Why You Can't Ignore Your CSA Score & FMCSA Safety Data

Your CSA score can be the difference between operating a safe fleet and paying top dollar for insurance premiums. 

We've discussed Compliance, Safety, and Accountability (CSA) scores on the Foley blog before, but there are still too many transportation companies that fail to regularly monitor their scores.

As a DOT-regulated company, you have to remain compliant. Following federal safety regulations not only helps keep you in business from a legal standpoint, but it also helps your business succeed. You can remain fine- and-violation-free while building up a strong, steady, reliable company with trusted, satisfied partners.

A crucial element of this is maintaining a low profile and avoiding extra scrutiny from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

Specifically, one of your top goals should be to stay off FMCSA risk-based priority lists.

Where companies land on these lists is based on their safety data, but no matter where they rank, they're flagged to be selected first for DOT safety audits.

What's Your Priority? Don't Be a Priority on FMCSA Safety Audit Lists.

Much as the name suggests, FMCSA priority lists identify companies that pose varying levels of safety risk based on past audit results, overall performance, and safety ratings calculated by the agency’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) scoring program.

Although the CSA program may be subject to change, it remains an important source for the FMCSA in determining safety and compliance.

To calculate their unique CSA scores, companies are ranked in seven Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) based on roadside and crash inspection data, intervention history, and violation status.

As a refresher, the BASICs include:

• Unsafe Driving — Watch our on-demand webinar on the Unsafe Driving BASIC.
• Crash Indicator
• Hours of Service (HOS) Compliance — Find out the HOS BASIC recordkeeping requirements you need to be following.
• Vehicle Maintenance — Make sure you're keeping these files to comply with the Vehicle Maintenance BASIC.
• Controlled Substances/Alcohol — Watch our on-demand webinar on this BASIC.
• Hazardous Materials Compliance
• Driver Fitness — Watch our on-demand webinar on the Driver Fitness BASIC.

Companies are grouped by BASIC with others with a similar number of safety events, then assigned a percentile from 0 to 100, prioritizing them for interventions. The higher the percentile, the worse the performance. 

Companies can be assigned “High Risk,” “Moderate Risk,” Risk,” “Monitor,” or “Warning Level” based on their failure to meet acceptable BASIC thresholds. The most serious is “High Risk,” resulting from two or more consecutive months at or above the 90th percentile for several BASICs. These companies are subject to immediate action and will be investigated by the FMCSA within 90 days of their assignment to the prioritization list.

High CSA scores are red flags for the FMCSA — and the more your business is audited, the more likely you are to continue to be audited until you correct your compliance issues. 

The Top FMCSA Violations that Impacted CSA Scores in 2024

Here are the top FMCSA violations of 2024 that negatively impacted performance in the BASIC categories, plus the number of instances companies were caught committing the violations.

DOT Driver Qualification FMCSA Violations

1. Inquiries into driving records not kept in driver qualification file​ - 1,494 violations
2. Incomplete or no employment application - 1,126 violations
   
3. Failing to maintain a driver qualification file on each driver - 1,073 violations​

Drug & Alcohol Testing FMCSA Violations

1. Using a driver before receiving a pre-employment result​ - 1,789 violations
2. Using an unqualified driver (positive or refused drug test)​ - 1,144 violations
3. Failing to get "reasonable suspicion" designee 60 min training - 1,099 violations

Hours of Service FMCSA Violations

1. False reports of records of duty status​ - 2,840 violations
2. Not using the appropriate method to record hours of service - 1,721 violations​
3. Requiring or permitting a driver to drive after 15 hours on duty - 1,381 violations

Vehicle Maintenance FMCSA Violations

The main takeaway? Be diligent with your CSA safety and violation data. 

Get more information about CSA scores in our new webinar, CSA Scores: The Secrets to Risk Prevention for 2024

Track Your Safety & Compliance Data with Foley's CSA Monitor

Knowing where you stand with the FMCSA isn't easy, and finding time to manually check your CSA score is nearly impossible when you have a growing fleet of drivers and trucks to manage.

With Foley’s CSA Monitor, you get a 360-degree view of your fleet with daily insights you can access right from your email inbox. You can easily view critical data that includes all updated CSA violations, compliance scores, crash reports, violation reports, and more.

You can then use this data to monitor fleet performance, understand your drivers, and manage risk — all of which can turn into fewer accidents, lower insurance premiums, and reduced chances of FMCSA safety audits. 

Get the safety and compliance data your business needs, right at your fingertips. Request a FREE demo of Foley's CSA Monitor now, or fill out the form below to get started.