Frequently Asked Questions

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and State Partners will use measurement results to identify carriers for CSA interventions. These interventions will offer an expanded suite of tools ranging from warning letters to Onsite Comprehensive Investigations. These tools supplement the labor-intensive compliance review (CR) to better address the specific safety problems identified.

CSA investigators will be 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 will provide carriers with the information necessary to understand their safety problems and to change unsafe behavior early on. Interventions under CSA can be divided into three 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 Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) 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 percentile ranks), 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.
• 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 Safety Measurement System (SMS) information is available. As Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks 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 exceeding the threshold in two or fewer BASICs. 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 BASICs continually exceeding the threshold, worsening BASICs (three or more), or a fatal crash or complaint.

Follow-on

• Cooperative Safety Plan – 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 problems 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) – An 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 – An order requiring the carrier to cease all motor vehicle operations.