Safety Measurement System

Within the Compliance Safety Accountability (CSA) Operational Model, the Safety Measurement System (SMS) quantifies the on-road safety performance of carriers and drivers to identify candidates for interventions, determine the specific safety problems exhibited by a carrier or driver and monitor whether safety problems are improving or worsening. SMS replaces SafeStat in the new Operational Model.

The carrier SMS uses a motor carrier’s data from roadside inspections, including all safety-based violations, State-reported crashes, and the Federal motor carrier census data to quantify performance in the following Behavior Analysis Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs).

Unsafe Driving — Operation of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) by drivers in a dangerous or careless manner. Example Violations: Speeding, reckless driving, improper lane change, and inattention. (FMCSR Parts 392 and 397)

Fatigued Driving (Hours-of-Service) — Operation of CMVs by drivers who are ill, fatigued, or in non-compliance with the Hours-of-Service (HOS) regulations. This BASIC includes violations of regulations pertaining to logbooks as they relate to HOS requirements and the management of CMV driver fatigue. Example Violations: HOS, logbook, and operating a CMV while ill or fatigued. (FMCSR Parts 392 and 395)

Driver Fitness — Operation of CMVs by drivers who are unfit to operate a CMV due to lack of training, experience, or medical qualifications. Example Violations: Failure to have a valid and appropriate commercial driver’s license and being medically unqualified to operate a CMV. (FMCSR Parts 383 and 391)

Controlled Substances/Alcohol — Operation of CMVs by drivers who are impaired due to alcohol, illegal drugs, and misuse of prescription or over-the-counter medications. Example Violations: Use or possession of controlled substances/alcohol. (FMCSR Parts 382 and 392)

Vehicle Maintenance — Failure to properly maintain a CMV. Example Violations: Brakes, lights, and other mechanical defects, and failure to make required repairs. (FMCSR Parts 393 and 396)

Cargo-Related — Failure to properly prevent shifting loads, spilled or dropped cargo, overloading, and unsafe handling of hazardous materials on a CMV. Example Violations: Improper load securement, cargo retention, and hazardous material handling. (FMCSR Parts 392, 393, 397 and HM Violations)

Crash Indicator — Histories or patterns of high crash involvement, including frequency and severity. It is based on information from State-reported crashes.

A carrier’s measurement for each BASIC depends on:

• The number of adverse safety events (violations related to that BASIC or crashes)
• The severity of violations or crashes
• When the adverse safety events occurred (more recent events are weighted more heavily)

After a measurement is determined, the carrier is then placed in a peer group (e.g., other carriers with similar numbers of inspections). Percentiles from 0 to 100 are then determined by comparing the BASIC measurements of the carrier to the measurements of other carriers in the peer group. 100 indicates the worst performance.

Safety Evaluation

Safety evaluation is the process of determining how to address carriers with poor safety performance. The Safety Measurement System (SMS) allows FMCSA to more effectively evaluate safety performance using new measures for

1. Identifying which carriers require what type of intervention using a policy-driven process called intervention 
    selection, and
2. Determining which carriers should be proposed "Unfit" to operate, using a regulatory process called 
    Safety Fitness Determination (SFD).

(An Unfit Suspension will prohibit a carrier from operating, based on the conclusion of a SFD. The details of Unfit Suspension will be described in the SFD Rulemaking.)

FMCSA developed an SFD methodology, subject to ongoing rulemaking, to replace the current system that is solely dependent on the onsite compliance review results. The SFD expands the use of on-road performance as calculated in the SMS and include results of all investigations. It also allows FMCSA to determine safety fitness on a larger segment of the industry.

Intervention

FMCSA and State partners uses measurement results to identify carriers for CSA interventions. These interventions offer an expanded suite of tools ranging from warning letters to comprehensive onsite investigations. These tools supplement the labor-intensive compliance review (CR) to better address the specific safety problems identified.

CSA investigators are equipped to systematically evaluate why safety problems are occurring, to recommend remedies, to encourage corrective action(s), and, where corrective action is inadequate, to invoke strong penalties. Interventions provide carriers with the information necessary to understand their safety problems and changes unsafe behavior early on. Interventions under CSA can be broken into 3 basic categories, which are described in detail below: early contact, investigation, and follow-on.

Early Contact

• Warning Letter - Correspondence sent to a carrier's place of business that specifically identifies a deficient BASIC(s) and outlines possible consequences of continued safety problems. The warning letter provides instructions for accessing carrier safety data and measurement as well as a point of contact.
• Carrier Access to Safety Data and Measurement - Carriers have access to their measurement results (BASICs scores), as well as the inspection reports and violations that went into those results. With this information, carriers can chart a course of self-improvement. Carriers can also monitor this data for accuracy and challenge it as necessary through FMCSA’s DataQs system: https://dataqs.fmcsa.dot.gov/login.asp.
• Targeted Roadside Inspection - CSA provides roadside inspectors with data that identifies a carrier’s specific safety problems, by BASIC, based on the new measurement system. Targeted roadside inspections occur at permanent and temporary roadside inspection locations where connectivity to the SMS information is available. As Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks (CVISN) technologies evolve they will be incorporated into the roadside inspections.

Investigation

• Offsite Investigation - A carrier is required to submit documents to FMCSA or a State Partner. These documents are used to evaluate the safety problems identified through the SMS and to determine their root causes. Types of documents requested may include third party documents such as toll receipts, border crossing records, or drug testing records. The goal is to identify issues responsible for poor safety performance. If the carrier does not submit requested documents they may be subject to an onsite investigation or to subpoena records (see below).
• Onsite Focused Investigation - The purpose of this intervention is to evaluate the safety problems identified through the SMS and their root causes. An onsite focused investigation may be selected when deficiencies in two or less BASICs exist. Onsite "focused" investigations target specific problem areas (for example, maintenance records), while onsite "comprehensive" investigations address all aspects of the carrier’s operation.
• Onsite Comprehensive Investigation - This intervention is similar to a CR and takes place at the carrier’s place of business. It is used when the carrier exhibits broad and complex safety problems through continually deficient BASICs, worsening multiple BASICs (three or more), or a fatal crash or complaint.

Follow-On

• Cooperative Safety Plan (CSP) - Implemented by the carrier, this safety improvement plan is voluntary. The carrier and FMCSA collaboratively create a plan, based on a standard template, to address the underlying problems resulting from the carrier's substandard safety performance.
• Notice of Violation (NOV) - The NOV is a formal notice of safety deficiencies that requires a response from the carrier. It is used when the regulatory violations discovered are severe enough to warrant formal action but not a civil penalty (fine). It is also used in cases where the violation is immediately correctable and the level of, or desire for, cooperation is high. To avoid further intervention, including fines, the carrier must provide evidence of corrective action or initiate a successful challenge to the violation.
• Notice of Claim (NOC) - A NOC is issued in cases where the regulatory violations are severe enough to warrant assessment and issuance of civil penalties.
• Operations Out-of-Service Order (OOS) - An order requiring the carrier to cease all motor vehicle operations.