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 does a driver's violation history impact a carrier's Safety Measurement System
(SMS) evaluation?
Answer
Carriers are evaluated only on inspections and crashes associated with their own
U.S. DOT Number, so only violations that a driver receives while working for a motor
carrier apply to that carrier's SMS evaluation. Therefore, the driver's violation
history before the driver is hired and after the driver's employment is terminated
will not impact a motor carrier's SMS results. However, even if a motor carrier
terminates a driver, all of the driver's crashes and inspection results that he
or she received while operating for that carrier still apply to the carrier's SMS
evaluation for 24 months from the date of occurrence. Because the data is time-weighted,
the effect of those occurrences on the motor carrier's percentile rank will diminish
over the course of the 24 months.
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