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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What is included in the Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories' (BASICs)
details of the Safety Measurement System (SMS)?
Answer
Each BASIC's details page, except where noted, consists of five parts:
- BASIC Overall Status: A symbol, based on the data, indicates that the Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Administration may prioritize a motor carrier for further monitoring,
and the reason (roadside and/or investigation results).
- Data Center: Provides a means to download the roadside and investigation
data that SMS uses. Users can download data in Excel (XLS) or XML format for the
selected BASIC or for all BASICs.
- On-road Performance Detail tab: Provides the SMS measure, assigned percentile,
and supporting information for the selected BASIC. This includes a summary listing
of violations and their violation weights, and a listing of the relevant inspections
for the BASIC. The full inspection report can also be accessed from this section.
- Investigation Results Detail tab: Identifies whether a Serious Violation
was discovered during the previous 12 months from the SMS data snapshot date. If
a Serious Violation was discovered, the violation and the date it was cited are
listed.
- Performance Tools tab: Presents a series of graphs that can assist a motor
carrier in determining its performance under the selected BASIC. Two graphs are
provided: one lists the relevant inspections versus the inspections with a violation
in the selected BASIC by month for the 24-month period of the SMS results, and the
second graph presents the SMS results for the entire safety event group in the selected
BASIC. The graph presents the measure on the vertical axis and the percentile on
the horizontal axis for the safety event group.
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