The Inspection Timeliness measure evaluates 12 months of data to determine your State’s rating. A record is evaluated if the date of the inspection event—not the date of upload to FMCSA—falls within that 12-month range. As shown below, the range begins 15 months before the evaluation month, but excludes the most recent three months of data. In the example, the January 2015 evaluation looks at the 12-month event date range November 1, 2013, through October 31, 2014; inspections that occurred after October 31, 2014, were not included in the evaluation.

This measure evaluates inspection records representing interstate and intrastate carriers, and includes large trucks and buses.

The percentage of timely records is determined by dividing the number of records reported on time by the number of total records evaluated. If the percentage of inspection records reported within 21 days is

• 90% or more, the rating is GOOD
• Between 65% and 89%, the rating is FAIR
• Less than 65%, the rating is POOR.

Inspection records reported to MCMIS are used by the SMS to assess carrier safety performance and prioritize carriers for interventions. The SMS weights inspections based partly on the time elapsed since the inspection occurred. The graphic below shows how the SMS time-weighting places more weight on the most recent inspections, highlighting the importance of reporting inspection data promptly.