• BASICs percentages are used to determine when the FMCSA will intervene with carriers.
• Passenger carriers are subject to the strictest thresholds, followed by hazmat carriers.

The following are the motor carrier intervention thresholds used in the Carrier Safety Measurement System (CSMS). Because drivers are only investigated during a carrier investigation, there are no separate intervention thresholds for drivers. Note that the thresholds are subject to change. Also, carriers whose Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) percentiles are below the intervention threshold are monitored in terms of safety performance but will not necessarily receive any contact from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

Passenger carriers. The Safety Measurement System (SMS) classifies a carrier as a “passenger carrier” if it is for-hire and operates 9- to 15-passenger-capacity vehicles or private carriers with 16-plus-passenger-capacity vehicles. Excluded are:

• Carriers with only 1- to 8-passenger-capacity vehicles and private carriers with 1- to 15-passenger-capacity vehicles (effectively removing many limousines, vans, taxis, etc.), as these firms are generally outside most of FMCSA's authority; and
• Carriers where less than 2 percent of the respective fleets are passenger vehicles.

Hazmat carriers. In order to be considered a hazardous materials (HM) carrier in the SMS, a motor carrier must have had:

• At least two HM placardable vehicle inspections within the past 24 months,
• At least one HM placardable vehicle inspection occurring within the past 12 months, and
• At least 5 percent of total inspections being HM placardable vehicle inspections.

Motor carriers cannot be given a safety rating (satisfactory/conditional/unsatisfactory) nor ordered to stop operating commercial vehicles in interstate commerce based solely on their SMS scores. The current regulations in Part 385 require that carriers be rated based only on a compliance review, i.e., a full-blown audit.