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,
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Can you explain how safety event groups work in the Safety Measurement System (SMS)?
Answer
One of the ways the SMS accounts for the differences between motor carriers and
their operations is by placing carriers in safety event groups based on the number
of safety events (e.g., inspections, crashes) in which the carriers have been involved.
However, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s foremost concern is safety
and it accomplishes this by addressing the carriers who pose the greatest crash
risk, irrespective of their industry segment.
Safety event groups enable the SMS to deal with the widely diverse motor carrier
population, while ensuring that similarly situated carriers are treated with the
same standards. Safety event groups do not compare carriers by the commodities they
haul or their industry segment.
The tables below outline the safety event groups for each of the Behavior Analysis
and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) and can be found in theSMS
Methodology document.
Hours-of-Service (HOS) Compliance, Driver Fitness, and Vehicle Maintenance BASICs
Safety Event Group Category
|
Number of Relevant Inspections*
|
1
|
3-10 (HOS Compliance) 5-10 (Fitness, Vehicle)
|
2
|
11-20
|
3
|
21-100
|
4
|
101-500
|
5
|
501+
|
Hazardous Materials Compliance BASIC
Safety Event Group Category
|
Number of Relevant Inspections*
|
1
|
5-10
|
2
|
11-15
|
3
|
16-40
|
4
|
41-100
|
5
|
101+
|
*A relevant inspection is one where the roadside inspector reviewed a particular
area for evidence of violations (not all inspection types/levels look at all areas).
Controlled Substances/Alcohol BASIC
Safety Event Group Category
|
Number of Inspections with Controlled Substances/Alcohol Violations
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
4
|
4+
|
The Unsafe Driving and Crash Indicator BASICs divide the safety event groups further
into two additional categories: combo and straight segments. The following is used
under the SMS to determine the carrier's segment:
- Combo – combination trucks/motor coach buses constituting 70 percent or more of
the total Power Units (PUs).
- Straight – straight trucks/other vehicles constituting more than 30 percent of the
total PUs.
Unsafe Driving BASIC
Safety Event Group Category
|
Combo Segment: Number of Inspections with Unsafe Driving Violations
|
Straight Segment: Number of Inspections with Unsafe Driving Violations
|
1
|
3-8
|
3-4
|
2
|
9-21
|
5-8
|
3
|
22-57
|
9-18
|
4
|
58-149
|
19-49
|
5
|
150+
|
50+
|
Crash Indicator BASIC
Safety Event Group Category
|
Combo Segment: Number of Crashes
|
Straight Segment: Number of Crashes
|
1
|
2-3
|
2
|
2
|
4-6
|
3-4
|
3
|
7-16
|
5-8
|
4
|
17-45
|
9-26
|
5
|
46+
|
27+
|
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