FMCSA Begins Testing New CSA Scoring System

OCTOBER 4, 2018 – After carriers’ safety scores were pulled from public view three years ago, the FMCSA began testing a new scoring method for its Compliance, Safety, Accountability program last month. This was the first in a series of tests that is working towards a complete evaluation of the current program. The goal is to roll out a new system that will make it easier for carriers to understand and calculate their safety scores.

The CSA program has received its fair share of criticism since it was released almost nine years ago. A major source of that criticism was the public display of motor carrier’s safety scores – as well as how accurate (and fair) those scores were. Based on these issues, the FAST Act of 2015 called for the scores to be pulled from public view until they could be reevaluated. It also called for the FMCSA to contract with the National Academies of Science to study the current program and make recommendations about how it might be improved. In the current model, scores are based on seven indicators: unsafe driving habits, crash history, hours of service compliance, vehicle maintenance, use of controlled substances and/or alcohol, hazmat compliance and driver fitness.

Although the FMCSA hopes to make big progress in evaluating the program over the next year, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx estimates that it will be about two years before the scores become public again. “Based on our preliminary assessment, it’s going to take a while to do revised analysis,” Foxx told Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) earlier this summer.