Frequently Asked Questions
The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) are questions and answers about Compliance,
Safety, Accountability (CSA) that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
(FMCSA) compiled to assist the public. As questions come in through the website,
FMCSA adds them to the database along with their answers. If you do not see your
question or topic addressed, please
contact us
by submitting a feedback form. We will respond to you directly and consider your
question for inclusion in the FAQs.
The FAQ area has recently been enhanced. Users can now search FAQs by stakeholder
group, topics (displayed on the left side of the page), or by entering a keyword
below. Choosing “Show All” will display the entire collection of FAQs.
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What is Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) at the highest level?
Answer
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) regulations remained the
same after CSA implementation in December 2010, though CSA does change how FMCSA
prioritizes carriers for enforcement and how it enforces compliance. Generally,
CSA affects carriers subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs),
carriers transporting passengers or cargo in interstate commerce, and carriers of
hazardous materials in intrastate commerce. CSA may also include carriers whose
State requires that they obtain a U.S. DOT Number. FMCSA has provided detailed answers to questions
about the general applicability of the FMCSRs. CSA will enact three major changes:
- There is a new Safety Measurement System (SMS) that gives a more comprehensive profile
of carriers and drivers, better pinpoints the source(s) of safety problems, and
more effectively identifies high crash-risk behavior. It is important that all FMCSA
stakeholders understand the new SMS. To better understand how SMS works, read the
SMS Methodology,
and this SMS factsheet.
- There is a new interventions process as well as state-of-the-art tools that are
more efficient and effective in the enforcement and compliance process. They institute
a wider range of interventions to influence compliance earlier and match intervention
to the corresponding level of safety performance. It is important that all FMCSA
stakeholders understand this new interventions process. The interventions are outlined
in this factsheet.
- There is a proposed change to the Safety Fitness Determination (SFD). The proposed
change will assess the safety performance of a larger segment of industry. Furthermore,
it will be based on roadside performance and intervention results, and ratings will
be updated more often in order to convey current safety conditions. Once the final
rule is passed, it will be important for all FMCSA stakeholders to understand it.
To read more on the new proposed SFD, refer to pages 53487-53488 of
this rulemaking notice located on FMCSA's Website.
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link)