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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How have Roadside Inspections been improved for Compliance, Safety, Accountability
(CSA) in terms of uniformity?
Answer
Under CSA, the data collected at the roadside is more important than ever because
it is used in the Safety Measurement System to assess carriers' safety performance.
Thus, inspection and crash data that are reported to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA) must meet high standards of uniformity, completeness, accuracy,
and timeliness. FMCSA has organized its effort to improve data quality into four
core initiatives:
- Train inspectors on how to make consistent documentation of roadside inspection
and violation data.
- Standardize processes for challenging data by providing procedural guidance on the
management of the roadside data challenge process through the DataQs system.
- 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 screenings and inspections.
- Create a system to ensure that inspectors use a uniform inspection selection process.
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