CSA Scores: What They Are & Why They Matter
Welcome to?The Dashboard, your weekly wrap-up of regulatory, safety, hiring, and DOT compliance news.
Click 'Subscribe' to be notified of each edition. This week, we're providing a comprehensive overview of Compliance, Safety, and Accountability (CSA) scores and why you should be regularly monitoring your company's score.
What is the FMCSA’s CSA Program?
The CSA program is designed to improve the safety of all drivers on the road. Each motor carrier has a CSA score that represents how well they meet the established requirements.?
While your CSA score may?feel like just another compliance matter?you need to worry about, with the right mindset, you can turn your CSA score into?one of your best business assets.
FMCSA's Safety Measurement System
The FMCSA SMS?assesses the safety and compliance of motor carriers by calculating their performance in seven Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs). This performance is based on the number of safety violations, severity and recency of crashes, and how many trucks operate under the carrier's name.
What is a CSA score?
The CSA program?launched in November 2010, and it is a program run by the FMCSA that’s designed to encourage carriers to be aware of their responsibility to keep our roadways safe.?
Each carrier has a CSA score that represents how well they’ve maintained?that road safety. The score is calculated on a 0-100 scale, with higher numbers indicating a worse level of safety. CSA scores are updated through the FMCSA’s Safety Measurement System (SMS) each month.?
Since 2010, the CSA point system has gone through some changes to make the system fairer to drivers who were involved in accidents that were not their fault.?And as you'll read later in this post, more changes could be coming down the line.
How is a CSA score calculated?
The core metrics are called the BASIC scores, which stands for Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories. They’re calculated using crash report and roadside inspection data that’s?collected in the FMCSA SMS, and will differ depending on factors like how long ago an incident occurred (only the last 24 months contribute to your score), the severity of a crash, and annual miles driven.?
The seven BASICs are defined as:?
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What is a good CSA score?
The closer you can get your CSA score to 0, the better.
If you have a good CSA score you can benefit from fewer DOT audits,?lower insurance premiums,?and may find it easier to land more clients as a responsible and trusted carrier.?
What is a bad CSA score?
Generally, any score that’s 50 or over needs to be taken seriously. If you have a score of 65% or higher in Crash Indicator, HOS Compliance, or Unsafe Driving you’ll be subject to an?FMCSA investigation (this lowers to 50% if you transport passengers or hazardous materials). If you?reach?a score of 80% in any of the other BASIC categories, you’ll also be subject to an investigation.?
How & When to Check Your CSA Score
Find out how often you should be looking into your CSA score (and the implications of ignoring it) on the Foley blog.
Foley will soon be announcing a NEW solution that provides you with the critical CSA, driver, and business data you need daily to make informed decisions and proactively reduce risk.
Learn more about this exciting product launch and how to efficiently track your CSA score in our live expert panel today, 9/28 at 2 PM ET.
Driving Excellence,
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