US DOT Safety Measurement System, What it is and How to Use it

In the past, the US DOT had assigned a SafeStat score to motor carriers based on their performance in comparison to other carriers. Many shippers then used the SafeStat score as part of their contractor qualification program for contracted motor carriers. In an effort to improve the system, the US DOT introduced the “Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010” or CSA 2010 program. Now fully implemented and referred to the Safety Measurement System (SMS), the program has replaced the SafeStat system.

As part of the SMS, the US DOT now assigns a point value to all violations and assigns a time weighting to the violation. These scores are then tallied and motor carriers are compared with other carriers of comparable size. This results in a ranking that is used by the states and the US DOT to determine where intervention is needed.

The SMS scores assigned to each carrier are available through the internet and can be accessed by the general public. This information can then be used to assess the performance of your contract motor carriers.

This presentation will provide an overview of the Safety Measurement System (SMS) also referred to as CSA system and how it can be used. It will include a discussion of the seven BASICs, a review of how scores are calculated, how carriers are evaluated against their peers, how that information can be accessed and how it can be used in evaluating your contract motor carriers.