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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Where can I find the Safety Measurement System (SMS) severity tables?
Answer
The severity points for all violations used in the SMS can be found in Appendix
A of theSMS
Methodology and in this MS Excel
spreadsheet.
The severity weights reflect the relative importance of each violation within each
particular Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (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. The violation
severity weights are currently being reviewed based on feedback from stakeholders.
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link)