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SMS Enhancements Public Preview

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Want to see what your CSA score will look like if all of the proposed changes to the Safety Measurement System (SMS) go through? Well…now you can!

Public Preview of SMS Enhancements

Earlier this week the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released their SMS Enhancements Public Preview website. On this site, fleets and drivers are able to preview how the proposed changes to CSA and SMS percentile rankings will impact their CSA score if they actually go through. You can view your score by clicking here.

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What Could Changes?

Proposed changes to the SMS program are focused on reducing high crash rates, prioritizing fleets with high crash involvement for intervention, accounting for increased exposure based on travel frequency, better identification of drivers with safety problems, and Hazardous Materials (HM) compliance. Potential changes to the SMS program are a result of proposals to reform the program issued within the last two years.

Here’s a breakdown of proposed enhancements to the program:

  1. Vehicle_Maintenance_BASIC.pngFocus on carriers with high crash rates by adjusting intervention thresholds
    By adjusting intervention thresholds for the Vehicle Maintenance, Controlled Substances/Alcohol, and Driver Fitness BASIC by 5-10% each the FMCSA hopes to better focus on carriers with high crash rates.

  2. Crash_Involvement_Indicator_BASIC.pngFocus investigation resources on carriers with more crash involvement
    The FMCSA proposes to increase the number of crashes required to assign carriers a percentile in the Crash Indicator BASIC from two to three. Percentiles are currently assigned if carriers have had 2 crashes in the past 2 years.

  3. Sharpening focus on carriers with recent violations
    The FMCSA proposes to only assign BASIC percentiles to carriers that have had an inspection with a violations in the past year.

  4. A more accurate picture of carrier exposure on our roads
    By expanding the range over which the Utilization Factor is applied from 200,000 to 250,000 Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT) per average Power Unit (PU), the FMCSA hopes to more accurately account for carriers with increased exposure.

  5. Hazardous_Materials_BASIC.pngA more effective HM Compliance BASIC
    To make this BASIC more effective, the FMCSA proposes to segmenting the BASIC by cargo tank/non-cargo tank operations and increase the intervention threshold by 10%.

  6. More effective identifying driver safety problems related to OOS
    The FMCSA proposes to move operating while OOS violations from other BASICS to the Unsafe Driving BASIC to consolidate driver safety problems that are currently spread across all categories to make it easier to identify drivers with safety problems.

More detailed information on the proposed changes can be found on the SMS Preview website. 

How BigRoad Can Help

When it comes to maintaining and improving your CSA score, BigRoad’s got your back! Download the BigRoad Mobile App today and see how easy running in compliance can be with real-time risk notification, pre-loaded rule sets, and easy DVIRs.

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