Safety Evaluation
Safety evaluation is the process of determining how to address carriers with poor safety performance.
The Safety Measurement System (SMS) allows the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to
more effectively evaluate safety performance using new measures for:
- Matching carriers with the best type of intervention based on their safety problems; and
- Determining which carriers should be deemed Unsatisfactory to operate, using a regulatory process called Safety Fitness Determination (SFD).
A final Unsatisfactory rating prohibits a carrier from operating.
FMCSA will propose new SFD regulations, which will replace the current three-tiered process with a single unfit determination.
This proposed rule will use on-road safety performance data and/or investigation results to assess the safety fitness of more carriers
every month. The Agency plans to publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the SFD in January 2016.