The CSA Initiative (Compliance, Safety, and Accountability) is an official FMCSA program that was introduced back in December of 2010 that uses a score-based system (the CSA score) to identify fleets who pose a major risk to road safety.

Now that the FMCSA has created an online database for CSA scores, maintaining a good track record for your company is more important than ever as potential customers can perform a simple search to check a transportation company’s rating as an indicator of dependability.

Your CSA Score Is Now Available Online For Anyone to See

Your fleet’s safety data is compiled from crash reports, roadside inspections, investigation results and registrations. The FMCSA makes this data available on their Safety Management System website which they update on a monthly basis.

All inspections, violations and crashes your fleet incurs are factored into your CSA score,  and the severity of these incidents can have a further impact on your rating. Vehicle accidents involving an injury or fatality, for example, carry far more more weight than just a minor fender bender. The date of a violation also plays a part in how your score is calculated with more recent incidents putting your fleet in the FMCSA’s crosshairs.

The BASICs (Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories) used to compile your score are as follows:

  • Reckless Driving:
    Unsafe driving practices such as speeding, changing lanes without using a signal and not wearing a seatbelt.
  • Vehicle Crashes:
    Your fleet’s history of crashes that have been reported by the state. These reports are not publicly available.
  • ELD Compliance:
    Any HOS noncompliance issues that include drivers who are sick, sleep-deprived or violate driver log guidelines.
  • Vehicle Maintenance:
    Any vehicle defeciency due to lack of proper maintenance along with improper load securing
  • Driving While Under the Influence:
    Any driver operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, illegal drugs or misusing prescription / over-the-counter medication.
  • Hazardous Materials:
    Unsafe handling of hazardous materials such as leaking containers and not having the necessary shipping documents. These reports are also not available online.
  • Driver Health / Experience:
    Drivers who do not meet the physical or skill-based requirements for the job due to insufficient training, lack of experience or are in poor health.

All of this criteria is organized by the SMS and used to assign carriers a percentage score ranging from 0 -100. A higher percentile translates to a worse CSA score, and poor ranking fleets are prioritized for FMCSA interventions as such.

Bad CSA Scores Cost Your Business Time, Money and Reputation

DOT inspections can have a detrimental effect on your fleet. Violation fines can be incredibly expensive – sometimes reaching up to $100,000 depending on the offense – and the time lost due to multiple inspections can throw a wrench in your daily fleet operations.

But there are other entities besides law enforcement that will pose a challenge to your fleet because of a bad CSA score. Since your rating is publicly available online, certain companies may choose not to do business with you based on your safety performance history alone.  Having poor scores will also hike up the cost of insurance rates for your drivers as they will be seen as high risk.

Fleet Trax Can Help You Maintain Your CSA Score and ELD Compliance

“Form & Manner” and “Log Not Current” violations make up almost 1/4th of all CSA violations for fleets across America. Despite this high occurence, these errors are completely and easily correctible with ELD Compliance from Fleet Trax. With intuitive drivers logs and the ability to monitor and modify driver behavior,  you can be assured your drivers are following the best driving practices while minimizing your involvement with the DOT.

Contact us today at (855) 999-7828 or fill out the contact form below to request a free demo of our systems today.

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