intervention is selected, including: what are the carrier Safety Measurement System (SMS) thresholds that trigger the interventions?

Interventions are selected based on the following factors:  Number of Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) percentiles above the threshold (Note: high BASIC percentile indicates high non-compliance), commodity hauled (e.g., Passengers, Hazardous Material), intervention history, and time since last intervention.

The intervention thresholds for carriers are organized by BASIC and are set based on the BASIC’s relationship to crash risk. Analysis conducted by FMCSA has  shown that the strongest relationship to crash risk is found with high percentiles in the Unsafe Driving BASIC, Fatigued Driving BASIC, and the Crash Indicator.  Therefore these higher risk BASICs/Indicator have a lower percentile threshold for interventions than the other BASICs . Currently, the intervention thresholds in the Operational Model Test are as follows:

Under CSA 2010, the data collected at the roadside is more important than ever because it is used in the new Safety Measurement System to assess carriers’ safety performance. Thus, inspection and crash data that are reported to FMCSA must meet high standards of uniformity, completeness, accuracy, and timeliness. FMCSA has organized its effort to improve data quality into four core initiatives:

1. Train inspectors on how to make consistent documentation of roadside inspection and violation data.
2. Standardize processes for reviewing data by providing procedural guidance on the management of the roadside data review process through the DataQs system.
3. Increase awareness of high-level goals of the inspection program by communicating to inspectors about how good inspections can support a systematic enforcement program and informing industry about the differences between screening and inspections.
4. Create system to ensure that inspectors use a uniform inspection selection process.

While FMCSA will not be using this or any other system to assign formal safety ratings to individual drivers, the Agency recognizes that holding drivers accountable for safe driving behavior is an important part of the safety compliance and enforcement process. Specifically, in the Operational Model Test, Safety Investigators (SIs) systematically investigated drivers with egregious violations when investigating a carrier. By design, these egregious driver safety violations were always investigated as part of a CSA 2010 carrier investigation. Additionally, SIs used the Driver Safety Measurement System, an internal safety assessment tool, to review drivers with strong patterns of noncompliance. Any violations that were not corrected may have resulted in a Notice of Violation or Notice of Claim for the driver.

Will there be more CSA 2010 outreach events?

Any future webinars will be announced on the CSA 2010 Website, http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov. To keep up-to-date with the latest information on CSA 2010 as it becomes available, sign up for the email subscription service or RSS feed on the CSA 2010 Website, http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/Stay_Connected.aspx.

What if my question was not answered in this document?

Stakeholder questions can be answered at http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov through one of four methods:

1. Review the Listening Session briefings. Many stakeholder questions were directly answered in the briefing.
2. Browse the website for an answer. There are many documents covering the different aspects of CSA 2010.
3. Search the website’s Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) at:   http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/FAQs.aspx.
4. If those three methods are not successful, submit your question at this page:  http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/CSA_Feedback.aspx and you will receive an answer directly.

There are five important differences between CSA 2010 interventions and FMCSA’s current compliance review (CR):

• CSA 2010 provides a set of tools to address carriers' safety deficiencies; the CR is a one-size-fits all tool.
• CSA 2010 interventions provide the ability to focus on specific safety deficiencies while the CR requires a broad examination of the carrier.
• CSA 2010 interventions focus on improving behaviors that are linked to crash risk; CR is focused on broad compliance based on a set of acute/critical violations.
• CSA 2010 focused onsite investigations and offsite investigations are less resource intensive and less time consuming for the carrier; CRs are resource intensive.
• CSA 2010 investigations may take place at a carrier’s place of business or offsite; CRs are generally conducted onsite

The SMS severity weights were adjusted and can be found in the new SMS Methodology released on August 16, 2010.  The SMS severity weights will remain under review, and are subject to change.  People can submit comments on this topic through any of the following methods and by referring to Federal Docket Management System Docket ID Number FMCSA–2004–18898:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.

This is the link forDocket ID Number FMCSA–2004–18898: http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#documentDetail?R=0900006480a4fe97

Mail: Docket Management Facility; 
U.S. Department of Transportation
West Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE.
Washington, DC 20590

Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of Transportation
West Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
*May be delivered between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except on Federal holidays.

Fax: 1–202–493–2251

Yes, roadside safety inspections are uploaded to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regardless of whether or not the safety inspection report contains violations.  As a result, safety inspections without regulatory violations will serve to improve a carrier’s evaluation by the CSMS.  If a driver feels that a safety inspection has been conducted, FMCSA encourages the driver or carrier to ask for a copy of the safety inspection report to document the safety inspection.  However, carriers and drivers must understand that law enforcement may only be conducting a pre-inspection screen to determine if a truck or driver warrants closer examination. A pre-inspection screen which takes less time than an actual safety inspection may take many forms but may include but not necessarily be limited to a cursory check of the vehicle.  These cursory checks of a vehicle are commonly confused with a complete safety inspection.  If a law enforcement officer conducts only a pre-inspection screen then a safety inspection report will not be generated as a safety inspection has not been completed.  It is also important to note that different enforcement jurisdictions may use different methods to select or screen a vehicle for a safety inspection. Finally, FMCSA reminds all stakeholders that the goal of the roadside safety inspection program is to reduce commercial motor vehicle crashes and improve traffic safety.

 What is a “clean inspection”?

A “clean inspection” is when a relevant roadside inspection resulted in no violations for a particular Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC). A relevant inspection is one where the roadside inspector reviewed a particular area for evidence of violations (not all inspection types/levels look at all areas). For example, when a carrier has no BASIC violations related to the Fatigued Driving (Hours-of-Service) BASIC, Driver Fitness BASIC and/or Controlled Substance/Alcohol BASIC from a Driver Inspection (Level 1, 2, 3 or 6), this “clean inspection” will lower the associated BASIC measure. Similarly, when a carrier has no BASIC violations related to the Vehicle Maintenance BASIC and/or Cargo-Related BASIC from a Vehicle Inspection (Level 1, 2, 5 or 6), this “clean inspection” will lower the associated BASIC measure. The North American Standard Driver/Vehicle Inspection Levels are explained on this FMCSA webpage:http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety-security/safety-initiatives/mcsap/insplevels.htm.

What was the Operational Model Test?

The Operational Model Test was a field test of the new Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 (CSA 2010) Safety Measurement System (SMS) and comprehensive intervention process. During this test, a representative sample of interstate motor carriers within the States of Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, and New Jersey were being measured in SMS and were subject to interventions, while another representative set of carriers (a control group) within the four states, were subject to the existing compliance and enforcement process.  Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, and Montana were also part of the test; however all carriers in these states were measured in SMS and subject to interventions.  The test lasted 30 months and ended on June 30th, 2010. For more information visit About CSA 2010: Operational Model.

How can I, as a commercial motor vehicle carrier, prepare for CSA 2010?

Below are three actions that a carrier can do to prepare for CSA 2010: 

Check, update, and review your records: Ensure your Motor Carrier Census Form (MCS-150) is up-to-date and accurate.  Review your new Safety Measurement System (SMS) BASIC percentile ranks in the CSA 2010 Data Preview (http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/DataPreview) monthly.  Also routinely monitor and review inspection and crash data, which is found in the Data Preview, at SAFER (http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov), and the FMCSA Portal (https://portal.fmcsa.dot.gov).  Maintain copies of inspection reports and evidence related to any observed violations, and request review of any potentially incorrect data using DataQs (https://dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov/login.asp).

Ensure compliance: Review your inspection and violation history for the past two years. Identify patterns, trends, and areas needing improvement and begin to address these now. Examine your business processes to determine how they may be contributing to any safety compliance deficiencies. Take steps to increase your drivers’ awareness that inspections are more important than ever, that all violations count, not just Out-of-Service violations, and that their performance directly impacts their driving records and the safety assessment of their employing carrier.

Visit the CSA 2010 Website: FMCSA regularly updates materials on the CSA 2010 website -www.csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov. You will find explanations, answers to questions, tips, and guidance. You can sign up for an email subscription or RSS feed to receive the most up-to-date information. You can also submit questions and review a full set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). Be sure to review the materials about SMS and the new BASICs – understanding the new SMS is an important step in preparing for CSA 2010. Carriers will be able to preview their SMS data in the near future and they should take advantage of this opportunity. Monitoring the CSA 2010 Website will alert carriers to when and where the preview will be available.

To whom are warning letters sent, by whom, and what are the contents of the letter and the expectations for a carrier’s response?

A warning letter notifies a motor carrier that its safety performance data shows that the carrier is not fully complying with all applicable FMCSA safety regulations. The warning letter lists the Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories where the carrier’s performance indicates safety deficiencies and encourages the carrier to look at its Safety Measurement System data online. Motor carriers that receive warning letters should review their safety data and develop and execute strategies that will make their operation compliant with the safety regulations. Continued poor performance will lead to more intensive interventions. Warning letters are sent to the carrier by FMCSA headquarters. The warning letter does not require the motor carrier to respond to FMCSA. For additional Warning Letter FAQs view the Warning Letter Factsheet.

How will CSA 2010 impact motor carriers and drivers?

CSA 2010 will change how FMCSA enforces compliance with the existing FMCSA safety regulations. The regulations themselves will not change as a result of the new program.   Specifically, CSA 2010 will allow the Agency to reach more carriers earlier and more frequently; to enhance the efficiency of investigations; to increase the accountability of carriers and drivers for safe on-road performance, and to provide more complete and understandable safety performance assessments. CSA 2010 will accomplish this by enacting the three program components outlined below.

• A new Safety Measurement System (SMS) will replace SafeStat. The new SMS will provide a more comprehensive and understandable safety profile, will better pinpoint the source(s) of safety deficiencies, and will more effectively identify high crash-risk behavior.
• A new interventions process will supplement today’s one-size-fits-all compliance review and will introduce state-of-the-art tools that enable a more efficient and effective enforcement and compliance process. This wider range of interventions is designed to influence compliance earlier and to match interventions to the corresponding levels of safety performance. It is important that all FMCSA stakeholders understand this new intervention process.
• A proposed change to the Safety Fitness Determination (SFD) would enable the Agency to assess the safety performance of a larger segment of industry. It would be based on roadside performance and intervention results, and SFDs would be updated more often in order to convey a carrier’s current safety posture. This component of the program will not roll out in summer 2010. It is in the rulemaking process.

Current roadside inspections impact the carriers who are in the states that were in the CSA 2010 Operational Model Test, even if activity is reported through a state that did not participate. Roadside inspection findings for carriers who are in one of the CSA 2010 Operational Model Test states will impact each carrier’s Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) percentile ranks whenever and wherever they are performed.

How can I, as a driver, prepare for CSA 2010?

As a driver, you can do the following five things to prepare for CSA 2010:

Know and follow safety rules and regulations: Make sure you understand and follow FMCSA’s safety rules and regulations. You can review these on FMCSA’s website (http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/administration/fmcsr/fmcsrguide.aspx?section_type=A). As a driver you share safety responsibilities with your employing carrier in several areas; for example, you must make sure your vehicle is in safe operating condition, that you are well-rested and sober when you drive, that you drive within speed limits and follow Hours-of-Service rules. You can find web-based driving tips for commercial motor vehicle operators at the following link, http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/about/outreach/education/driverTips/index.htm.

Become knowledgeable about the new Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) and how FMCSA will assess safety: You can learn about the BASICs and the new Safety Measurement System at the CSA 2010 Website. A number of factsheets, briefings, articles, and frequently asked questions are available to support your understanding.

Keep copies of your inspection reports: Begin to keep copies of your inspection records and review them to see where you can improve. To start, you can ask your current employer to pull the safety performance record you have compiled with them. You should know that CSA 2010 considers all roadside safety violations and not just Out-of-Service violations – this is different from today’s model. Therefore, with CSA 2010, all roadside inspection results will be more important than ever to you and your current and future employers.

Learn about your employer’s safety record:  Safety information on carriers is publicly available online. You can link to that information on SafeStat online by visiting the site directly, http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov/SafeStat/SafeStatMain.asp.

Carriers are held accountable for driver errors because they are responsible for the job performance of those who work for them. This is a longstanding FMCSA position and is not unique to CSA 2010 or the new SMS.

What is the proposed approach for Safety Fitness Determination (SFD) and why was it not part of the Operational Model test?

The proposed CSA 2010 SFD is not part of the Operational Model Test as it will require a major rulemaking effort. There are four important differences between FMCSA’s current safety rating process and the proposed CSA 2010 SFD:

• The proposed SFD would not be exclusively tied to onsite reviews, while the current safety rating process can only be issued or revised via an onsite review.
• The proposed SFD would be updated regularly, while the current safety rating process provides a snapshot of compliance only on the date of the most recent CR.
• The proposed SFD would be based on violations of all safety-based regulations, while the current safety rating process is based only on critical and acute violations.
• The proposed SFD rating labels under consideration are Unfit, Marginal and Continue to Operate; the current safety rating process labels are Unsatisfactory, Conditional and Satisfactory.

How will you implement CSA 2010 in the rest of the country?

FMCSA will implement CSA 2010's new Safety Measurement System nationwide starting in the beginning of December 2010.  Interventions will be rolled out nationwide in 2011. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the Safety Fitness Determination will be published in early 2011.  Between now and full implementation, FMCSA is launching an outreach effort to raise awareness of the coming changes.

How can I log into the FMCSA Portal?

Motor carriers can request an FMCSA Portal account by going to https://portal.fmcsa.dot.gov/ and following the instructions for requesting an account. If you need additional assistance with a FMCSA Portal account, please call the help desk at (800) 832-5660.  Carriers can view their CSA 2010 Safety Measurement System Data Preview via the FMCSA Portal. 

What are the carrier interventions?

Interventions include early contact: (1) warning letter (2) carrier access to safety data and measurement information (3) targeted roadside inspection; investigations: (1) offsite investigation (2) onsite focused investigation (3) onsite comprehensive investigation; and follow-on interventions: (1) cooperative safety plan (2) notice of violation (3) notice of claim and (4) settlement agreement.

When will CSA 2010 start using the driver component of the new Safety Measurement System (SMS)?

The driver assessment tool is being used in the States where the Operational Model Test was (CO, DE, GA, KS, MD, MN, MO MT, & NJ) and it will roll out in the other states with the rest of the new CSA 2010 interventions in 2011. FMCSA uses the driver assessment tool only to assist investigative staff in focusing on poor performing drivers during carrier investigations. 

Motor carriers who hire drivers will not have access to the driver assessment tool in the SMS. These motor carriers will, however, have access to driver data through the Driver Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP) with driver permission. PSP will provide a list of crash and inspection activity associated with the driver over the previous 3 years of inspections and 5 years of crashes.

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

The Op-Model Test is being formally evaluated by a third party – the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. The evaluation will compare the test group to the control group in the four original Test States as well as impacts in additional CSA 2010 Test States.

To date, feedback from the enforcement staff using the Safety Measurement System (SMS) and conducting new interventions has been positive. Preliminary results from the Op-Model Test suggest that CSA 2010 offers a more efficient, effective means of identifying and intervening with motor carriers that have demonstrated safety performance issues. In particular, the Op-Model Test is demonstrating the following:

• CSA 2010 enables enforcement staff to investigate more carriers with safety deficiencies using the same number of resources.
• The warning letter is encouraging carriers to recognize and address their safety deficiencies earlier, and carriers are responding.
• CSA 2010 is having a positive impact on motor carrier performance in behavior areas significantly related to crash risk, particularly Unsafe Driving and Fatigued Driving (Hours-of-Service).
• SMS offers a better assessment of carrier safety performance and a more effective means of identifying motor carriers that pose a high crash risk.

The intervention process is triggered by: (1) one or more deficient BASICs, (2) a high crash indicator, or (3) a complaint or fatal crash. Intervention selection is influenced by (1) safety performance, (2) hazardous material or passenger carrier status, (3) intervention history and (4) investigator discretion.

Can a carrier or driver appeal a DataQs ruling?

There is no appeal process for DataQs.

If my violation is thrown out in court, can I get it removed from my Safety Measurement System (SMS) record?  How?

When a request for data review is made through the DataQs system and the request is granted, the organization makes the appropriate changes to the data. The record will be updated in the SMS during the next monthly run of the measurement system. However, users may only use the DataQs system to request a data review on data used by FMCSA. Reviews of data that are adjudicated in the State court systems do not automatically result in a change to FMCSA-released data. A carrier or driver must file a request for data review in the DataQs system in order to have a violation removed from the record.

How have roadside inspections been improved, including getting states to upload their inspections faster?

FMCSA promotes electronic collection of inspection data by providing the software and grants for laptops to States. In general, States that are not already collecting inspection data electronically are moving in this direction. To further provide incentives to States, FMCSA has created inspection data performance measures to raise awareness of the relative speed at which States upload inspection reports. In addition, FMCSA has provided online tools to help States diagnose the reasons for untimely submittal of inspection reports. Nearly 95% of the over 3 million inspections conducted annually are uploaded to the FMCSA Website within the FMCSA’s 21-day standard.

How long does a carrier remain in the CSA 2010 intervention process?

Generally speaking, a motor carrier remains in the CSA 2010 intervention process until the carrier no longer has deficient BASICs. In the event of a carrier’s BASIC score(s) falling below the threshold during an investigation or other intervention, the agency will complete its work.

Will there be a grace period between when carriers can view their own Safety Measurement System (SMS) data and when SMS is used to prioritize carriers for the new interventions in order to allow carriers to improve their scores?

Yes, motor carriers will have approximately 71⁄2 months to view their roadside violations data from the CSA 2010 perspective—mid-April through November 2010. For the first 4 months—mid-April through mid-August— carriers will see their violations categorized by BASIC. Beginning in mid-August, after the refinements to CSMS are complete, motor carriers will be able to see an assessment of their violations through SMS. The purpose of this data preview period is to provide individual motor carriers with the opportunity to view their data from the CSA 2010 perspective, and to use the time to identify and take actions to correct deficiencies in their operations which are leading to unsafe behavior.

No. Tickets or warnings that drivers receive while operating their personal vehicles are State citations and do not count in the new measurement system. SMS only uses violations of FMCSA’s regulations and those regulations only apply to people driving commercial motor vehicles. In measuring on-road safety performance, SMS uses all safety-based violations documented at roadside inspections, as well as State-reported crashes.

Since warnings for speeding count in the Safety Measurement System (SMS), what can a carrier or driver do if they feel like they received an unwarranted speeding warning ticket?

Speeding violations documented on a roadside inspection report are used in the SMS.  If a carrier or driver receives a warning for speeding documented on a roadside inspection that they feel is not warranted, they should use the DataQs process (https://dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov) to request review of the data. It is important to understand that the State might give the driver a separate State violation, which can be appealed through the State court system. Since the roadside inspection data and the State violation data are separate, one would have to request review of each independently to have them both removed from one’s record.

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

This statement is not entirely correct. The SMS methodology document states that the sum of all severity weights yielded by any one inspection for violations in any one Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) is capped at a maximum of 30. The inspection cap of 30 applies to the sum of violation severity weights within a BASIC, not summed across all BASICs. This rule prevents one bad inspection from overwhelming the evaluation of a particular BASIC and allows SMS to assess a carrier’s safety across several inspections. Note that the severity weights reflect the relative importance of each violation within each particular BASIC. They cannot be compared meaningfully across the various BASICs. For example, a violation with a severity weight of 7 in the Vehicle Maintenance BASIC is not intended to be equivalent to a violation with a severity weight of 7 in the Driver Fitness BASIC.

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

First, applicable safety-based violations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and the Hazardous Materials Regulations were distributed into the appropriate Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs). The next step in the process was putting similar violations in each BASIC into groups of similar violations within the BASIC. For example, the Vehicle BASIC has Tire and Brake groupings, among others. Within each BASIC the violation groups are assigned severity weights that reflect the violation groups association with crash occurrence and crash consequences. The stronger the relationship between a violation group and crash risk, the higher its assigned weight. The violation severity weights have been converted into a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 represents the lowest crash risk and 10 represents the highest crash risk relative to the other violations in the BASIC. Since the weights reflect the relative importance of each violation within each particular BASIC, they cannot be compared meaningfully across the various BASICs. In other words, a rating of 5 in one BASIC is not equivalent to a rating of 5 in another BASIC, but it does represent the midpoint between a crash risk of 1 and 10 within the same BASIC. This data is summarized in Appendix A1 of the SMS Methodology document: http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/Documents/SMSMethodology.pdf#nameddest=T1. These weights are based on a number of studies that quantify the associations between violations and crash risk, as well as statistical analysis and input from enforcement subject matter experts and feedback from the motor carrier industry.  Subject Matter Experts from FMCSA’s field staff, including enforcement personnel and CSA 2010 development team members, examined these severity weights during the Operational Model Test and submitted recommendations to the Agency to better associate crash risk to the violations. These recommendations have been incorporated into the version of the SMS methodology released on August 16th, 2010.

When will SMS stop flagging me?

The Safety Measurement System (SMS) will stop flagging the motor carrier when the carrier's safety performance reflects BASIC scores below the intervention threshold. This can happen in one of two ways: 1) improved performance as demonstrated by clean inspections at roadside; and/or 2) poor inspections count less as they age and eventually fall outside of the 24-month timeframe.

Will FMCSA place carriers into different peer groups, or weight carriers’ violations and crashes differently in different geographical areas?

FMCSA does not at this time plan to weight inspection and crash data on a regional basis. FMCSA is committed to realizing reasonable uniformity in state reporting and coding for inspections and crashes.

How will the change from SafeStat to the new Safety Measurement System (SMS) impact how roadside inspectors select carriers for inspection?

SMS results will be incorporated into the current software that inspectors use to select carriers, which is called the Inspection Selection System (ISS). The new algorithm will use the Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) information to calculate ISS scores and the BASIC information will also be displayed in the ISS application. SafeStat’s Safety Evaluation Area values will be replaced by SMS’s BASICs in ISS.

Why does the new Safety Measurement System hold drivers accountable for things carriers should be responsible for, such as vehicle maintenance?

Carriers are held accountable for all safety-based violations recorded during roadside inspections. Drivers are responsible for compliance with some vehicle maintenance regulations. For example, drivers are required, by regulation, to do a pre-trip vehicle inspection to ensure that the vehicle is safe.

How will carriers gain access to CSA 2010 data? Will carriers be able to view other companies’ safety data?

The public will continue to be able to view motor carrier data via SafeStat and they will be able to view the new Safety Measurement System (SMS) in early December 2010 when it is rolled out. Carriers can view their own SMS data on the CSA 2010 website. Logged-in motor carriers will have access to some information that will not be made public, such as driver names, licenses, and other personal information.

What is CSI and how do I get a PIN to access CSI?

CSI stands for Comprehensive Safety Information and is the data system used for States that were part of CSA 2010's Operational Model Test. CSI access is limited to motor carriers who are in one of the 9 states (CO, DE, GA, KS, MD, MN, MO, MT, & NJ) where the Operational Model Test took place. CSI is scheduled to be available to those carriers until the Safety Measurement System is rolled out to the entire country in December 2010.

Participants in the Operational Model test may use their current DOT-issued PIN to gain access to CSA. Note there is also a Docket Number PIN; this number will not enable you to see your CSA 2010 data.  To request a new PIN (personal identification number), visit the FMCSA Website and select 'I want to request a copy of a document' or call 1-800-832-5660 for assistance.  Carriers who are not in one of the CSA 2010 Operational Model Test States can access their data on the CSA 2010 website.

Will motor carriers be able log into the CSA 2010 website
with a PIN to see additional data?

Yes, motor carriers will be able to log into the CSA 2010 website
with their DOT PIN to see additional data.

Will the crash indicator be available for public view?

Similar to the Accident SEA values not being shown on SafeStat, there is no current plan to make the Crash Indicator available for public viewing.

Under CSA 2010, will detailed information still be available in each safety evaluation area (SEA)?

FMCSA is currently finalizing the methodology for accessing data. Similar to the current SafeStat system, there will be a public view and a private view of the data; however data will be categorized by BASICs scores rather than by SEA values. Motor carriers will be able to log into the CSA 2010 system with their DOT PIN to view some information that will not be made public, such as driver names, license numbers, and other personal information.

Will motor carriers and the public have access to a website similar to that of SafeStat?

Yes, similar to the current SafeStat system, there will be a public view and a private view of the data. Until Safety Measurement System (SMS)
is implemented nationwide in early December 2010, only motor carriers can access their own SMS data.  It is available on the CSA 2010 website.

Upon SMS rollout, FMCSA envisions that public users, including shippers and insurers, will have access to SMS results very similar to the way they do today with SafeStat only the BASICs will replace the SEAs.  Public access is expected to have similar limitations to those that are in place today for the public display of SafeStat results. For example:

• The driver name and other privacy related material from individual inspection results will be removed; and

• The “assessment/score” related to the Crash Indicator BASIC will likely not be displayed because the data includes all crashes, including those where the carrier was not at fault.

If you are not in compliance, you may be subject to costly repairs, delays and penalties, or may be ordered off the road entirely. For additional information, visit FMCSA's Safety is Good Business.

What information is available to help me achieve compliance?

FMCSA recently updated "A Carrier's Guide to Improving Highway Safety", December 2009. This is designed to assist the motor carrier in understanding and complying with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. For this information, visit FMCSA's ETA Program.

As extensive users of SafeStat, what will trucking-related businesses such as insurance companies and collections agencies use instead of SafeStat scores?

Trucking-related businesses will be able to view the new Safety Measurement System (SMS) results when they replace SafeStat in early December 2010.  They will have the same ability to search for carriers and view carrier results much like they can via SafeStat.  The differences is that the results will be presented based on seven Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) under SMS and SafeStat presents results based on four Safety Evaluation Areas (SEAs).  Also, all Safety Violations from roadside inspections feed the new BASICs where only the out-of-service violations feed the SafeStat SEAs.

Will you work with carriers and drivers that are having minor problems?

In the majority of situations, if a motor carrier is experiencing a minor problem that does not result in a deficient BASIC score, the motor carrier will not receive an intervention. The interventions in CSA 2010 are designed to assist motor carriers and drivers in improving their safety performance. Under the CSA 2010 Operational Model, motor carriers will receive an intervention when their roadside inspection and crash data point to poor performance in a key Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC). This intervention could range from a warning letter to a comprehensive on-site investigation.

How long do I have to get into compliance?

There is no grace period for achieving compliance with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. However, carriers should know that their safety performance in SMS will be based upon the previous 24 months of on-road performance and crash data when CSA 2010 is implemented. Understanding the regulations and ensuring vehicles and drivers are safe today will help keep carriers off of FMCSA’s expanding radar tomorrow.

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

Carriers will be notified about drivers with poor safety records only in conjunction with carrier interventions.  During a carrier investigation, Safety Investigators examine drivers who have been cited for severe driver violations.  However, carriers will be able to look up driver safety performance information, with the driver’s permission, in early 2010 as part of FMCSA’s New Driver Pre-Employment Screening program.

Are there any plans for notifications to be sent to drivers who are identified with safety deficiencies via the Driver Safety Measurement System (DSMS)? 

No.  At present only carriers receive warning letters. FMCSA does not have plans at this time to directly contact drivers with deficient DSMS percentile ranks.  DSMS is only used in conjunction with carrier investigations.  A driver could receive a Notice of Violation (NOV) or Notice of Claim (NOC) if they are found to have egregious violations during a carrier investigation.  If a driver receives a NOV or NOC, FMCSA will contact the driver directly. 

Is there going to be an enforcement case? Am I going to be fined?

CSA 2010 is as strong on enforcement as today’s model. Notices of Claim (NOCs) are part of the CSA 2010 intervention process.

What is the “Driver Safety Measurement System” and who can see it?

At present, the Driver Safety Management System (DSMS) is used strictly as an investigative tool for law enforcement and is not available to carriers, drivers, or the public.  Law enforcement officials use this tool to examine the safety performance of individual commercial motor vehicles (CMV) drivers when conducting CSA 2010 carrier investigations but do not use the DSMS results to intervene with individual drivers outside of a carrier investigation.

Will roadside inspectors use the Inspection Selection System (ISS) to select carriers CSA 2010?

Yes, ISS will continue to exist under CSA 2010. FMCSA is planning to have the CSA 2010 measurement system feed the ISS algorithm (ISS-D) instead of SafeStat.

Can you describe the CSA 2010 Driver Safety  Enforcement process?

The driver enforcement process provides FMCSA with the tools to identify unsafe drivers and to verify and address the issues. A new tool in the CSA 2010 Safety Measurement System evaluates the roadside performance of drivers across employers over a three year period, enabling Safety Investigators to identify drivers with poor safety histories, who work for carriers that require a CSA 2010 investigation. If the investigation results verify egregious driver violation(s), FMCSA can take an enforcement action against that driver, such as a Notice of Violation or a Notice of Claim.

I have heard that FMCSA will make driver safety performance histories available to carriers for pre-employment screening in the near future.  Is that true and is that part of the CSA 2010 driver program?

The program you are talking about is an FMCSA initiative that has been undertaken separately from CSA 2010.  FMCSA’s Commercial Drivers Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP) provides carriers with individual drivers' safety performance histories with previous employers. These “Driver Profiles” contain important driver data including crash and inspection histories for individual drivers. Under the program, a driver would authorize FMCSA to release this information to carriers through a third party contractor. Drivers will also be able to obtain their own crash and inspection file through the third party.  To use PSP and/or find out more information about it go here: http://www.psp.fmcsa.dot.gov/.

No.  Under the new program, as it is currently constructed, FMCSA will not rate or determine the safety fitness of individual CMV drivers beyond what is currently defined in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.  This does not preclude FMCSA from developing a driver rating or safety fitness determination process at some time in the future.

Will citations play a role in the BASICs or carrier ISS algorithm?  For example, a driver has a violation for torn strap (10 points) and receives a citation; does the citation add anything to the carrier’s BASIC or ISS scores?  

Citations do not influence the BASIC Safety Measurement System (SMS) scores.  Those scores are influenced by violations as recorded on the roadside inspection.  To see which violations influence which BASICs check out Appendix A in the SMS Methodology document, which can be found here:  http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/Documents/SMSMethodology.pdf.  The new ISS algorithm has not been finalized yet.

How will CSA 2010 address accurate and timely reporting of recordable crashes?

Inspection and crash data that are collected and reported to FMCSA must meet high standards of uniformity, completeness, accuracy and timeliness. The FMCSA has made significant strides to improve the data quality of crash and inspection data by the development of a comprehensive program that includes: raising the awareness of the these standards, developing a means to measure State safety data quality, and working directly with States through either a State onsite review process or direct technical assistance to improve the quality of State safety data.

Why does FMCSA’s new CSA 2010 program emphasize driver safety enforcement?

Studies have shown that unsafe driver behavior, both on the part of CMV drivers and other drivers, is a major contributor to commercial motor vehicle-related crashes. Some studies indicate that a small segment of the CMV driver population is involved in a disproportionately large number of crashes. As a result, during the CSA 2010 Operational Model Test, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) expanded its approach to identifying and addressing unsafe drivers during interventions with motor carriers.

If a vehicle is in a crash, and has a post-crash examination conducted which finds several Out-of-Service (OOS) violations as a result of the crash – do each of those count against the appropriate BASIC?

In a post-crash inspection, violations that are the result of a crash are not used in the Carrier Safety Measurement System (CSMS).  Violations that are considered existing prior to the crash are used in the CSMS.

How will CSA 2010 address the issue of non-preventable crashes?

FMCSA is developing a protocol for determining crash accountability for fatal and non-fatal commercial motor vehicle crashes under CSA 2010. The goal of developing the protocol is to only include crash records where a carrier was shown to have some level of accountability for the crash event.

What is the detailed process for drivers to request review of information contained on their driver records?

Drivers should use FMCSA’s DataQs system (https://dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov/login.asp) to request review of data in FMCSA databases.  At present, the Agency is in the process of improving the DataQs website to make the process of requesting review of data more apparent to drivers.  Therefore, in the future, the look of the tool and the request review selections, will be changing.

In the meantime, for drivers to request review of their data today, they must first register.  From the DataQs home page, a driver should select "register on-line" as a general public user and create a DataQs account profile.  Once registered, the driver will be able to request review of his or her data by following detailed instructions in the help menu. 

The crash BASIC references accident accountability. Does this mean that the accident report will be reviewed to indicate who was at fault?

The structure of the new SMS is such that crash accountability is not automatically determined or considered. Consequently, motor carriers are identified for possible intervention based on recordable crashes without consideration of accountability. However, FMCSA is considering several short- and long-term approaches to address this issue, which will be presented for public comment and consideration. The short term approach would require that crashes be evaluated by an FMCSA or State safety specialist during an investigation before crashes would be counted in a motor carrier’s formal safety fitness determination. The longer term approach would filter out "non-accountable" crashes so they would not be considered by the new SMS for identification of carriers for intervention. Approaches to determining crash accountability for safety fitness determination purposes will be detailed in a forthcoming notice of proposed rulemaking for formal public comment.

What is a Cooperative Safety Plan (CSP)? Do we have to develop a CSP?

The Cooperative Safety Plan (CSP) is a structured plan for safety improvements based upon the underlying factors causing the carrier's safety deficiencies. It is a voluntary plan, on the part of the carrier, to improve the carrier's safety performance.

Does it matter if the CSP is filled out electronically or handwritten?

Both handwritten and electronic versions are acceptable.

Was there a listening session in 2009 concerning the CSA 2010 conversion? How can I get additional information?

Two public listening sessions were held in December 2009.   Additional information including the session presentations is available at: http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/listeningSessions/.

Is the New Entrant Safety Assurance Program still going to exist, and if so, what is the connection between the new systems?

The New Entrant Safety Assurance Program will still exist.  The new New Entrant rule became effective in December 2009.  The CSA 2010 Operational Model is performance driven and New Entrants exhibiting unsafe behavior as indicated by SMS will be incorporated into the interventions process while remaining in the new entrant program.

Will all motor carriers with safety deficiencies get a warning letter before they hear anything else from FMCSA?  Is CSA 2010 introducing a truly progressive intervention process?

Motor carriers will enter the interventions process based on the nature and severity of their safety deficiencies.  If a carrier’s safety deficiencies are serious, it may enter the process through receiving an offsite, onsite focused or onsite comprehensive investigation.  If a carrier’s safety deficiencies are just emerging, FMCSA will issue a warning letter.   If a carrier’s safety performance does not improve or diminishes after receipt of a warning letter, the carrier will enter the progressive process and receive an investigation.  If performance improves, the carrier will no longer be identified for intervention.

Do you have a safety consultant that you can recommend?

No. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration does not provide a list or otherwise recommend specific safety consultants.

Will drivers with safety deficiencies get warning letters?

No, at this point in time, drivers will not be receiving a warning letter.

What refinements are being made to the SMS test methodology?

The SMS uses seven Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) to assess motor carriers’ safety. The BASICs are: Unsafe Driving, Fatigued Driving (Hours-of-Service), Driver Fitness, Controlled Substances/Alcohol, Vehicle Maintenance, Cargo-Related, and Crash Indicator

Analysis conducted by FMCSA showed measuring exposure solely by Power Units (PUs) may overly identify as deficient, those carriers with high utilization rates (i.e. those carriers with greater than the national average per power unit rate). Analysis also indicated that the sole use of Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) as the measure of exposure overly identified those carriers with low utilization rates as deficient. As a result, the Agency created a new approach to measure carriers’ exposure on the road within the Unsafe Driving BASIC and the Crash Indicator using a combination of PUs and, when available and reliable, VMT data. The Agency is also exploring options to enhance the reliability of VMT data for future use, including potential cross checks against State databases that include VMT and enforcement action against motor carriers that report erroneous data. Additionally, the carrier population is now segmented into two groups based on the type of vehicle (combination and straight) operated so that companies operating different types of vehicles are no longer compared to each other.

Preliminary University of Michigan Transportation Institute (UMTRI) findings indicated that two of the seven BASICs, Driver Fitness and Cargo-Related, do not have a strong relationship to future crashes. Should these findings delay implementation of CSA 2010?

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. 

How can I prepare for the public launch of the SMS in December 2010?

• Review Data and Address Safety Compliance Issues Early: A view of data by BASIC is now available at http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov.
   
  

• Sign Up: Sign up for the CSA 2010 email listserv at http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/Stay_Connected.aspx for email updates on topics such as the Data Preview and SMS enhancements.
  
  

• Stay Involved: Visit the CSA 2010 Website http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov for updates on CSA 2010.
  
  

FMCSA conducted a 30-month Operational Model Test (Op-Model Test) in nine states to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the new program. By design, the Op-Model Test included continual assessment of results and solicitation of stakeholder feedback, with an eye towards refinement prior to national launch. The Op-Model Test ended on June 30, 2010 and the SMS enhancements are a direct result of that process.

What kind of refinements is FMCSA making to the measurement approach for the Controlled Substances/Alcohol BASIC?

Op-Model Test results and law enforcement experts indicated that violations within the Controlled Substances/Alcohol BASIC are more likely to be found during an inspection rather than be the cause of an inspection, which was confirmed by analysis conducted by the Agency. The Controlled Substances/Alcohol BASIC measure of exposure will now be based on the number of relevant inspections instead of the number of PUs, as in the earlier test version of the SMS.

Should we expect to see any updates to the severity weights of roadside violations?

Severity weights are assigned to violations in the measurement system based on a violation’s relationship to crash risk. Subject Matter Experts from FMCSA’s field staff, including enforcement personnel and CSA 2010 development team members, examined these severity weights and submitted recommendations to the Agency to better associate crash risk to the violations. These recommendations have been incorporated into the SMS methodology. More detailed information, including an updated list of violations and severity weights, will be published on the CSA 2010 Website on August 16, 2010.

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

Results from the Op-Model Test have demonstrated the difficulties of enforcing size and weight violations through CSA 2010 interventions conducted by FMCSA and State Safety Investigators. Alternative methods to address this safety issue are currently under development. These methods include more refined collection of detailed size and weight violation data and alerts in systems used by roadside inspectors to identify carriers with patterns of prior size and weight violations. In the meantime, size and weight violations have been removed from the Cargo-Related BASIC. However, it is important to note that roadside inspectors will continue to cite these violations at the roadside and Safety Investigators will continue to address these violations, including potential enforcement actions if appropriate, through investigations.